Where your money goes
You are helping to fund life-saving research.
Cancer Research UK are world leaders in finding new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.
Your minimum fundraising target
When you signed up to Race for Life, you pledged to raise at least £50 to help fund our life saving research and change the lives of people affected by cancer.
1 in 2 people will get cancer in their lifetime*. Our research saves lives. Your support, through events like the Race for Life, is what helps us continue our ground-breaking work to see more people surviving cancer.
*Ahmad AS et al, British Journal of Cancer, 2015
How your money helps us beat cancer
£5 buys a box of 100 gloves, which keep our scientist’s hands safe while they get hands-on with their experiments.
£22 buys a microscope micrometer, which scientists use to measure the size of tumours and learn more about how they grow.
£95 buys a Wright-Giemsa cell staining kit, which our scientists use to distinguish between different types of blood cells.
£400 is the cost of running Cancer Chat for one day, helping thousands of people through very difficult times.
£13 buys agarose gel, which is a vital component for a technique that scientists use to measure the length of pieces of DNA.
£50 buys special chemicals called restriction enzymes that work like molecular scissors to cut up the long strands of DNA in our cells.
£200 helps fund a postdoc researcher - developing their skills in the lab under the supervision of expert scientists.
£1,000 helps fund Professor Maria Hawkins and her team as they research innovative radiotherapy techniques for treating rare bile duct cancer
How regular support helps us continue our life-saving work
Every donation helps us bring forward the day when all cancers are cured. But what many people don't know, is that monthly donations are vital for planning potentially life-saving research.
Monthly donations give us a predictable income, allowing us to plan and invest in future research. Learn more about the impact of monthly donations.
How we decide what research to fund
There are over 200 types of cancer for us to beat. When researchers come to Cancer Research UK with their ideas, we need to decide which projects need our support.
Watch this video to see how we ensure the money you raise funds the science that stands the best chance of making a difference.
Emma's story
Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, Emma agreed to take part in a new trial of 2 antibody treatments along with high dose chemotherapy treatment. “I just wanted to throw everything I could at this cancer… I felt I wanted to be part of something that could benefit future generations.”
Emma has since received the amazing news that she is clear of cancer. Today she continues to help fund research similar to what she went through.
The latest in cancer research
You can keep up to date on how the money you raise makes a difference.
Check out our Science News page to see some highlights of exactly what research is being done and the changes being made to ensure we see 3 in 4 people surviving cancer by 2034.
