Where your money goes

When you join the fight for women's survival, you are helping to fund world-class research of dedicated scientists, doctors and nurses across the UK who are committed to beating cancer.

Our progress so far

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, Cancer Research UK funds vital research all over the UK and helps to make a difference to people with cancer.

Over the past 10 years, breast cancer death rates have fallen by almost a fifth. And almost two thirds of women diagnosed with breast cancer today are now likely to survive their disease for at least 20 years.

Breast cancer research highlights

Here are some of the highlights of our breast cancer work over the last decade:

• The Million Women Study, starting in 1996, showed that women taking hormone replacement therapy, especially over a long period of time, are at increased risk of breast cancer. These results allowed women to make better informed decisions about taking HRT.
• Our research has been instrumental in understanding the role of the 'high-risk' BRCA genes in breast cancer, with up to 1 in 20 cases linked to inherited faults in these genes. Building on this research, Cancer Research UK scientists started the first UK trial of a new drug that targets the 'Achilles heel' of these inherited breast cancers.

Our goals for the future

We've made some amazing progress and we're determined to keep the momentum going. So we've set ten challenging goals that we aim to accomplish by the year 2020 to help us achieve our vision of beating cancer.

Support us

Join the fight for women's survival and organise a fundraising activity, make a donation or join an event to raise money for our life-saving work.