Stand Up to Cancer Day - 12th September 2025

Stand Up to Cancer Day was introduced in 2008 by a group of women affected by cancer to raise awareness of the disease and to support those scientists and researchers working to improve peoples lives. Today around 170 countries support this awareness day.

In support of this, Cancer Research and Channel 4 join forces for an annual Stand Up to Cancer campaign, which involves a number of initiatives to help fund life saving research.

Having set a target to ensure 3 in 4 people in the UK survive cancer by 2034, so far they have raised 113 million and supported 73 new research studies and clinical trials involving over 13,000 patients to help introduce new technology and treatment to people. You can find out more details of their work here - Stand Up To Cancer

Some highlights of this years television in support of Stand Up to Cancer 2025:

The Great British Bake Off for Stand Up to Cancer which aired this Spring which saw 20 celebrities going head to head to be crowned "star baker".

And prior to this, in late December 2024 Celebrity Hunted for Stand Up to Cancer aired.

If you missed these, you can catch both series on Channel 4 | Stream & Watch Live TV

Some sobering statistics about cancer in the UK which really highlight the importance of the fundraising work carried out:

With over 100 different types, it's one of the leading causes of death and most of us will have been affected by it at one point in our lives either directly or someone we know.

According to Cancer Research UK, the number of people living with cancer has risen from 3 million in 2020 to 3.5 million in 2025 and an additional 500,000+ people will be diagnosed between now and 2040. Nearly 1,100 new diagnoses are made each day. More than half of these (53%) consist of breast, bowel, lung and prostate cancers.

But today isn’t just about raising awareness of the disease. It’s also a day to think about the consequences it has on our society. Albeit due to ever-evolving treatments, screening programmes, and further research the UK cancer death rates have dropped by 22% since the 1970s, this isn’t presently shared equally across society.

According to Cancer Research UK in February 2025, cancer death rates are 60% higher in the UK’s most deprived areas whom are disadvantaged when it comes to accessing timely diagnosis, effective treatment, and often falling short of sustained care. This equates to approximately 28,400 preventable deaths annually directly linked to socioeconomic disadvantage.

The delay with treatments remains concerning. By March 2025, 91.4% of patients stared treatment within 31 days of the plan being agreed. It’s clear that we still have a long way to go