About
The United Kingdom Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (UKASCC) is a national charity supporting the development of supportive oncology research, education and services across all four nations.
Our activity
- Supporting clinical research
- Education
- Developing best practice guidelines
- Enhanced Supportive Care
- Opioid therapy in cancer care
- Development of a fellowship in supportive care
- Mental health and emotional wellbeing in supportive care
- Communications and marketing, including fundraising
The United Kingdom Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (UKASCC) - Background
UKASCC was created in late 2021 with a specific mission: to implement and grow supportive oncology services across the United Kingdom, recognising the growing challenge of delivering outstanding supportive care services for people affected by cancer and their families.
The challenge
Advancements in cancer treatments over the last 20 years mean that many more people are now surviving cancer, in some instances curatively, but for others living for many years with clinically managed but incurable cancers.
Whatever the prognosis, it is critical to support individuals to enjoy as good a quality of life as possible, support their general health and wellbeing, spot recurrent disease quickly and effectively, and manage ongoing acute side effects and potential late consequences of treatment.
Data from Macmillan and the national Cancer Registry indicate that today nearly 3 million people are living with cancer in the UK. By 2030, that number will rise to 4 million and by 2040, it is predicted to be 5.2 million. The management of problems associated with cancer and its treatments is becoming ever more important.
Supportive Oncology (SO) is an emerging discipline that is refocusing and reframing clinical activity across the entire cancer pathway to ensure people affected by cancer are supported to live well during treatment and beyond.
It is the coordinated contributions of a collective group of medical and non-medical specialties that help to prevent and manage the adverse effects of cancer and its treatment. Supportive oncology spans the entire spectrum of the disease. It includes prehabilitation, management of treatable but incurable cancer, curative disease, cancer survivorship, pain management and other physical impacts of treatment and disease as well as palliative and end of life care.
UKASCC aims to represent professionals working in supportive oncology, aligning the professional voice behind evidence-based education and training, effective service redesign, ambitious clinical research, networking, career and workforce development, and influence internationally.
Our Work
As supportive oncology represents a new discipline in cancer care, UKASCC is a new organisation looking to the success of other multicentre and multidisciplinary charities for inspiration. In 2024, our principal focus was establishing our brand identity, organisational development, and delivering our best ever national conference.
Membership of UKASCC is free and growing. Our conference is attended annually by more than 200 in-person delegates and around 100 online delegates from across the United Kingdom, with some international attendees.
We have delivered webinars on complex specialist clinical topics, and members of UKASCC have recently completed The UKASCC Handbook of Supportive Care in Cancer, published by Routledge in May 2025.
You can find and purchase a copy of the book at amzn.eu/d/1qgFUft.