Thanks to research, more people than ever are surviving their cancer. In the 1970s, just 1 in 4 people in the UK survived cancer for 10 years or more. Today, that figure has doubled. But, we have so much more to do. We need to go further, and faster.

In Wales, around 19,600 people are diagnosed with cancer every year* and sadly, around 9,100 of them do not survive their diagnosis**. We urgently need to advance research to improve survival for people with cancer. Together, we can support ground-breaking science that will help to save and improve lives for generations to come.

Our pioneering work across the UK, including in Wales, benefits from the generosity of supporters leaving a gift to Cancer Research UK in their Will. In fact, legacy gifts fund a third of our research. 

Cancer Research UK funds a world-leading network of centres and institutes, driving our understanding of cancer biology and developing new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat the disease. It’s thanks to our incredible supporters that we consistently provide world-class leadership in cancer research.

In Cardiff our researchers at the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) and the Centre for Trials Research Cancer Unit are determined to make a difference for people with cancer in Wales and beyond.

Cardiff ECMC, jointly supported by us and the National Institute for Health Research, brings together lab scientists and cancer doctors from local NHS trusts and universities with the united goal of speeding up the flow of ideas and new treatments from the lab to the clinic. By bringing together experts, these research hubs are accelerating the translation of cutting-edge discoveries from the lab into direct benefits for people with cancer.

The Centre for Trials Research Cancer Unit delivers innovative and practice-changing clinical research. This impacts the care and outcomes of patients not only in Wales but in the UK and worldwide.

Our research is revolutionising what we know about cancer and how we can beat it. Every year, more than 125,000 people with cancer in the UK are treated with drugs linked to our scientists’ research – that’s 3 in 4 people who receive cancer drugs on the NHS. That’s just one of the ways that our supporters and scientists are helping make a difference for people with cancer.

Penarth Times: Mandy, Research Nurse, WalesMandy, Research Nurse, Wales (Image: Cancer Research UK)

In Wales, Dr Alan Parker is looking at ways to treat the disease more effectively by helping focus the destructive power of the immune system on cancer cells.

Dr Parker and his team modify viruses that typically cause colds so that they specifically infect cancer cells. The viruses then make cancer cells display ‘flags’ on their surface that help the immune system recognise and kill them. Essentially, the cancer cells inadvertently cause their own destruction while healthy cells are left unharmed.

This research could lead to kinder and more effective treatments for people with many different cancer types, allowing more people to survive their disease.

Professor Alan Parker has had quite a significant experience of being touched by cancer. After losing his mother to cancer when he was 17, Alan wanted to use his keen interest in science to do something positive in his life and improves outcomes for people with cancer.

When asked about what Legacy gifts mean to him, he said:

"I am so grateful for all those people who raise funds and leave gifts in Wills, that allow us to continue to push the boundaries forward and move us closer to delivering exciting new therapies for cancer."

By leaving a gift to Cancer Research UK in your Will, you’ll be supporting projects like Dr Parker’s that are improving treatments for people with cancer. With your help, we can create a brighter future for people affected by cancer across the globe.

Join us to help fund pioneering researchers like Dr Parker and make cancer a thing of the past.

Together we will beat cancer.

To get your free Gifts in Wills Guide, visit cruk.org/pledgewales

*Based on the average annual number of new cases of cancer excl. NSMC (ICD10 C00-C97 excl. C44) diagnosed in Wales between 2016 and 2018.

**Based on the average annual number of deaths from cancer (ICD10 C00-C97) in Wales between 2017 and 2019