More About Cancer Research

Help Make A Difference
Help Make A Difference

Cancer Research UK is the world’s leading independent organisation dedicated to cancer research and the largest single funder of cancer research in the UK.

The charity funds around 4,250 scientists, doctors and nurses based throughout the UK.

Key facts about Cancer Research UK

  • Cancer Research UK’s vision is ‘Together we will beat cancer’
  • We carry out world-class research to improve our understanding of cancer and find out how to prevent, diagnose and treat different kinds of cancer
  • We ensure that our findings are used to improve the lives of all people with cancer

Key Facts about cancer

  • Each year in the UK, nearly 285,000 people are diagnosed with cancer and more than 150,000 people die from the disease.
  • More than one in three people in the UK will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives.
  • Cancer is the biggest single cause of death in the UK - one in four of us will die from the disease.
  • There are over 200 different types of cancer. Breast, lung, bowel and prostate cancer account for almost half of all new cases diagnosed.

Advances and Achievements

Thanks to cancer research, advances are being made in the detection and treatment of cancer and lives are being saved. Here are some motivating statistics that illustrate the progress being made:

  • Average ten-year survival rates for cancer have doubled over the past three decades
  • On average, half of all people diagnosed with cancer now will survive for at least five years
  • Survival rates have improved for most common cancers over recent years
  • Since 1990, the death rate from cancer has dropped by 18% - that’s nearly a fifth
  • Survival rates for ovarian cancer have doubled since the 1970s
  • The death rate for breast cancer in the UK has fallen by almost a fifth in the last 10 years
  • The death rate for bowel cancer has fallen by a third over the last 20 years. That’s thanks to greater awareness, earlier detection and better treatments
  • More than nine out of ten men with testicular cancer are now successfully treated.
  • Around 3 out of 4 children with cancer now survive, compared with only 1 in 4 in the 1960s

How far will your money go?

£1,000 could fund...

One woman’s participation in the international IBIS-II breast cancer prevention trial. The aim of this trial is to see whether the drug anastrozole can prevent the disease in healthy post-menopausal women at high risk.

£1,250 could fund...

Ten women’s participation in the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening. This trial, which is co-funded by Cancer Research UK and the Medical Research Council, is the first of its kind. It aims to assess the effectiveness of ovarian cancer screening in saving lives and the feasibility of introducing a national screening programme for this disease.

£1,000 could buy:

  • 35,000 glass slides for studying cells and tumour samples in detail under the microscope
  • 13,000 cryotubes for storing biological samples at low temperatures, so they can be used in future studies to help beat cancer
  • 100 digital timers. These are indispensable pieces of equipment for our scientists who often carry out experiments that require precise timing.

£2,000 could buy:

  • Four liquid nitrogen storage vessels for the long-term storage of tumour samples at ultra-low temperatures
  • 133 lab coats for our scientists.

£5,000 could buy:

  • Asafety cabinet. These are used by scientists working with cells in the lab, in order to prevent contamination with germs in the air.