What your money can do

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. Each year almost 46,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in the UK and the disease claims around 12,400 lives.

Cancer Research UK is the single largest funder of research into breast cancer in the UK, spending nearly
£45 million last year on groundbreaking research into the disease.

Our research is beating breast cancer – help us fight harder

Every penny you raise helps us continue our life-saving work to beat breast cancer and raise breast cancer awareness.

And it really does make a difference. The death rate for women with breast cancer has fallen by almost a fifth over the last decade.

Currently, 8 out of 10 women with breast cancer now survive their disease beyond five years, compared with around 5 out of 10 women in the 1970s. Your support is vital to help us ensure that survival rates continue to rise.

How funds are spent

Here are some examples of how your fundraising contribution – big or small – can help:

• £10 could buy around 300 glass slides for studying cells and tumour samples in detail under the microscope.
• £22 could equip a scientist with a lab coat and a pair of safety goggles. These essential items help protect against harmful chemicals and prevent crucial experiments from getting contaminated. Without this basic equipment our scientists couldn't carry out their life-saving research into breast cancer.
• £54 could buy 22 thermometers (range -10°C to 110°C) – indispensable for many experiments that need to be performed at very precise temperatures.
• £94 could cover the cost for one woman to take part in a clinical trial aiming to improve survival for post-menopausal women with early-stage breast cancer.
• £124 could fund one cancer information nurse for a day. Our experienced cancer information nurses provide a confidential service for anyone with concerns about cancer.
• £260 could buy a sophisticated 'microarray'; a powerful piece of technology, helping scientists to scrutinise thousands of genes in a single experiment, and identify which are switched on in cancer.

Real stories

Mum-of-two Joanne, who runs her own nursery in Carlisle, was diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2004, just four days after her 35th birthday.

Read Joanne's full story and other real stories from inspirational women who have survived breast cancer.

Raise money

You can help beat breast cancer by organising a fundraising activity, making a donation or buying our breast cancer awareness merchandise.