In short
Treatment depends entirely on the type. CLL may be watched. CML is often controlled with tablets. AML needs urgent inpatient chemotherapy, sometimes with a stem-cell transplant. Childhood ALL uses long outpatient and inpatient protocols with high UK cure rates. World Aid Network funds bills so a course already started is not stopped because a family cannot pay.
In Britain these pathways are NHS haematology. Overseas, the drugs exist but the invoice does not get paid — which is the gap we fund.
Why does continuity matter?
Acute leukaemia protocols only work if cycles are completed. A child who stops mid-course because the money ran out loses the survival chance UK statistics describe. That is why childhood cancer is a named WAN programme.
What is a stem-cell transplant?
Some people with AML or high-risk ALL have a transplant after chemotherapy. It is specialist, risky and unavailable in many low-income hospitals. Partner capacity decides what we can fund — we do not invent a transplant unit.
Help a patient afford cancer care
Gifts go to the Cancer Emergency Appeal’s wider fund for patients who cannot pay. They do not buy a guaranteed treatment or result.
Donate to cancer careIs this research funding?
No. WAN does not run trials or labs. Gifts pay for diagnosis and treatment access through licensed oncologists in Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Key takeaways
- The four types need four different plans.
- Childhood ALL survival depends on finishing treatment.
- We fund clinical access overseas, not UK wards and not research.
- The Cancer Emergency Appeal funds all types of cancer, including blood cancers.
Care like this is out of reach for millions
The diagnosis, screening and treatment described here are routine in the UK. In Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia, poverty can put them out of reach. The Cancer Emergency Appeal raises funds towards clinically recommended care for patients who cannot pay; gifts go to the wider fund and do not buy a guaranteed treatment or result.
Frequently asked questions
Can leukaemia be cured?
Childhood ALL often is. Some adult types are controlled long-term rather than described as cured. AML outcomes vary widely with age and genetics.
Does chemotherapy always mean losing hair?
Intensive AML and ALL regimens often cause hair loss. Some CLL and CML treatments do not. Ask the treating team about the specific drugs.
Do you treat leukaemia in the UK?
No. UK care is NHS haematology. We fund poor patients overseas.
Editorial summary of published sources. A named oncology clinician has not signed off this guide. Use it to prepare questions for your healthcare team, not to diagnose symptoms or choose treatment. Editorial responsibility: Kaiser Khan. Updated 4 October 2026.
What are the sources for this guide?
Follow the original guidance for its evidence, dates and limitations. General background references are not a clinical review of this page.