Cancer survivors at a Cancer Research UK Relay for Life event

More people are surviving cancer than ever before.

Thanks to decades of research, survival from cancer has doubled in the last 40 years, giving thousands of people more time with their loved ones.

But this progress simply wouldn’t have been possible without animal research.

At Cancer Research UK, research using animals is an unavoidable part of our efforts to beat cancer. For a start, it’s a legal requirement in this country that all new drugs (not just cancer drugs) are tested in animals before they’re given to patients, to make sure that they’re safe to use.

This week the organisation Animal Aid has called for Cancer Research UK and other medical research charities to stop funding animal research. In a perfect world, animal research wouldn’t be necessary. But cancer kills over 400 people every day in the UK, and all our work is aimed at reducing this death toll.

Our research is entirely supported by public donations, and cancer patients are at the heart of everything we do.  Animal research is crucial to make sure more people survive this terrible disease. Continue reading →