About Cancer Research Trust NZ
More people are developing cancer – mainly because the population is increasing and living longer. In New Zealand 75% of all cancer deaths are in the 75+ age group and 96% of people who die from cancer are 45+. In the one to 24 age group 0.08% of deaths are the result of cancer.
Many cancers can be cured if found and treated in time. It is estimated that in New Zealand, about one person in every three who gets cancer is cured.
Even if the cancer cannot be cured, more effective treatment means many people are now living longer with cancer.
It is estimated there are 28 million cancer survivors worldwide. While new or improved treatments have made a sizeable contribution, efforts in prevention through screening and education are also paying big dividends.
For example, promotion of cervical screening in Maori women has resulted in a 65% reduction in cervical cancer mortality in the last 10 years. Childhood cancer survival rates have improved from 65% in the early 1980s to 81%. And it is now fact that early detection of melanoma and other skin cancers has saved thousands of lives in New Zealand.
However, while there are many good news stories, there are some cancer types where the prognosis has changed little. Further improvements will only occur through research and that is why Cancer Research Trust NZ and other cancer research funding organizations are needed.
Cancer Research Trust NZ is the second largest non-government cancer research funding charity in New Zealand.
What makes Cancer Research Trust NZ different from other cancer charities in New Zealand?
- Every cent of every dollar is applied to the work of the Trust, overheads are met from investment income.
- Cancer Research Trust funds research and professional development across the cancer control spectrum: from prevention, through detection, diagnosis and treatment to end of life care (palliative or hospice care). No other NZ cancer charity can claim this.
- Cancer Research Trust NZ funds research into all types of cancer.
- Cancer Research Trust NZ funds clinical and research professionals across the spectrum: nurses, social workers, counsellors, medical physicists, clinical oncologists and radiologists, surgeons, biomedical and clinical researchers, postgraduate students and postdoctoral fellows. No other NZ cancer charity can claim this.
- Approximately 60% of the Cancer Research Trust NZ budget is applied to hypothesis-based clinical and biomedical research. The remainder is spent on education (PhD scholarships and training fellowships) and professional development.
- Giving away money is easy, but giving it away to the best people and best projects requires a rigorous and transparent assessment process. The Cancer Research Trust NZ grant rounds are always three or four times oversubscribed and the Trust is fortunate to have an assessment committee comprising nine of New Zealand’s leading cancer clinicians and scientists to evaluate applications for funding. Members of the Cancer Research Trust NZ Assessment Committee are paid a small stipend, but the work involved in assessing over 100 applications each year greatly exceeds the value of the stipend. We are fortunate to have the services of these experts and the evaluation process is highly regarded in the cancer control and research community. The work of the committee means that we only fund the best people and projects.
- Cancer Research Trust NZ has been one of the most cost efficient publicly-funded charities in New Zealand. Every cent of every dollar donated is applied to the work of the trust.
