A young swimmer’s raw plea on national television has finally drawn a response from Downing Street. But will it be enough?
Archie Goodburn, a 25-year-old Scottish swimmer who won gold at the 2023 British Championships, appeared on BBC Breakfast this week with a desperate appeal to the Prime Minister. Diagnosed with three oligodendrogliomas – a form of brain and spinal cord cancer – in 2024, he has since become an advocate for the brain tumour community. His voice cracked as he begged for action.
“Andy Burnham, if you believe and want to make a change and a difference to the future of our country and our young population, please listen to us,” Goodburn said, his words heavy with emotion. “Please establish a national brain cancer lead and give us a chance to fight for our lives because the things that patients are going through out there are unbelievable and so unjust.”
The swimmer highlighted that clinical trials in the US, Australia and China offer hope that is denied to British patients. “We are not seeing them in the UK and it is unfair and unjust,” he added.
Mr Burnham, who took office only recently, responded on TikTok, thanking Goodburn and asking to meet. “What you’re doing for other people, while you’re going through all this yourself, shows the best of us,” the Prime Minister said. He added that he had asked his team to get in touch.
This comes after the Rare Cancers Bill, introduced by Scott Arthur MP, became law earlier this year. The bill aims to incentivise research into rare cancers. But Goodburn was blunt about its limitations. “It’s a step in the right direction but it’s not going to make the changes that we need,” he said. “Brain cancer is one of these in terms of incidents of diagnosis, but it’s not the same in terms of the number of deaths it causes.”
For a nation that prides itself on its National Health Service, this is a sobering reminder of the gaps that remain. Goodburn’s plea is not just personal; it speaks to a wider failure to prioritise the most devastating diseases. The question now is whether Mr Burnham’s sympathy will translate into action, or whether this will be yet another promise lost in the corridors of Whitehall.