Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

and provides specialist

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...

, information and financial support to people affected by

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, and campaigns for better

cancer care Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

. Macmillan Cancer Support's goal is to reach and improve the lives of everyone who has cancer in the UK.

History

The charity was founded 1911 as the Society for the Prevention and Relief of Cancer, by

Douglas Macmillan Douglas Macmillan MBE (10 August 1884 – 9 January 1969) was a British civil servant, vegetarianism activist and founder of the Macmillan Cancer Support charity, now one of the largest charities in the UK. Early life and education He was bo ...

following the death of his father from the disease. In 1924, the name was changed to the National Society for Cancer Relief, which it retained until 1989 when it was changed to Cancer Relief Macmillan Fund, later changed again to Macmillan Cancer Relief. From 5 April 2006, Macmillan Cancer Relief became known as Macmillan Cancer Support, as this more accurately describes its role in supporting people who have cancer. It has adapted the principles of being a "source of support" and a "force for change". As the National Society for Cancer Relief, the organization provided funding to support the work of the Breast Care and Mastectomy Association of Great Britain, which would later become

Breast Cancer Care Breast Cancer Care is the only specialist UK-wide charity in the UK providing care, support and information to anyone affected by breast cancer. The charity's headquarters are in London, with additional offices in Sheffield, Cardiff, and Glasgow. ...

. MacMillan Cancer Support is one of the 50 largest UK charitable organizations ranked by annual expenditure. It is governed by a

Board of Trustees A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

and Executive Management Team. The

charity Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

head office Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top ...

is based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Macmillan Cancer Support merged with cancer information charity

Cancerbackup Macmillan Cancer Support is one of the largest British charities and provides specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer. It also looks at the social, emotional and practical impact cancer can have, ...

in 2008. Macmillan works in partnership with other cancer research organisations and is a partner of the

National Cancer Research Institute The National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) is a UK-wide partnership between cancer research funders, which promotes collaboration in cancer research. Its member organizations work together to maximize the value and benefit of cancer research fo ...

Cancer Support

Macmillan Cancer Support supports local information and support centres, cancer support groups, benefits advisers and cancer support specialists, and can help with practical, medical, financial and emotional support. Macmillan provides information about cancer through its Information Standard website, free printed and recorded materials, telephone support line and over 170 local cancer information and support services nationwide.

Events

Macmillan host a series of annual fundraising events, which include running, golf and cycling events. The most notable event is

World's Biggest Coffee Morning World's Biggest Coffee Morning is Macmillan Cancer Support's biggest fundraising event. Each year, people in the UK and worldwide host their own Coffee Morning. The donations received go towards Macmillan services. In 2016 alone, World's Biggest Co ...

, which has made £75,000,000 since it began in 1990. Macmillan also hosts other large fundraisers, including Brave the Shave which raises over £4,000,000 each year, as well as Go Sober for October which has raised over £3 million.

Previous controversy over fundraising methods

Macmillan faced criticism when it placed adverts in

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

and on

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

associating the

Ice Bucket Challenge The Ice Bucket Challenge, sometimes called the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, is an activity involving the pouring of a bucket of ice water over a person's head, either by another person or self-administered, to promote awareness of the disease amyo ...

, a

viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...

fundraising activity, with itself. It had been suggested that the aim of the Macmillan marketing campaign was to divert web traffic and subsequently awareness and donations away from smaller charities with whom the challenge had been mostly associated, namely those relating to

motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

and ALS. Amanda Neylon, the head of digital at Macmillan, said the charity got behind the Ice Bucket Challenge, which asks participants to pour a bucket of iced water on their heads, because it was criticised for being too slow on the uptake for the #nomakeupselfie social media campaign. On missing out on the #nomakeupselfie campaign, Neylon said: "We were too slow – it was a big motivator to be much better the next time an opportunity came along." In 2016, Macmillan scrapped the head of digital role responsible for the controversial fund raising method mentioned above.

References

External links

Macmillan Cancer Support website

Macmillan nurse fact sheet
*Abou
Sober for OctoberLearn Zone
– resources and

e-learning Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and Education sciences, educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edt ...

programmes for professionals and people affected by cancer. {{Authority control Health charities in the United Kingdom Cancer organisations based in the United Kingdom 1911 establishments in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 1911 Palliative care in the United Kingdom