It’s thanks to our generous supporters that this year, we’ve continued to fund life-saving research and support world-leading treatment and care at The Royal Marsden, helping to save the lives of people with cancer everywhere. Here, we look back at our top 10 moments from 2025.
Our top 10 moments
1. Announcing Royal Patrons for The Royal Marsden
3. Leading the way with world-first adaptive radiotherapy
4. “I got my life back” – Richard’s myeloma story
5. Lucy’s plant sale in memory of her Grandad
6. Understanding sarcomas through ‘smart’ imaging technology
7. “My body will be the body that does the research” - Hasna’s story
8. 90 jumble sales later: decluttering for a cause
9. Whole-body MRIs: a smarter way to check for myeloma
10. A fundraising motorbike tour: Paul’s tribute to his late wife, Alison
1. Announcing Royal Patrons for The Royal Marsden
In January, The Royal Marsden entered an exciting new chapter, announcing that Their Royal Highnesses The Prince and Princess of Wales would become Joint Patrons of the hospital. The patronage symbolises their shared commitment to supporting the world-leading work of The Royal Marsden and the difference it makes for cancer patients and their families at our hospitals, and around the world.
The patronage was announced following a visit by Her Royal Highness to our Chelsea hospital on 14 January 2025, where she spoke to patients and staff about her own cancer journey and her treatment at The Royal Marsden. During the visit Her Royal Highness met patients currently undergoing treatment in the Diane McCarthy Medical Day Unit - a bright, spacious environment delivering chemotherapy and immunotherapy, which was funded by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity.
Later in the year, a newly bred flower, 'Catherine’s Rose', was created by The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) in support of The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The rose symbolises the healing power of nature and importance of spending time outdoors, with the proceeds helping to fund training programmes that enhance holistic care for cancer patients nationwide. This December, The Princess also made a private visit to the Ever After Garden, where people can dedicate a rose in memory of a loved one.
Learn more about The Princess' visit to the Ever After Garden and our Royal Patronage.
2. “A Little Time”: Gareth Malone OBE and Ralph Lauren partner on a song inspired by The Royal Marsden
Ralph Lauren and renowned British musician, Gareth Malone OBE, have joined forces to create “A Little Time”. The song, first performed in Sloane Square by the Capital Children’s Choir and London Youth Choir in November, was inspired by conversations with patients and staff at The Royal Marsden.
“A Little Time” signifies the resilience and shared hope of people affected by cancer - and with proceeds of the song going to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, it will help develop life-saving treatment for patients, everywhere.
3. Leading the way with world-first adaptive radiotherapy
The Royal Marsden became the first hospital in the world to use the RaySearch Accuray Radixact radiotherapy machine with new online ‘adaptive’ radiotherapy (oART) software. What’s striking about this new approach? Traditional radiotherapy follows the same plan each day, but oART can adapt the treatment in real time. If a patient’s anatomy changes – weight loss or gain, or bladder changes – the system will instantly update the plan. So, clinicians can target tumours more precisely and reduce the dose of radiotherapy, helping to lower side effects and improve patient care.
In October 2024, 57-year-old Denice from Dorking was one of the first patients at The Royal Marsden to be treated on the new Radixact linac. Denice said: “Having the latest technology makes a real difference to us patients”. Read more of Denice’s story here.
This exciting step forward was made possible thanks to funding from The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity which allowed The Royal Marsden to acquire the RayStation system from RaySearch in 2024. With support from the Lady Garden Foundation, research into using oART in treatment plans for people with gynaecological cancers will help to pave the way for implementing this technology more widely across the UK.
4. “I got my life back” – Richard’s myeloma story
A wonderful story highlighting the success of CAR-T therapy at The Royal Marsden is Richard’s. In 2023, 77-year-old Richard was diagnosed with myeloma, a type of blood cancer. After 18 weeks of chemotherapy, he was enrolled onto a CAR-T therapy trial at The Royal Marsden in 2024. CAR-T is a cellular therapy used for cancer that has relapsed or not responded to standard first or second line therapies.
“Thanks to the treatment, I got my life back. We’re just getting back to normal, retired life now. I’ve just been given the green light from my clinical team to start singing in my choir again.”
Richard’s bloods went back to normal six months after his treatment, and he goes to the Oak Cancer Centre every four weeks for an immunotherapy booster infusion. Read more about Richard’s story.
5. Lucy’s plant sale in memory of her Grandad
9-year-old Lucy Smith started a fundraising initiative in memory of her Grandad, Derek Easton, who received exceptional care from The Royal Marsden. The fundraiser began with a simple idea - selling plants to raise money for the Charity. After a few weeks, Lucy had a stock of plants as well as a Facebook page to publicise her initiative. After over a year of selling plants to her community, Lucy has raised over £9,000 for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The proceeds of Lucy’s fundraising will help to fund life-saving research to revolutionise the way cancer is diagnosed and treated for patients across the UK and around the world.
“The Royal Marsden were so kind to my Grandad Easton and gave him the gift of time with us for nearly 6 years. When Grandad died, I wanted to raise money for the Charity in his memory, to help other families like ours.
“I really enjoy my stall, and it’s so lovely to meet people who come and buy from me. We also found it was a nice way to cope after Grandad died and was nice to do something positive.”
Look out for the full story of Lucy’s fundraiser in 2026. You can also head to her JustGiving page to find out more.
6. Understanding sarcomas through ‘smart’ imaging technology
Researchers have achieved a UK first in a study carried out at The Royal Marsden – to image and sample multiple areas of a tumour whilst it is still in the body.
Using robotic guidance to take biopsies from more than one area could be practice-changing. This research into ‘smart’ biopsies could help to classify tumours more accurately, personalising treatments and leading to better patient outcomes in the future.
Discover more about the benefits of 'smart' biopsies.
7. “My body will be the body that does the research” - Hasna’s story
Hasna, mother of three, was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer in 2016, and told she may have only 18 months to live. However, since being referred to The Royal Marsden and receiving targeted treatment on the PAveMenT trial, the volume of her cancer has reduced by 50% and her disease is stable. (The PAveMenT trial aims to determine the safest doses and schedule for the combination of two drugs, palbociclib and avelumab, given to breast cancer patients).
Thanks to world-leading cancer research supported by The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Hasna has been given more time with her children and grandchildren. It has also offered her hope - that advancements in research can give her and other cancer patients better treatment and care.
8. 90 jumble sales later: decluttering for a cause
One long-running fundraising event that continues to raise funds for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity - and bring the community together - is a jumble sale led by a group called ‘The Organisers’.
The idea for a jumble sale came in 1979 from Adrian Daniels. He started the jumble sale in memory of two lives lost to cancer: his father and also his childhood friend, Richard. Adrian, Richard's mother, and a small group of loved ones wanted to repay The Royal Marsden for the ‘marvellous treatment’ they had received and, as jumble sales were very popular in the 1970s, they went ahead with one.
Today, the event continues with a dedicated team of volunteers, joined by younger helpers who are keeping the event alive. Adrian said: “We have noticed our attendance numbers have been steadily increasing in recent years, probably because the cost of living crisis means people are looking for good, cheap items.”
This year, ‘The Organisers’ held their 90th jumble sale! Thanks to their dedication, the jumble sale's fundraising will continue to support the life-saving work of The Royal Marsden.
9. Whole-body MRIs: a smarter way to check for myeloma
A new study at The Royal Marsden suggests that whole-body MRI (WB-MRI) scans could be a more effective way than standard blood tests at predicting relapse in people with multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow). Earlier detection of multiple myeloma relapse means that doctors can begin targeted treatment sooner, which can extend patients’ lives.
This breakthrough in multiple myeloma treatment is highlighted by the experience of retired Air-Marshal, Fin. Fin’s cancer was detected much earlier using WB-MRI scans than with a traditional scan, allowing doctors to monitor the cancer closely and start treatment sooner. He said: “Being part of the whole-body MRI scan study at The Royal Marsden allowed my cancer to be closely watched and resulted in me being treated sooner than I would have been under normal protocols.”
10. A fundraising motorbike tour: Paul’s tribute to his late wife, Alison
In memory of his wife, Paul took on the remarkable challenge of motorbiking around three islands: the Isle of Wight, the Isle of Man and Ireland. In 2022, Alison, an Arts Psychotherapist at The Royal Marsden, sadly died from cancer after 31 years of marriage and raising two children. He wanted his motorbiking journey to “raise as much as possible and promote what The Royal Marsden do.”
Paul said: “Alison loved her job immensely...because she was involved in the environment specialising in cancer treatment, I know it helped her come to terms with the cancer that she was dealing with.
“The team at The Royal Marsden couldn’t have done any more for her. They looked after me and my children as well.”
Thank you. Your support is hugely appreciated
Your support will help save the lives of patients at The Royal Marsden and people with cancer, everywhere. Our work is only possible thanks to supporters like you, and every donation takes us a step closer to another life-saving breakthrough.
Here’s to 2026 – discover all the ways you can support us next year. Have a happy New Year!
Cover image courtesy of Ralph Lauren.