£100,000 raised for brain cancer research in memory of 20-year-old East Lothian rugby fan who died two days after tumour diagnosis

An East Lothian family has seen fundraising exceed £100,000 in memory of their 20-year-old brother and son who died from a brain tumour just two days after it was diagnosed.

Duncan McLean, a keen sportsman and rugby fan from Gullane, lost his life to a glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) brain tumour in February 2016. These are highly aggressive brain tumours with an extremely poor prognosis.

The Duncan McLean Fund was set up in his name by his family to raise money for vital research into treatments through The Brain Tumour Charity.

Shockingly, Duncan died just two days after his brain tumour diagnosis having previously experienced a series of excruciating headaches for about three weeks.

His father, Iain McLean, plans to run the equivalent of 874 miles between John O’Groats and Land’s End in time for the 2021 London Marathon before taking on that challenge too. He has already run more than 370 miles since he started on October 4.

With the £100,000 fundraising milestone now reached, Mr McLean is more determined than ever to keep the momentum going.

The 59-year-old said: “We didn’t set out thinking ‘let’s raise 100k or 50k or something’, it just snowballed through the incredible support over the past five years. What’s been amazing is that people keep giving.

“We didn’t have any awareness of brain tumours because it was only three weeks with what started as headaches for Duncan, so we had no knowledge about their impact at that stage.”

Dad Iain McLean is running the equivalent distance between John O'Groats and Land's End to raise money for vital brain tumour research in memory of his son, Duncan McLean (right).

Mr McLean said his friend Dr Robin Grant, a neurology consultant at the Wester General Hospital, recommended supporting The Brain Tumour Charity and their early diagnosis work.

He said many of his son’s pals have completed fundraisers, including a golf challenge which involved playing 72 holes in one day and raising £20,000.

Duncan’s university friends also completed Three Peaks Challenge last summer and a ‘Run for Duncan’ event in December 2019 and about 400 people from the community came out to support it.

Mr McLean plans to run the London Marathon with his daughter, Annabel, who is a doctor in the frontline at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

He continued: “It’s the continued feeling of support from the community and from Duncan’s pals, from the golf and rugby clubs, his uni pals – this is what keeps you going.”

On Sunday, February 28, Duncan’s whole family - including mum Margaret and sisters Annabel and Libby - are supporting a virtual ‘Run for Duncan’ with friends and family holding runs and walks around the world. Details can be found HERE for anyone wishing to participate.

Alice Russell, The Brain Tumour Charity’s development manager for Scotland, said they remain “incredibly inspired” by everything the Duncan McKean Fund has done for those affected by a brain tumour diagnosis.

She said brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of the under 40s and, unlike other cancers, survival rates have not improved over the last 40 years.

The Brain Tumour Charity funds pioneering research to increase survival and improve treatment options as well as raising awareness of the symptoms and effects of brain tumours to bring about earlier diagnosis.

The Charity also provides support for everyone affected so that they can live as full a life as possible, with the best quality of life.

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