As a cancer respite charity, we exist to ease the burden of living with a cancer diagnosis or a recent bereavement. Importantly, we recognise that a cancer diagnosis affects the whole family unit and not just the cancer patient. Consequently, our respite programmes focus on not just the cancer patient but their immediate family as well.

We help British families living with cancer in three main ways:

• Our primary objective is to provide a wide range of respite opportunities for British families living with cancer. From family days out to short-breaks in both the UK and abroad, we give families living with cancer something to look forward to at the end of arduous treatment schedules. Our respite programmes also give families the chance to spend quality time together whilst providing valuable memories. Such trips also help the recently bereaved come to terms with their loss and give them something to look forward to in the months after a loved one has died.

• Our secondary objective is to make grants to UK based palliative care institutions. We recognise that good palliative care can make all the difference to both the cancer patient and their wider family. With a focus on 'end of life' care and home support, we make grants to hospices and other care institutions to help people in the latter stages of their illness.

• As a respite charity with a sporting focus, we also fund research into the effects of exercise in both preventing the onset of cancer and how it can help people with their recovery after diagnosis. Similarly, we aim to quantify the effects of our respite days and holidays and how these have helped our beneficiaries to lower their stress levels. Since stress is a huge aggravator of a wide range of medical conditions, including cancer, this research is an important part of our work.