In the UK 375,000 people are told they have cancer every year. Half of those diagnosed will die of their disease.
While the human cost of the disease cannot be quantified, the economic burden of the disease is increasing year on year. We pay a heavy price for the opportunities we’re missing to prevent cancer, detect it early and tailor treatment to each individual patient.
Yet cancer rates are rising; by 2035 more than 500,000 people will receive a cancer diagnosis each year in the UK. We urgently need a radical solution to tackle the cancer crisis, and here in Cambridge we believe we have it.
"I believe we have this at our fingertips: the capacity to extend life and eradicate cancer. But it will take a unique place and that place is Cambridge. It will take a unique facility and that is the Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital."
Professor Richard Gilbertson, Head of Oncology, University of Cambridge /Director of Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre
Cambridge Cancer Research Hospital (CCRH) is uniquely poised to radically transform patient care, delivering hope and better health outcomes for millions of people across the globe.
The majority of patients we will treat will have a cancer diagnosis or potential cancer diagnosis, but the new specialist hospital will also provide inpatient and day case treatment to non-malignant haematology patients.
It will be situated on Cambridge Biomedical Campus – a hub of innovation and home to some of the most influential organisations in life science. We will bring together clinical expertise at Addenbrooke’s Hospital with world- class scientists across the University of Cambridge and the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Centre.
Together, they will work in the heart of our new clinic and hospital spaces, bringing research from the bench to the bedside.
This is how our vision will change patients' lives:
- Early diagnoses offer a greater quality of life
- Precision medicine means the right treatment at the right time
- Understanding the genetics of cancer helps families plan for the future
- Less time is spent in hospital and at appointments
- Much more time is spent with family and friends
- Patients receive care in their own home and local communities where possible
- Patients have a personalised care plan, just for them
- Real-time data is used to inform care for generations across the world