“I would really hope to live a bit longer, live a normal life and treat the cancer as something that you cope with rather than something that you fight.”. Hear Rob’s story.

By the time Rob was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, it had spread to his bones. He hoped that he might survive for 5 years.

Thanks to abiraterone – a drug discovered and developed by the ICR – Rob’s been living well with cancer for seven and a half years. The treatment has given him a new lease of life and he’s now able to do things he didn’t do before, including joining a walking group and travelling the world.

Taking on the challenge of drug resistance 

Our scientists have led the discovery and development of many targeted treatments that are helping more cancer patients like Rob, live longer and with fewer side-effects. But we now know that some cancers adapt to their environments within our bodies to side-step those drugs designed to halt their progress. 

We are now poised to take on this challenge with the world’s first anti-evolution 'Darwinian' drug discovery programme, in which we will focus on understanding, anticipating and overcoming cancer evolution, and preventing drug resistance.

To deliver this pioneering drug discovery programme, we are constructing a major new research building – the Centre for Cancer Drug Discovery – to bring over 300 scientists together in one collaborative space.

Our Centre will pave the way for a new era of drug discovery so that patients do not have to give up on their dreams for the future. Our aim is to help them defeat their cancer and finish all the things they started.

How you can help

With your help we can discover treatments so smart and targeted that even advanced cancer can be managed long-term and effectively cured. Please donate today – and let’s finish cancer together. 

Donate now