Tom Parker ’s widow Kelsey has called for more funding into brain tumour research in the UK.
She said many families are “clutching at straws” as they travel abroad for alternative treatments.
The Wanted singer died at a hospice near their South East London home on March 30 aged 33 after being diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma.
Appearing on BBC Breakfast she discussed how they had visited a clinic in Spain in a bid to prolong his life by exploring options outside chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
She said: “When we were in treatment I used to speak to people all the time. Everyone has to go abroad.
“When you get diagnosed, because the standard of care hasn’t been changed in 30 years, you are clutching at straws and thinking, ‘What else can I do?’
“You have to go abroad. You have to seek other options because the standard of care is just radio and chemo and that is it.”
After hearing about another family going through a similar experience, Kelsey, 32, reflected on why so many travel abroad seeking alternative treatments. She said: “There needs to be more done in this country. How can it be the biggest killer and get 1% of funding? I just don’t understand it.”
Also appearing was David Jenkinson, from the Brain Tumour Charity, who called for better funding into research.
He said: “We have seen with Covid but also with other cancers that when there is a sustainable amount of money put into research it leads to new treatments and new therapies.”
He warned some treatments abroad had not been proven effective, adding: “We understand why people who are desperate choose to travel, but some of these therapies have not been fully tested.
“Or some of them are going through testing but are not at a stage where the NHS would be able to prescribe them.”
Tom announced in October 2020 he had been diagnosed with stage four glioblastoma and had begun radiotherapy and chemotherapy. He wrote about his experience in his book Hope.
Married in 2018, Tom and Kelsey’s son, Bodhi, is two, and daughter, Aurelia Rose, three.
