Healthcare Spotlight: Cancer Travel Fund Support for Children and Young People in the UK

In February 2026, the UK government announced a £10 million travel cost support package for children and young people undergoing cancer treatment. This marks a major milestone for families across the UK who often face significant financial strain simply getting to hospital appointments and accessing care.

For many parents and carers, the cost of travel is unavoidable—and until now, largely unsupported. This new cancer travel fund is a huge step forward in helping families focus on what matters most: their child’s health.

Why Travel Costs Have Been a Long-Standing Issue
We spoke with Young Lives vs Cancer Head of Policy and Influencing, Lauren Marks, who explained just how deeply rooted this issue is: “Young Lives vs Cancer has actually been working around the issue of travel costs for a really long time - it’s in our DNA. Our founder nearly 60 years ago first identified that children and young people were struggling with the cost of travelling to their treatment, and so that's why our organisation was first founded.”

This highlights that while the new funding is welcome, the challenge of travel costs has been affecting families for decades.

Who Are Young Lives vs Cancer?

Young Lives vs Cancer is the leading UK charity for children and young people with cancer (0-25) and their families.

• Young Lives vs Cancer Specialist Social Workers provide psychosocial support to children and young people with cancer and their families.
• The charity helps families to get essential financial support to help face the average £700 of extra costs per month during treatment.
• The charity’s accommodation centres (Homes from Home), offer families a free place to stay nearby to the hospital to ease the financial burden of travel and to keep families together.
• Through extensive research and by campaigning for policy change, the charity raises awareness of children and young people’s experiences and champion their voices to politicians and decision makers across the UK.

The True Cost of Cancer for Families in the UK

Travel is just one part of the financial burden for families dealing with Cancer. Lauren shared detailed insights from their research: “On average every month, children, young people and their families spend around £250 on travelling to their treatment and care. That’s everything from petrol costs and congestion charges, taxi fares and transport tickets, and everything in between.”

But the costs don’t stop there. Young Lives vs Cancer’s Cancer Costs research found “young cancer patients and their families [are] spending around £700 pounds a month in additional costs [including accommodation, food, energy bills etc], just because of the impact of cancer. And at the same time, household income drops by an average of £6,000 a year.”

These combined pressures can quickly become overwhelming for families already dealing with the emotional impact of a diagnosis.

When Costs Affect Access to Treatment

With only 19 principal treatment centres across the UK, many families are forced to travel long distances for care. Lauren explained that families are “travelling an average of around 350 miles each month just to access their care. These costs are just unavoidable because you have no choice but to get to where the treatment is delivered.”

The impact of these costs can be serious with “over 70% tell us that they're struggling with the costs of traveling to treatment, and it's also leaving one in 10 missing or delaying their treatment or appointments just because of the costs to get there.”

She added: “It is really important that children and young people with cancer get the right treatment they need as soon as possible so they have the best chances of getting the best outcomes.”

The Campaign That Led to Change

The £10 million fund follows years of campaigning by Young Lives vs Cancer, including their 2023 campaign, ‘Running on Empty’.

Lauren explained how the campaign helped shape the solution:

“We put together a model of how a travel fund could work and how much it could cost. We modelled the cost at £10million and so we're incredibly pleased that the UK government have committed” to this amount.

The campaign:

• Amplified real family experiences
• Gathered over 12,000 petition signatures
• Engaged MPs and decision-makers
• Presented evidence to the Department of Health and Social Care

What the New Cancer Travel Fund Means for Families

The government has committed to providing £10 million annually through the National Cancer Plan.

Key details include:

• Available to all children and young people with cancer and their families
• Not means tested
• Covers travel to and from treatment
• Launching in 2027 in England

However, questions remain about access across the wider UK. Lauren added that “hopefully, the UK government will be willing to allow [the fund to be for] all nations in the UK to access the fund, but if not, we will continue to call on all governments across the UK to make sure that the same support is available, because we want to make sure that it's equitable for everybody across the UK.”

What This Means for Families Fundraising for Treatment

This new fund could be life-changing—but it also shifts how families may be able to think about fundraising. If travel costs are supported, families can focus their fundraising on other essential needs, including specialist therapies and rehabilitation, and equipment and ongoing care costs.

How Tree of Hope Supports Families

Tree of Hope helps families raise funds for medical treatment, therapies, equipment, and other healthcare needs not funded by the NHS.

We provide:

• Fundraising guidance and campaign development
• Financial management and charity registration
• Access to Gift Aid and corporate support
• Emotional support from a dedicated Family Support team

This support ensures families can fundraise safely, effectively, and with confidence during an incredibly challenging time.

Where to Get Help Right Now
Support is also available for families who need help with cancer-related costs through Young Lives Vs Cancer, whose “social workers will continue to do everything that they can now, before the fund is introduced, to help them get the support that they need.”

Find out more about Young Lives Vs Cancer here: https://www.younglivesvscancer.org.uk/

References:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-cover-travel-costs-of-children-with-cancer