Frequently Asked Questions about Macmillan

Since we were founded in 1911, Macmillan has spent more than 100 years helping people living with cancer. From handing people with cancer bags of coals for their fires to funding and supporting Macmillan nurses and other healthcare professionals, we have continued to evolve and adapt to meet the changing needs of people with cancer across the UK.

Today, we’re there from the moment someone is diagnosed with cancer with all the information, support and guidance they need. We’re doing whatever it takes to help everyone with cancer get the best care the UK has to offer, whoever and wherever they are.

This includes:

• Delivering around-the-clock cancer information and support through our Macmillan Support Line, our website, our Online Community and Macmillan Centres across the UK.
• Working alongside a growing community of Macmillan nurses, healthcare professionals and volunteer buddies to provide more people with cancer with the emotional support and information they need, wherever they need it.
• Standing side by side with people with cancer to ensure they get the right support for everyone, everywhere.

Read more about what we do, including our mission, how we support people, and the impact we've made.

In 1911, a man named Douglas Macmillan watched his father die of cancer. His father's pain and suffering moved Douglas so much, he founded the Society for the Prevention and Relief of Cancer.

Today much of Douglas's legacy lives on. Read more about our history and the impact we have made since we were founded.

Macmillan Cancer Support is a charity based in the UK. As a charity, we are regulated by the Charity Commission for England and Wales, Scottish Charity Regulator, and Charity Commission in Northern Ireland.

This means that we are held to account by these regulators to ensure that we are operating under the law and meet the specific legal definition of a charity.

We are also governed by our Board of Trustees. They are ultimately responsible for the overall control and strategic direction of Macmillan and protection of its assets. Day-to-day responsibility for running the charity is delegated to Gemma Peters, Macmillan's Chief Executive, and the Executive Team.

The trustees are also directors under company law and are our company members. They are appointed by the Board for a term of three years and normally serve a maximum of three terms.

No, Macmillan Cancer Support is a UK charitable organisation. We provide cancer information and support services in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. We're doing whatever it takes to help everyone with cancer get the best care the UK has to offer, whoever and wherever they are.

We provide around-the-clock cancer information and support for millions of people with cancer and their loved ones through our Macmillan Support Line, our website, our Online Community and Macmillan Centres across the UK.

If you live outside the UK, you can still access our cancer information online through our website. You can also visit our Living with cancer outside the UK forum on the Online Community to connect with others.

No, Macmillan Cancer Support does not have charity shops. 

In Midhurst, there is a special charity shop where proceeds fund the Midhurst Macmillan service.

We do have an online shop where you can purchase items such as gifts, cancer care products, and fundraising products like wedding favours and Macmillan branded clothing and accessories.

We also offer different recycling and reselling opportunities so you can turn your unwanted possessions into donations.

We work with the NHS and other healthcare services across the UK to support people impacted by cancer. 

We fund healthcare professionals

Macmillan Professionals are the beating heart of our charity, helping people living with cancer live life as fully as they can. 

In 2024 the number of Macmillan Professionals continued to grow, with a total of 10,881 posts spanning a wide range of roles across the UK’s cancer workforce. We invested £596,000 in over 700 grants to Macmillan Professionals to fund education, wellbeing and development opportunities.

We provide healthcare services

We work with the NHS and other partners to deliver services where they are needed most.

In 2024, we supported health and social care professionals to deliver one or more electronic holistic needs assessments to more than 65,000 people with cancer.

We provide information and support

Our Macmillan cancer support centres offer a range of clinical, emotional and practical support.

In 2024, more than 105,000 people with cancer visited a Macmillan cancer support centres at hospitals or in their community.

In June 2025, a community-based Macmillan Information & Support Service in Newark opened, which is run in partnership with Sherwood Forest Hospital’s NHS Foundation Trust. The new service is the result of years of hard work and around £600,000 of Macmillan funding. Read more about the centre in this blog from our Chief Executive, Gemma Peters.