Initially, the charity funded a range of local projects in the health and social fields. In 1964, Tenovus Cancer Care embarked on a project that was to influence their work over the next 40 years. D.R. Edwards, the founder Chairman of the group of ten, cut the first sod on the site of the Tenovus Institute for Cancer Research in Cardiff. Since then, Tenovus Cancer Care has concentrated its efforts on cancer, and Tenovus Cancer Care scientists have been recognised for their pioneering work.