Sir Bobby Robson launched his Foundation in 2008 to find more effective ways to detect and treat cancer.
Work funded by the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation directly benefits cancer patients in the North East and Cumbria and plays a significant role in international efforts against the disease – funding cutting-edge cancer treatment and innovative cancer support services including clinical trials of new drugs at the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre.
The Centre is led by Professor Ruth Plummer MBE and some of the UK’s top cancer specialists, in collaboration with Newcastle University. As a result of these trials, life-extending treatments have already been rolled out globally, with more in the pipeline. Cancer trials change treatment and save lives, providing hope for patients who have exhausted existing options.
Sir Bobby described his charity as his “last and greatest team.” He had no idea how large his team would grow, or how much it would go on to achieve.
The Foundation is part of Newcastle Hospitals Charity, which is the official charity of Newcastle Hospitals and supports initiatives that help to improve the health and wellbeing of the patients, staff and communities of the Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust through compassionate and innovative healthcare, education and research.
The Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre
Constructed by The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with the Northern Institute for Cancer Research and Newcastle University, the Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Trials Research Centre is at the forefront of research into cancer.
It brings together all the clinical research staff who are working to improve cancer treatments into one purpose-built unit with a clinical treatment area, laboratory space for blood sample handling and offices for data collection and drug safety reporting.
The Centre offers patients access to early trials and potential new treatments and works closely with the Imaging Research Centre to improve diagnosis and study the effects of new drugs.
Often these are ‘first in human’ trials and the Centre’s dedicated staff also coordinate trials of drugs at later stages of development, working with the National Cancer Networks to ensure patients get offered the best options for treatment.
Every patient who goes on an experimental trial in the Sir Bobby Centre has terminal cancer and knows that standard treatment will not prove effective for them.
In some cases, patients are aware from the outset that the treatment they receive in the Centre will not benefit them at all – but that the information gained from their participation will help someone else facing cancer in the future. They are, as Sir Bobby put it, “utterly selfless and brave.”
The Sir Bobby Robson Institute
Newcastle Hospitals Charity are launching our largest ever fundraising project, to raise funds to build a £30m centre at the Freeman Hospital dedicated to cancer research in Sir Bobby’s name. The Sir Bobby Robson Institute will be a three-storey centre of excellence for early and late-phase cancer trials for the people of north east England and Cumbria. Building will start in Spring 2026 with new facility opening in 2028.
The Institute will increase cancer trial capacity by 50% over five years, integrating world-class clinical research with frontline care, and widening access to more people as well as including more underserved and diverse groups, covering Northumberland to North Yorkshire, a region of 3.5m people.
Fully integrated with the Northern Centre for Cancer Care – the UK’s third-largest of its kind, the Institute will unite the current Sir Bobby Robson Cancer Research Unit team (early-phase) with the hospital’s cancer and blood disorders (oncology and haematology) research team (late-phase), under one roof. These teams are currently turning down 40% of patients due to a lack of capacity, something the Institute aims to address.
£20m has already been raised through generous donations from supporters of the Foundation and Newcastle Hospitals Charity has pledged to raise the final £10m. This is a final team effort to honour Sir Bobby Robson’s life, legacy, and vision for better cancer care and treatment.
If you would like to be part of Sir Bobby’s “greatest ever team” and help the fundraising effort, you can either donate now or get in touch if you like to discuss how you can support this project.
