We have more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals and rely on an army of volunteers who freely give their time and skills to make it possible for us to carry out our work.
Below are the some of the stories of nurses, healthcare professionals and volunteers who help make it happen:
Dawn says: "I became a Marie Curie Nurse because I feel very strongly that everyone deserves dignity and respect at the end of their lives.
"What inspires me most about my work is the patients and families I am so privileged to care for. As a Marie Curie Nurse I work closely with the family, listening to their worries and concerns and helping to prepare them for what lies ahead. People say it must be a very upsetting job, but I don't find it upsetting at all.
"It is very rewarding when you can help a family who are both emotionally and physically drained and patients who are struggling psychologically, to help them make decisions. When all the issues have been dealt with, it is lovely to see them at peace. This is what I feel makes Marie Curie Nurses so special.
"Witnessing the love between family members and being there for them is an honour. So is seeing the smiles on the faces of patients when I arrive and the relief on the faces of their families who know that I am there to care for their loved one while they get some rest."
Jon is one of the 64 coordinators at the Marie Curie Referral Centre in Pontypool, Wales who make sure that Marie Cure Nurses arrive on the doorstep of patients who need them.
John says: "We speak to people at the coal face - the computer shows you all the patients who need a nurse and when you go home knowing they've all got one, you feel satisfied."
When Stuart's wife Lena passed away in the Marie Curie Hospice, Edinburgh over five years ago, he decided that he wanted to give something back to the organisation.
Both Stuart and Lena could not fail to notice that the substantial garden at the hospice had become overgrown and unkempt.
Lena pledged Stuart's gardening services as one of her last wishes, and since then he has returned every week to take care of the garden and surrounding areas.
Stuart says: "Volunteering at the hospice has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding experiences of my life.
"Why I am doing it? Quite simply to ensure that the hospice and its wonderful staff is there to provide care for another family who finds itself in the situation we were in seven years ago."
Marie Curie Cancer Care’s services are always evolving to incorporate new methods of helping improve patients’ lives.
One of these is the use of complementary therapies like reiki, aromatherapy, massage and reflexology, all of which can help patients relax at a difficult time.
Sandra Osborne is a complementary therapist based at the Marie Curie Hospice, Penarth.
She says: “People often come to us very stressed. We help reduce their anxiety.”
These therapies can do more than just relax a patient’s mental state.
Sandra has seen a positive impact on physical well being too, as she explains: “A lady came to me for reflexology with terrible pain in her feet. For three months she hadn’t been able to walk or wear shoes, and the pain was so bad she wasn’t sure if her feet could even be touched.
"Reflexology works on the bottoms of the feet, and she allowed me to touch them. Amazingly, after just one session she could walk properly and wear shoes. She was absolutely ecstatic.”
©2012 Marie Curie Cancer Care - Registered in England and Wales with Charity Reg No. 207994 and in Scotland with Charity Reg No. SC038731