Support cancer research and make a difference

Despite worldwide and intensive research efforts, mankind has not yet conquered cancer. Although thanks to numerous discoveries and advances, for many persons cancer no longer ends in death and can be seen instead as a chronic illness, cancer is still the disease that takes the greatest toll on productive years of life in Switzerland. Continued efforts in oncology are therefore needed.

Research is and remains the brightest beacon of hope in the fight against cancer. And even though the Swiss Cancer Research foundation supports a great variety of different research projects, the goal of all funded projects can be brought down to a common denominator: the aim to improve survival rates and quality of life for patients with cancer.

Funding research sets off a chain reaction: Research findings cross-fertilize and draw from each other. Newly gained insights mostly build on previously acquired knowledge. The metaphor of “dwarfs standing on the shoulders of giants” and discovering new horizons goes as far back as the Middle Ages, but it is all the more true today. Even if the advances achieved within single research studies are mostly only small, the successes become very visible when we see how far those many small steps have brought us over a longer period of time.

One of the most impressive examples is leukaemia in children: Only 50 years ago, this cancer meant certain death; medicine was simply powerless against the disease. Today, approximately four out of five children with leukaemia can be saved. But for research, the story is not yet over. Are there ways to help the young patients for whom today’s treatment methods fail? Several new research studies, which address the causes of drug resistance and disease relapse are seeking answers to this question.

Please donate today to help us support more innovative cancer research projects aiming at improving the survival of cancer patients.