Jackie Hall carried her son’s story into Westminster yesterday, determined that the boy who died of a brain tumour in August would not be forgotten. Max was just 14 when he passed away, leaving behind his mum Jackie, his dad Stephen and his siblings George, 13, and Hope, 12. Now his family is fighting to make sure other children facing the deadliest of childhood cancers get a better chance than he did.
Max, from Corby in Northamptonshire, was football-mad. He had only just turned 14 when his life changed. In November 2025, days after his birthday, he was diagnosed with a grade 4 diffuse glioma. He underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but when his treatment options ran out, his family refused to give up. They fundraised to take Max to Germany for experimental immunotherapy treatment. He died on 8th August.
Yesterday, his mother promised to “fight in Max’s name” as she met with James Frith MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health Innovation. She urged the Government to do more for children facing brain tumours, the deadliest of childhood cancers. Her own MP, Lee Barron, and representatives from Brain Tumour Research accompanied her.
For Jackie, the day carried a weight of emotion. “I just feel an immense sense of pride. My little 14-year-old Max from Corby being listened to by a health minister in London. His story is being taken seriously and I hope that it’s going to help bring about change,” she said.
The conversation in Westminster centred on what could be done differently for families like hers. Jackie highlighted the importance of campaigning for more investment in research and wider access to clinical trials for children. Mr Frith described his key priorities as dealing with the inequalities faced by patients with rare diseases and expanding digital access to information, so that patients can see the availability of clinical trial detail worldwide. The need for pharmaceutical companies to be incentivised to deliver clinical trials was also discussed. Mr Frith committed to meet with Jackie Hall again.
Before the meeting, Jackie had visited the Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the University of Nottingham to learn more about the work happening there to improve treatment options for brain tumour patients. The visit was especially poignant. Max was treated at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham, and some of his brain tumour sample remains in the laboratory there. To honour his legacy, Jackie has now set up United for Max, a Fundraising Group which will raise money for the Nottingham Centre of Excellence. For the family, the connection between their son and the scientists working in that city is a deeply personal one; a part of Max may yet help shape the research that could save other children.
Matthew Sowemimo, Head of Campaigning and Policy at Brain Tumour Research, said the charity is very grateful to Jackie for her tireless support, and that the meeting will be an important step in helping to ensure brain tumours remain high on the political agenda.
The stakes, he added, could hardly be higher. “Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer. Max’s story highlights why we urgently need the Government to support an increase in the national investment in research into brain tumours to at least £45 million a year, in order to close the gap with funding levels seen for other cancer types such as leukaemia, where sustained investment over recent decades has made a huge impact on survival rates.”
Behind the policy discussion sits a family still grieving a son and brother who was barely a teenager. George and Hope lost their brother at 13 and 12 years old. Stephen and Jackie lost their boy in the August after his 14th birthday. What they are asking for is simple in its framing: that the disease which took Max receives the research investment and trial access that other cancers have long benefited from, so that no other family in Corby or anywhere else has to fundraise for experimental treatment abroad because standard options have run out. Jackie’s promise to fight in her son’s name, made in the corridors of Westminster, is intended to carry on long after that single meeting.