Sue Young Cancer Support

What Sue Young Cancer Support does

Sue Young Cancer Support is a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity no.1124057, Company no.06362972) founded in Autumn 1981 in Nottingham by a small group of individuals affected by cancer, including founder Sue Young following her mother's death from ovarian cancer in 1979. The organisation subsequently expanded to Leicester after a radio phone-in generated significant community demand, and today operates from Helen Webb House on Westleigh Road, Leicester, serving the Leicestershire and Rutland catchment area. Its core service portfolio comprises counselling, complementary therapies (reflexology, facial massage, reiki, energy healing, Indian head massage, full body massage), gentle movement classes (incorporating ballroom, Latin, and salsa dance elements), yoga, and 45-minute sound meditation sessions using gongs, singing bowls, drums, and wind chimes. All services are delivered free of charge to cancer patients, their family members, and carers under an open-door policy with no referral required.

The organisation operates on a donation- and grant-funded business model with no charges to beneficiaries. Revenue is derived from individual donations (accepted via PayPal), charitable trust and foundation grants (Edgars Gift, Mary Robertson Trust, The J Reginald Corah Foundation, Next Charities, The Pink Ribbon Foundation, Himat Tanna Charitable Trust, Edith Murphy Foundation), and institutional funding from Macmillan, Leicester City Council, and Postcode Lottery. The charity is staffed by 10 employees plus a network of trained and vetted volunteer therapists and befrienders. Operations are deeply embedded in the local healthcare ecosystem through formal affiliation with NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland, and through partnerships with disease-specific support groups including Keeping Abreast, Bosom Friends Leicester, and Myeloma UK, which generate referral pathways and peer support capacity.

The charity is governed by its charitable mission and is led by Charity Manager Courtney Nangle. Services are delivered in-person at the Leicester headquarters Monday to Friday with extended hours on Tuesdays until 8pm. The delivery model is community-led rather than technology-mediated; there is no proprietary technology platform, no digital product, and no API. Marketing and beneficiary acquisition occur primarily through the website, Facebook pages maintained by affiliated groups, healthcare provider referrals, and word-of-mouth within the local community. The organisation is independently operated with no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no disclosed M&A activity.

Name

Sue Young Cancer Support

Legal name

Sue Young Cancer Support

Website

https://sueyoungcancersupport.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sue Young Cancer Support is a registered Leicester-based charity providing free counselling, complementary therapies, and movement classes to cancer patients, families, and carers across Leicestershire and Rutland. Founded in 1981, it operates from Helen Webb House with 10 staff and a volunteer therapist network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leicester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The charity accepts donations through PayPal and other channels. Donations are welcomed from the public to support ongoing operations and service delivery to cancer patients and their families.
2. Charitable Grants: Funding received from trust funds and foundations including Edgars gift, Mary Robertson Trust, The J Reginald Corah Foundation, Next Charities, The Pink Ribbon Foundation, Himat Tanna Charitable Trust, Edith Murphy Foundation, Macmillan, Leicester City Council, and Postcode Lottery.
3. Complementary Therapy Services: Services include reflexology, facial massage, reiki, energy healing, Indian head massage, and full body massage provided by trained and vetted therapists to support cancer patients' physical and emotional wellbeing.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sue Young Cancer Support is a community-based charity that provides free practical, emotional, and therapeutic cancer support services to individuals affected by cancer in Leicestershire and Rutland. Its core offerings include one-on-one counselling, complementary therapies (reflexology, reiki, massage), and group movement and meditation activities such as yoga, gentle movement, and sound meditation. The charity extends all services to family members and carers, recognising the wider impact of a cancer diagnosis, and operates an open-door policy with no barriers to access.

Product overview

Sue Young Cancer Support is a charitable organization providing cancer support services in Leicestershire and Rutland. The organization offers a unified portfolio of five interconnected core support services: Counselling Services for emotional and psychological support; Complementary Therapies including reflexology, massage, and reiki; Gentle Movement Classes combining ballroom, latin, and salsa dancing; Yoga Classes for gentle exercise and relaxation; and Sound Meditation sessions using instruments like gongs and singing bowls. These services are designed to support not only cancer patients but also their family members and carers. The charity also operates a Volunteer Program to enable community involvement in delivering these services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Counselling Services Emotional and psychological support services for cancer patients, their families, and carers following a cancer diagnosis. The charity maintains an open-door policy to ensure easy access to counselling.
• Complementary Therapies Holistic therapies including reflexology, facial massage, reiki, energy healing, Indian head massage, and full body massage to address physical discomfort and emotional trauma associated with cancer and its treatment.
• Gentle Movement Classes Adaptable movement sessions incorporating elements from ballroom, latin, and salsa dancing, tailored to individual needs to improve general health and wellbeing.
• Yoga Classes Gentle and mindful yoga sessions with short, simple sequences combining traditional breath and posture awareness, suitable for all levels, ages, and fitness levels.
• Sound Meditation 45-minute meditation sessions using musical instruments including gongs, singing bowls, drums, and wind chimes that create frequencies to calm the nervous system and promote relaxation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides lifeline support during emotional and physical upheaval for all those affected by cancer diagnosis

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Macmillan Cancer SupportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor cancer charity partnership providing funding support and alignment with broader cancer support services. Macmillan is a leading UK cancer charity providing specialist health care, information and financial support to people affected by cancer.
• NHS Leicester, Leicestershire and RutlandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormal affiliation with the NHS trust for local cancer care coordination. Provides referral pathways and integration with local healthcare services for cancer patients.
• Keeping AbreastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBreast cancer support organization with affiliated Leicester group. Provides specialized support for breast cancer patients and raises awareness about breast health.
• Bosom Friends LeicestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal breast cancer support group serving Leicestershire. Peer support and shared experiences for breast cancer patients and survivors.
• Myeloma UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized myeloma cancer charity providing support, information, and funding for research. Partnership provides access to specialized support services for myeloma patients in the area.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Hospice UK: Hospice UK is the national charity for hospice and palliative care, supporting over 200 hospices across the UK. It is a broad incumbent in the serious-illness support space that encompasses and overlaps with Sue Young's cancer support remit.
• Marie Curie: Marie Curie is a UK-wide charity providing care and support for people with terminal illness, including cancer, through hospice services and end-of-life nursing care. It is a broad incumbent with overlapping serious-illness support and palliative care services.
• Macmillan Cancer Support: Macmillan is the UK's largest cancer charity providing specialist healthcare, information, and financial support to people affected by cancer. It is both a Sue Young funding partner and a broad incumbent offering overlapping cancer support services nationally, operating at much greater scale across the same beneficiary population.

Direct peers

• Young Lives vs Cancer (formerly CLIC Sargent): Young Lives vs Cancer is a UK charity providing clinical, practical, and emotional support to children and young people with cancer and their families. It is a direct peer in cancer-specific social support service delivery.
• Keeping Abreast: Keeping Abreast is a breast cancer support charity operating support groups across the UK, including an affiliated Leicester group co-located with Sue Young. It is a direct peer in condition-specific peer support and an active operational partner.
• Myeloma UK: Myeloma UK is a specialist UK charity focused on myeloma, a type of blood cancer, providing information, support, and research funding. It is a direct peer in cancer-specific patient support and a listed operational partner of Sue Young.
• Penny Brohn UK: Penny Brohn UK is a cancer charity offering holistic support including counselling, complementary therapies, and wellbeing programmes to people with cancer and their families. Its service mix closely mirrors Sue Young's counselling plus complementary therapy model.
• Maggie's: Maggie's runs a network of cancer support centres across the UK offering emotional, practical, and social support to people with cancer and their families. It is the closest direct peer to Sue Young in terms of holistic, in-person cancer support delivery model.

Regional players

• Tenovus Cancer Care: Tenovus Cancer Care is a Wales-based cancer charity offering support, counselling, and mobile chemotherapy units to cancer patients and families. It is a regional peer with comparable holistic cancer support services but operating in a different UK nation.
• LOROS (Leicestershire & Rutland Hospice): LOROS is a Leicester-based hospice serving Leicestershire and Rutland, providing palliative and supportive care to people with terminal illness including cancer. It is a regional peer operating in the exact same geography as Sue Young, serving an overlapping patient population with complementary end-of-life and serious-illness support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sue-young-cancer-support

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sue Young Cancer Support