What Are The Goals Of Brain Tumour Awareness Month 2025?

March is one of the most important months of the year for radiotherapy centres which specialise in treatments such as Gamma Knife, as Brain Tumour Awareness Month focuses on doing everything possible to prevent, treat and diagnose brain tumours.

Initially launched in 2004 as a collective effort by several brain tumour charities later known as Brain Tumour Research, Brain Tumour Awareness Month has become an essential part of the work of many organisations that diagnose and treat brain conditions.

Starting with shining a light on the first Monday of the month and ending with Wear A Hat Day on the last Friday, Brain Tumour Awareness Month generates a lot of attention around forward its major central goals.

Earlier Diagnoses

The stated aim of Brain Tumour Awareness Month is to raise awareness of the early warning signs and symptoms that can sometimes be missed due to having multiple potential causes and a lack of specificity.

Headaches, nausea and vision changes that do not appear to improve should be checked as as soon as possible to rule out a tumour as a potential cause or make the transition from diagnosis to treatment as soon as a tumour is confirmed.

Quicker diagnosis allows for less invasive treatments and improved quality of life, so raising awareness is vital not only in the abstract but is connected to treatment outcomes.

The pink and yellow colour scheme and grey ribbons are an essential part of this work, as the more people are aware, the greater the chance they will be diagnosed early and be able to undergo treatment straight away, similar to breast cancer and prostate cancer awareness campaigns.

Improve Access To Treatment

Supporting organisations, clinics and individuals seeking treatment for brain tumours is a core part of the fundraising efforts of Brain Tumour Awareness Month, as it enhances the scope for potential treatments and ensures that people can get the treatment they need as soon as they can be treated.

Part of this is through funding drives to directly help individuals affected by and living with brain tumours, but another part of this work is campaigning for greater access and funding from central governments to increase access to treatments in line with other cancer types.

One particularly effective treatment option for brain tumours is Gamma Knife radiosurgery, where radiation therapy is precisely targeted at cancerous cells to treat a range of different conditions.

No surgical incisions are required for the treatment, with multiple converging beams of gamma radiation used instead to deliver highly focused doses to target areas within the brain.

The main benefit of this treatment plan is that maximal radiation doses are delivered precisely to the target while minimising exposure to surrounding healthy brain tissue. This, in turn, reduces the risk of radiation-related side-effects.

Provide Support

Brain Tumour Awareness Month begins with lighting a candle on 1st March, before ending with Wear A Hat Day on Friday 28th March. The first Monday of March, which this year was Monday 3rd March, featured a minute of silence observed by charities, specialists, celebrities and anyone who wished to remember those affected by brain tumours.

Outside of a demonstration of support and a clear statement to anyone undergoing treatment that they are not facing cancer alone, Brain Tumour Awareness Month also provides support to individuals, clinics and research bodies which help to excise tumours and provide minimally invasive, effective treatment.

Further Research

Precision stereotactic radiosurgery was the result of over half a century of research into radiation and the brain leading to its first experimental treatments in the 1950s, and ever since then, cutting-edge research has been one of the most important tools to help treat a widening group of tumours.

Tools such as proton beam therapy, improvements in diagnostic technology and the development of machine learning and artificial intelligence to assist with both the discovery and treatment of tumours are actively being researched, but the path from discovery to active treatment is expensive.

The goal of Brain Tumour Research is to find a cure for all types of tumours and growths which affect the brain. This requires an approach which spans the complete treatment pathway from a greater understanding of potential symptoms, diagnostics, radiotherapy, medication, recovery and prevention.

According to Brain Tumour Research, one per cent of the money spent each year on cancer research goes towards brain tumour research, and Brain Tumour Awareness Month helps to fund continuous research in a wide range of areas related to brain tumour treatment.

Raise Awareness Of Prevention And Recovery Steps

Whilst there is a wide range of risk factors for brain tumours, many of which are outside of people’s control, there are some lifestyle habits that researchers have been able to confirm that affect the risk of contracting certain types of cancers.

More generally, this includes diet, physical activity, smoking, drinking alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight, but research is being undertaken to ensure that people know which parts of their lifestyle could increase or decrease their risk of brain tumours.

As well as this, it can also help with recovery from treatment, through targeted support, exercise and dietary changes focused on nutrition.