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Cancer Research UK’s philanthropy campaign reaches £200m milestone

by Charlotte Mathé

9 October 2024

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Vivian Li. Image credit: David Vintiner
Image credit: David Vintiner

Cancer Research UK’s More Research, Less Cancer campaign has raised more than £200m, over halfway towards the £400m target.

The campaign, which was launched publicly in February, calls on high-value donors and philanthropists to fund life-changing research to tackle cancer.

Since launching, the campaign has received generous donations from supporters including The Chris Banton Foundation and Dr Robert Easton.

One of the most recent gifts is from global impact grant maker Oak Foundation, who donated £8m towards our research into children’s and young people’s cancers.

Different challenges

Cancer is different in children and young people – from the types of cancer they get to the long-term effects of treatment and challenges holding back progress – so it needs a different and dedicated approach.

static displaying 8 in 10 children

Our research has played a part in saving the lives of more than 32,000 children and young people in the UK in the past 50 years. Less than 4 in 10 children in the UK survived their cancer for 10 years in the 1970s. Today, 8 in 10 do.

But we have a long way to go. Every year in the UK, 4,200 children or young people are told they have cancer. And every year, the disease claims the lives of around 500.

“Overcoming the challenges holding back progress in this area will require an unprecedented level of collaboration and partnership,” said Michelle Mitchell, Chief Executive of Cancer Research UK.

“We’re best placed to make this happen, but we can’t do it alone. It’s only by uniting funders, researchers, patients and partners behind a collective mission that we can ensure more children and young people can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.

“We’re delighted that Oak Foundation has decided to join us by making this generous donation, as well as all of the visionary philanthropists who have supported the campaign so far.”

Philanthropic support will help us unlock discoveries about children’s and young people’s cancers and translate these into new and better ways to diagnose and treat them.

Cancer Research UK has a unique capability, scale and influence to drive progress for children and young people with cancer.

- Diane Buczynski-Ruchonnet, Programme Officer at Oak Foundation

“We’re inspired by the research taking place across Cancer Research UK and join their hope for a future where more children and young people will survive their cancer with fewer long-term side effects.”

A new groundbreaking trial  

When 24-year-old Caitlin started feeling pain in her left glute, she brushed it off, assuming she’d just pulled a muscle during exercise.   

The pain eventually became unbearable, and Caitlin visited her local hospital. Scans showed that Caitlin had a tumour, and the results of a later biopsy surprised both Caitlin and her medical team. She had Ewing sarcoma – a cancer that can occur in the bones or soft tissue and mainly affects children and young people like Caitlin. 

Caitlin, who was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma this year and is going to take part in our INTER-EWING-1 trial.
Caitlin is going to take part in our INTER-EWING-1 trial.

Caitlin was offered a place on a brand-new trial called INTER-EWING-1, the largest and most ambitious study ever conducted into Ewing sarcoma, part funded by Oak Foundation.  

Traditionally, trials into paediatric cancers often exclude those over the age of 18. The INTER-EWING-1 trial is age-inclusive, which means older teenagers and young adults like Caitlin can also benefit from the treatments they’re testing.   

We’re hopeful that INTER-EWING-1 could revolutionise treatment for Caitlin and all others affected by Ewing sarcoma. 

Read more here 

More Research, Less Cancer

“We’re thrilled and proud that we’ve reached an incredible milestone of £200m,” said Chris Gethin, Director of Philanthropy.

“However, gifts of over £10,000 still represent a small percentage of our fundraising income, and a recent survey by Pro Bono Economics showed that wealthy people in the UK could give an estimated £2.8bn more to charity each year. With 1 in 6 people surveyed saying they could give twice as much as they currently do

“Through this campaign we must seize the opportunity to encourage and inspire people who can give more to do so both in their lifetimes and in their wills.”

Thank you to all our philanthropic supporters and their advisers who have joined the campaign so far and are helping us make the extraordinary possible.

- Chris Gethin, Director of Philanthropy
Professor Charles Swanton

To find out more about the More Research, Less Cancer campaign, please visit our website.

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