“Whatever you asked for you got”: the impact of charitable funding of paediatric oncology in the UK – from 1960 to 2000

The considerable charitable funding of paediatric oncology propelled the medical specialty in the late 1970s and early 1980s, offering support across research, clinical services and psychosocial provision. In postwar Britain, emotive appeals to the public were met with generous donations, which allowed cancer charities to fund research despite a lack of central funding. Besides funding, however, charities have been able to respond in an agile way to the needs of children with cancer and their families, meeting this need where National Health Service funding could not. They also provided useful pump priming for important services that central funding subsequently took over. Reliance on charitable funding in paediatric oncology, however, could leave services and research organisations disrupted and unable to make long-term strategic plans. Charities were able to provide psychosocial care that has responded to the changing meaning of a cancer diagnosis in childhood. Although not essential or life-saving, this provision attempted to alleviate some of the practical, financial and, as far as possible, emotional difficulties experienced by children with cancer and their families. Despite the enormous positive change propelled by charitable giving in the specialty, this funding model can see some health inequalities exacerbated, both between regions and patient groups with other illnesses or disabilities.