About Leukaemia Research

The Leukaemia Research Fund aims to remove the fear from the diagnosis of a blood cancer by developing new and improved treatments, researching the causes, and moving towards a cure for all cancers of the blood.

Blood cancers can affect the entire family: Each year more than 600 children are diagnosed with a blood cancer, the most common cancer in children. Research over the past 40 years has transformed treatment for these children, once a virtual death sentence, now more than 75% are cured.

But more is needed to improve survival rates yet further and better tailor treatment to individual children, reducing the harmful effects of successful treatment, so that they will go on to live normal lives.

More than a third of all adolescent and young adult cancers are blood cancers. Thanks to research, survival rates for some diseases such as Hodgkin's disease have significantly improved, however people with acute and chronic myeloid leukaemia and Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma remain harder to treat. LRF is working towards more sophisticated diagnosis, so that treatments can be tailored to the individual - the key to success.

Over half of all cancers develop in older people, which means that at least 13,000 over 65s are diagnosed with blood cancers each year. These people tend to be more difficult to treat, as later in life, patients often have other health complications, which impact upon the range of treatments so far developed.

Our history

The Leukaemia Research Fund was founded more than 40 years ago by a family which lost their daughter to leukaemia.

It rapidly grew, with new voluntary branches throughout the UK, and still today there are more than 200 voluntary branches tirelessly fundraising on behalf of the LRF and enabling it to keep running costs to just 5p in the pound.

In addition to this vast army of volunteers, LRF has a head office team of fundraisers, dedicated to giving supporters assistance in all of their fundraising activities - including a Corporate Fundraiser, a Running Co-ordinator, a Community Fundraiser and a Trusts Fundraiser.

LRF's recently established events team co-ordinate LRF events such as the Bikeathons, the Blue Peter Bikeathon and Just Imagine, a gym based challenge, complimented by an in-house communications team that helps with press and PR.