Tom Parker has spoken out about his shock of the treatment and funding for people with brain cancer.
The Bolton-born 33-year-old – who is one fifth of the boyband The Wanted – has been raising awareness for glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) since being diagnosed with the terminal inoperable brain tumour in October 2020.
Since his diagnosis, he’s been getting private treatment on top of NHS care in efforts to prolong his life.
Back in January, Tom was overjoyed to announce in a post to Instagram that his latest MRI scan had shown a “significant reduction” of the tumour, but during an appearance on a new podcast released this month, he has said that a “massive improvement” is needed in treatment for brain tumours, and that a lack of research funding is part of the issue.
He added the NHS had been “great” – but he wants more to be done.
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According to leading charity Brain Tumour Research, GBM is the most common type of brain tumour and is also one of the most aggressive, but there is currently no cure, and it often resists treatment.
The average survival time from diagnosis is 12 to 18 months.
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Tom spoke out on the Chat2Amani podcast – which is hosted by 23-year-old Amani Liaquat, who also has GBM / Credit: YouTube (Chat2Amani)
NHS treatment for people with brain cancer tends to include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, steroids, and drugs to help reduce symptoms, but speaking on the podcast Chat2Amani – which is hosted by 23-year-old Amani Liaquat, who also has GBM – Tom says “there’s got to be a better answer out there than just that”.
Sadly, NHS treatments didn’t work on Amani’s tumour, but she said she’s seen some small signs of the tumour shrinking since her family raised £100,000 to buy a year’s supply of a trial drug from Germany.
Tom continued: “It drives me insane, the world just revolves around money… there’s drugs out there that can save people’s lives – it’s so frustrating.”
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A chemotherapy drug called Temozolomide is the standard treatment offered by the NHS to GBM patients – which hasn’t changed for almost 20 years, according to Brain Tumour Research – and Tom said it’s “shocking” that this hasn’t been changed in such a long time.
“I don’t want to beat around the bush about the NHS,” Tom said.
“I think they’ve been great but I think there’s a massive improvement needed in treatment for brain tumours.”
Tom and his wife Kelsey, with their two children – Aurelia and Bodhi / Credit: Channel 4
The amount of money spent annually in the UK on brain cancer research has increased from £4 million in 2009-10 to £15 million in 2019-20, but Brain Tumour Research says that figure must increase to £35 million to address the “chronic lack of funding”.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health told BBC Newsbeat in response that the government has committed more than £40 million of funding to brain cancer research over five years in 2018, adding: “We are supporting the research community working on brain cancer by funding every single eligible research request in this area and providing research training for practicing doctors.”
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Tom Parker said helping to increase funding for treatment and research is “the one thing” he wants to achieve by speaking out about his own experience of cancer.
You can listen to Tom’s full ‘BrainBubble’ episode on the Chat2Amani podcast here.
Featured Image – Channel 4
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Live out your Traitors fantasy with this murder mystery in Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
You can now feel like you’re a part of the hit UK TV show The Traitors with this murder mystery experience in Greater Manchester running all throughout the year.
Since we can’t all squeeze around that glamorous round table with a board and chalk at the ready, this murder mystery experience will definitely do the trick!
Hosted by East Lancashire Railway, who are known for their already incredible events and arrangements, the evening is definitely in safe hands – even if a hypothetical murder has taken place.
Each guest can expect a welcome drink on arrival and a killer three-course meal, you’ll soon realise it’s hungry work solving murders and investigating crimes.
Beginning in February and running right up until Santa Claus comes to town, all the occasions are themed and passengers are encouraged to dress up in attire fitting of starring in their own version of Murder on the Orient Express.
Guests onboard a Sherlock Holmes-themed murder mystery at East Lancashire Railway. Credit: East Lancashire Railway
‘Death at the Rock and Roll Diner’ kicks off the innovative nights as anyone who boards the train will be transported back to the 50s, all diners will have to twist the night away to solve this crime.
In April, head down to the world’s most famous Parisian night club where you’re sure to be singing “Gitchie, gitchie, ya-ya, da-da” as you shimmy, burlesque and cabaret your way to uncovering a murder.
Chocoholics this one’s for you: in June, the steam train is turning into a chocolate factory where guests can expect treats just as sweet and rewarding as revenge.
There are two opportunities to be a ‘Super Trooper’ as ‘The Killer Takes it All’ visits Bury Bolton Street Station in June and August, in this ABBA-inspired murder mystery lots of attendees will be asking, ‘Take A Chance On Me’?
With plenty more themed evenings on the cards, why not hop aboard this vintage steam train and try your hand at solving a murder mystery, just like a faithful would on the telly?
All we need now is to rent a few green cloaks and find a mate who can pull off a fringe as good as Claudia – any takers?
Starting on 21 February, anyone interested in seeing a full lineup of themes and looking to add a murder mystery to their calendar can do so with tickets on sale HERE.
Whether you’re a ‘faithful’ or your talents lie in deception, you’ll have a ball.
Better Man has bombed at the box office – but is the Robbie Williams biopic any good?
Danny Jones
So, Robbie Williams’ biopic Better Man has been out for a little while now and the question on many people’s lips – you know, apart from ‘why is he a monkey?’ – is, quite simply, is it any good?
Many of you may have already seen it, others may have absolutely no interest in hearing about Robbie‘s already well-publicised exploits (be they in ape form or otherwise), or maybe you’ve just been waiting to hear whether it’s any good before heading out to the cinema.
Well, if you’re judging it purely by the current headlines circulating online, you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s absolute rubbish. So far, Better Man has ‘tanked’ at the box office, making just over $1 million compared to a budget of nearly $110m (£90.8m).
However, given how pivotal the US viewing figures are, a big chunk of the commercial disappointment has come down to Americans largely not knowing who Robbie Williams even is and it’s no surprise that it’s done a little better here in the UK – though still not stellar. But again, ticket sales aside, is it good?
Better Man – Review
I wasn’t sure a (very good) CGI monkey Robbie Williams film was going to be any good either based solely on the trailer, but they nailed it.
*Once again, some spoilers ahead – though it is his life story, so we’re not really spoiling anything…
I’ll start this off by admitting that for all his foibles and controversies of the years, I am a Robbie fan; his music was always on in my house as a kid and well into my teens. Being born in the mid-90s, he was probably one of the first big pop stars to ever enter my world.
Growing up obsessed with football too, a charismatic, mainstream rock and roll-spirited figure in the mainstream who also loved the beautiful game and even took influence from chants heard around the grounds in his songwriting always made him extra appealing to me.
All that is just to say that I’m fully aware there’s probably some bias here, so I’ll still try to be as impartial and ‘objective’ as you can be with a film review. But back to the point, the short answer is yes: it’s good – very good, in my opinion.
If you’re similarly fond of the frenetic, funny and ferocious showman, you’ll obviously have a vested interest in looking back on his career thru a (somewhat simian) Lens, but even if you’re not, I still think you can get a lot of of the film and a greater insight into a captivating life story.
Monkey see, monkey do—make me sad, very sad…
This scene (among many) had us welling up. (Credit: Paramount Pictures)
For starters, put simply: as daft as it may seem, the monkey thing does work. It may come across like a strange gimmick when you first see the trailers but it doesn’t take much digging to realise that there’s quite a well-thought-out three-pronged approach behind it.
One of the first things the 50-year-old singer said on the press tour for this film is that he’s always felt “unevolved” and it’s something that’s brought up a couple of times in the film itself, so making him an ape rather than a modern Homo sapien is one way to way to communicate that.
Plus, not only does it obviously make any sad moments – and there are a lot of them – even more emotional and tear-jerking, especially during the scenes during Robbie’s childhood, but it also plays into the sad reality that he’s felt like a performing monkey for the majority of his life.
When you stop and think about the reasoning behind it feels a lot more considered than on first impression, and it certainly helps you empathise and, more importantly, sympathise with the troubled character you’re seeing on screen.
Robert vs Robbie
A very clever movie poster to boot.
And that’s pretty much the rub right there: this was always going to be at least a somewhat self-indulgent watch, not just because it’s a biopic but because it’s Robbie and that’s what his persona is about – but it is and always has been a performance in every sense of the word and the film does a great job of trying to distinguish ‘Robbie’ from Robert.
From seeing the origins behind being given that name specifically, his younger years and affectionate albeit mostly fraught relationship with his father; how the boom of Take That engulfed his entire world and even more so once he went solo, as well as the version of himself he’s shown to the world for last three decades, it’s clear he’s often struggled to find the line between the two himself.
It’s also very important to state the cheeky, cocksure Robbie Williams you were expecting to watch the rise of throughout this biopic has wrestled with a much lower opinion of himself than you could ever imagine. It’s a driving force behind the film and manifests in all manner of problematic and unpleasant ways, just as it did in real life. You see him see a lot of them in the crowd throughout the duration, in fact.
Because for anyone who isn’t aware, a lot of Robbie’s experiences are problematic and unpleasant; the early days as a boyband commodity, his substance abuse, struggles with mental health and beyond are all laid bare on screen in fairly graphic detail at times. A lot of the situations these issues spring from would feel hard to believe were it not for the fact it’s a true story with very little embellishment, if at all.
Manchester references are a bonus
One of the things that did stand out as a particularly surreal aspect of the film was the handful of references to Robbie’s intersection with Mancunian culture, which simultaneously felt familiar and somehow like going back in time to peep behind the curtain at a world that very few saw first-hand.
Again, the behind-the-scenes examination of how Take That transpired and those very dangerous, inappropriate and frankly unlawful series of events in nightclubs over on the likes of Canal Street feels like a fever dream (as it did for Robbie).
Perhaps the biggest buzz we got was the not-so-surprise appearance by the Gallagher brothers and ‘The Robster’s obsession with Oasis. The look is exactly what you’d expect and Liam‘s accent might not be perfect but it still gave us a thrill without feeling like pointless lip service.
All that being said, is the much-talked Robbie biopic a good enough film to warrant popping out to the pictures? Well, I’d certainly say so. Not only are the visuals and the CGI itself pretty flawless, but the motion capture is done so well that it never felt like I was taken out of the film at any point – even the very particular Stoke and Cheshire accents of Robbie and Gary Barlow are very convincing.
We knew there was going to be lots of humour too but there’s also a lot of impressive stuff the director does that I wasn’t expecting.
One of those is the transitions: there are lots of clever tonal switches done with great camerawork and effects (particularly during one driving sequence and some of the flashback frames) and they really do help covertly shift the mood so some of the darker moments don’t give you full on whiplash.
And lastly, the director’s fingerprints can be felt all over the movie as Michael Gracey’s The Greatest Showman pedigree certainly makes sections of the film feel more like a musical than I was expecting – but in a good way. Big bold cabaret choreography fitting of the man himself.
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After all, we all know most Robbie tunes are bangers but seeing them brought to life in these new and interesting ways really does make Better Man a better film than we’d even hoped for and it’s certainly good enough to be performing a lot better than it is at the box office right now. Maybe give it a go.
As far as I’m concerned, big stunning set pieces like this are just the tip when it comes to what makes the Robbie biopic a good film.
Emily Sergeant -
20th October 2021 
