Where your money goes
You're helping to fund life-saving research
Our research already helps people living with cancer every single day. With you at the start line, just imagine how far we can go.
Your minimum fundraising target
When you signed up to Race for Life, you pledged to raise at least £50 to help fund our life-changing cancer research.
We’re the only charity taking on more than 200 types of cancer. Your fundraising helps us discover new ways to beat all of them and create a future where everybody can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer.
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
You donate, we discover. Here’s what happens when you give monthly.
When you make regular donations, we fund long-term research. And when we fund long-term research, we make our biggest breakthroughs.
A reliable income means we can plan ahead and commit to long-term research projects with huge potential to help beat cancer.
Learn more about the impact of monthly donations.
How we decide what research to fund
We're beating over 200 types of cancer. 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.
Hannah's story
Hannah was diagnosed with breast cancer, aged 25, after discovering a lump in her left breast. She was treated with four chemotherapy drugs, including docetaxel and carboplatin, both of which Cancer Research UK scientists helped to develop.
“It’s thanks to advances in research and treatments that I’m still here and enjoying my life. I love visiting new places and getting dolled up and going out with my family and friends.”
When Hannah started treatment doctors warned her that treatment could make her infertile. But shortly after getting the all clear, Hannah, and her partner Cameron welcomed their “miracle baby” Billie, into the world. “I’m excited to Race for Life and to play my part to fund research today which I hope will also help beat cancer for Billie’s generation and future generations to come.”
The latest in cancer research
Check out our Cancer News page to see how the money you raise is helping people to live longer, healthier lives.
