system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: When institutions like the Cancer Society spend money on cancer 'research', what are they actually doing?

From someone who has virtually no background in the medical sciences - what does one do when 'researching' cancer? I see calls for donations from organisations such as the Cancer Society all the time, and I know it isn't easy, but objectively speaking (from a public bystander POV), I feel Cancer is still very much out there. Sometimes there are little flare-ups in the media of some potential 'miracle' cancer cure, which are only then shot down again by some other high-up medical authorities. What is actually happening, and where does our money go towards?
gpt
Generally it's for researchers working in universities. They put forward proposals for research they'd like to undertake.  If the proposal is sound, aligns with said society/organisation's goals and has good prospects, they provide funding, usually in the firm of a grant, to the researcher.