Scottish Swimmer Archie Goodburn Asks UK PM Andy Burnham to Name a National Brain Cancer Lead

Archie Goodburn cried on live television asking the British government to fix something he says is broken: how the UK funds and treats brain cancer research.

The 25-year-old Scottish swimmer, diagnosed with inoperable brain tumors just over two years ago, appeared on BBC Breakfast to make a direct appeal to Prime Minister Keir Starmer. His ask was specific: create a national brain cancer lead, and put real money behind it.

"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," Goodburn said, according to the BBC.

Goodburn told the BBC that clinical trials in the U.S., Australia and China are producing treatments that UK patients simply can't access. "We are not seeing them in the UK and it is unfair and unjust," he said.

The diagnosis and the fight since

Goodburn was 22 when he got the call that changed his life. According to a separate BBC Sport Scotland report, he was training for a shot at the Paris Olympics when seizures, numbness and bouts of deja vu sent him for scans. The result: three low-grade tumors, inoperable, spread through his brain in a way that ruled out surgery. Doctors told him he might not live past 40.

That was just over two years ago. Since then, Goodburn fought to get access to new treatments that have slowed his tumors' growth, per the BBC. He also finished a chemical engineering degree at Edinburgh University, graduating with first-class honors.

This July, he swam in the 50m breaststroke final at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, qualifying fifth fastest and lowering his own Scottish record to 27.12 seconds back in February. He finished joint seventh, missing the medal he wanted, but the BBC reported the ovation he got at Tollcross was among the loudest of the Games.

Why he says the current law falls short

Goodburn's target is the Rare Cancers Bill, led by MP Scott Arthur, which became law earlier in 2025 according to the BBC. The law is designed to incentivize research and investment across 14 rare cancer types, brain cancer included.

Goodburn says he's grateful for the legislation but calls it insufficient. His argument, laid out to the BBC, comes down to math: the bill creates two new positions, a clinical lead and a research lead, both part-time, covering all 14 cancer types combined. Total time allotted: 36 days a year.

"There's two roles to cover 14 different types of cancer and change the landscape of treatment," Goodburn said. "I do not see how 36 days a year is going to make that change for 14 different types of cancers, let alone the most deadly type of cancer."

His point is that brain cancer is rare in diagnosis numbers but disproportionately lethal. He wants a dedicated lead for brain cancer alone, not a shared, part-time role spread across more than a dozen disease types.

A fair read of the other side

The Rare Cancers Bill was itself a genuine legislative win. Getting any dedicated rare-cancer research framework through Parliament, with new funded roles attached, is significant, and Goodburn says as much when he calls it "a step in the right direction." Lawmakers working with finite budgets have to spread resources across many diseases, and 14 rare cancers all have patients and families making the same case Goodburn is making for brain cancer specifically. A government weighing where to direct scarce research funding faces real tradeoffs, not just indifference.

But Goodburn's underlying data point is hard to argue with: brain cancer kills a disproportionate share of patients under 40 compared to its diagnosis rate among the 14 conditions covered by the bill, which is precisely why he says a shared part-time post can't do the job.

What happens next

As of this writing, no response from Keir Starmer or Downing Street has been reported. The BBC has not indicated whether the government plans to create a standalone brain cancer lead position or expand funding beyond the Rare Cancers Bill's current structure.

Goodburn's stated goal remains explicit: a future where brain cancer isn't the leading cause of death among cancer patients under 40 in the UK. Whether that translates into new legislation, a dedicated position, or increased research funding is now a question sitting with the Prime Minister's office.