Our history

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, we launched The Forgotten 'C' campaign, raising awareness of the urgent problems caused by Covid-19 for people living with cancer.

2019 We ran the Macmillan Support Line every single day of 2019 for the first time ever, to be there when people needed us most.

2018 We funded more Macmillan professional roles to meet the needs of more people living with cancer, increasing professional posts by 1,200 more than in 2017, an increase of 14%.

2017 The Horizon Centre opens in Brighton, our first entirely Macmillan-owned information and support centre.

2016 The Cove Macmillan Support Centre opens, meaning we have information and support centres in every county in the UK.

2015 We influence Government to ensure the 2015-2020 cancer strategy for England puts significant emphasis on improving patient experience across the whole cancer patient pathway, and the long-term side effects of treatment.

2014 We become The Marketing Society's brand of the year. 
Macmillan's Coffee Morning raises over £25 million for the first time.

2013 Through our Putting the Fair into Welfare campaign, we make sure the needs of people living with cancer are recognised by the Government.

2012 The groundbreaking UCH Macmillan Cancer Centre opens.

2008 We merge with cancer information charity Cancerbackup.

2009 Macmillan Support Line opens, offering vital practical and emotional support to people by phone. Over 250,000 people call in the first three months. We successfully campaign for free prescriptions for cancer patients.

2008 We merge with Cancerbackup so we can provide expert cancer information to everyone who needs it.

2006 We change our name to Macmillan Cancer Support to help people better understand what we do. The unique and iconic Macmillan font is created.

2005 The first Macmillan-trained benefits adviser helps people with the cost of cancer.

2001 Our first mobile Macmillan cancer information centre visits 51 sites across England, bringing information and support to more people than ever before.

1999 Macmillan successfully lobbies The Oxford English Dictionary to change its inaccurate definition of cancer.

1996 We change our name to Macmillan Cancer Relief.

1993 We open our first information and support centre – the Lynda Jackson Macmillan Centre at Mount Vernon Hospital, Middlesex.

1991 Backed by the Prince of Wales, the Macmillan Nurse Appeal raises £20 million.
The World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is born! 300,000 people take part, raising over £250,000.

1986 We fund the first Macmillan doctor.

1977 Nurses funded by the Society are named ‘Macmillan nurses’ for the first time.
We develop our funding model with the NHS – this new approach means we can have a much wider impact.

1975 In partnership with the League of Friends of the Royal Victoria Hospital and other local groups, we helped to build the first Macmillan cancer care unit, at Christchurch Hospital in Dorset.

1969 Douglas Macmillan dies of cancer.

1954 We continue to improve people’s experience of cancer by putting TVs in hospitals. They cost £90 each – about £1,500 today.

1948 National Health Service founded.

1932 Two paid home visitors use a Society bicycle to visit people in their homes, supplying clothes, bedclothes and changing dressings.

1930 Reginald Gollop, the first paid member of staff, a fundraising officer, is appointed.

1925 We’re one of the first to recognise the financial cost of cancer, giving grants for medical fees, nursing care, clothing, artificial limbs and hot water bottles.

1924 The name is changed to National Society for Cancer Relief, moving away from the focus on prevention that had been key in the early years.

1911 Douglas Macmillan sets up the Society for the Prevention and Relief of Cancer, determined to improve the experience of cancer after watching his father die. The new charity publishes ‘The Blue Book’; a groundbreaking study of cancer mortality in the UK.