The web Directory of Information Materials for People Affected by Cancer is regularly updated and currently has details of over 1,900 booklets, leaflets, books and audiovisual materials for people affected by cancer. Most have been published in the last five years but we have included some older ones that are still useful.
Macmillan Cancer Support
This booklet has been written to help men decide whether to have the PSA blood test. It describes the prostate gland, the causes and symptoms of prostate cancer, and explains the PSA test in detail, including the advantages and disadvantages. Treatment options for prostate cancer are briefly explained. Includes details of useful organisations and other resources, such as websites.
Macmillan Cancer Support
Coping with the death of someone close to you involves dealing with difficult feelings and emotions, as well as practical tasks that have to be done. This booklet is for the relatives and friends of anyone who has died from cancer. It gives you some practical information about what to do and what to expect when someone dies. It also looks at some of the emotions you may have, and the support that can help.
Macmillan Cancer Support
This booklet is about head and neck cancers. Head and neck cancers include cancers of the mouth and throat, as well as rarer cancers of the nasal cavity (inside the nose), sinuses, salivary glands and middle ear. This booklet is for anyone who has a head and neck cancer. The booklet explains: what head and neck cancer is; the signs and symptoms; the different treatment options; coping with head and neck cancer treatment.
Cancer Research UK
This leaflet helps patients who have been urgently referred with suspected cancer to prepare for their appointments and tests.
Public Health England
Leaflet aimed at alerting general public to symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer and encouraging people to go to the doctor if they have blood in their urine.
Public Health England
Leaflet aimed at alerting general public to symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer and encouraging people to go to the doctor if they have blood in their urine.
Macmillan Cancer Support
This booklet is about a type of leukaemia called acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). It is for anyone who has been diagnosed with AML, or who wants to know more about it. It also has information for carers, family members and friends. The booklet covers: what AML is; symptoms and how AML is diagnosed; how AML is treated; coping with AML.
Public Health England
Information on the computed tomography colonography (CTC) scan, following an abnormal result from NHS bowel cancer screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
CLIC Sargent
A booklet for parents of children diagnosed with cancer.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Instructions on how to use the enema before attending for bowel scope screening.
Public Health England
Information for people who have been called for a colonoscopy because polyps were found when they had bowel scope screening: What is bowel cancer?; What is a colonoscopy? What does a colonoscopy involve?; Does colonoscopy have risks?; What are the possible results of colonoscopy?; Outcomes for 100 people who have a colonoscopy after bowel scope screening; What are the symptoms of bowel cancer; What can I do lower my chances of getting bowel cancer?; Who can I contact if I have a question?
Quercus
A moving, thought-provoking and surprisingly humorous book which is both a description of a journey to death and a celebration of the act of living. Based on Clare Wise's blog, which she started when she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2013, Not That Kind of Love charts the highs and lows of the last three years of Clare's life. The end result is not a book that fills you with despair and anguish. On the contrary, Not That Kind of Love should be read by everybody for its candour, and for its warmth and spirit. Clare is an astonishingly dynamic, witty and fun personality, and her positivity and energy exude from every page. As she becomes too weak to type, her brother - the actor Greg Wise - takes over, and the book morphs into a beautiful meditation on life, and the necessity of talking about death. With echoes of Atul Gawande's Being Mortal and Cathy Rentzenbrink's The Last Act of Love, it is a very special read that rejoices in the extraordinary and often underestimated sibling bond, and the importance of making the most of the ordinary pleasures life has to offer. As Greg Wise writes in the book: 'Celebrate the small things, the small moments. If you find yourself with matching socks as you leave the house in the morning, that is a cause for celebration. If the rest of the day is spent finding the cure for cancer, or brokering world peace, then that's a bonus.' (Publisher)
Public Health England
Leaflet aimed at alerting general public to symptoms of bladder and kidney cancer and encouraging people to go to the doctor if they have blood in their urine.
Self-published
They say there’s a book in all of us, but I doubt I would ever have written one had it not have been for my diagnosis of breast cancer in 2011. ‘A New Kind of Normal' is the story of my life up to and moving on from that moment. Growing up in the 60's, working through the 70's and 80's, juggling a career in TV and radio while bringing up three children and surviving two divorces. From the moment I knew what a bra was, I’d wanted breasts: I even crafted a pair of blue plasticine boobs for myself, as nature made me wait until I was 15 for breasts of my own! Through cancer I lost them both, and with the chemotherapy; all my hair, my fingernails, and more worryingly, a sense of whom I was. My hair grew back, as did my fingernails, but I still struggled with my identity. What I’ve written isn't a diary, nor a self-help guide, and it's not just about cancer. I’ve taken a really good look at the little girl I was and the woman I grew into, and why I went to such lengths to try and claw back some of what cancer had taken from me - it's not everyone's way I appreciate, and it’s been an interesting exercise trying to ascertain why it was mine! I’ve been honest, open, and meticulous when it comes to detail, as I firmly believe that if you take away the mystery, you can take away some of the fear. But there’s a lot to laugh about here too, as luckily I’ve always been able to see the funny side of a situation, preferring that to the occasional overwhelming despair I felt. In this book I've tried to move the disease away from the medical professionals and the hospitals, and to bring it into the day to day, because that's where it sits. Over the last seven years I’ve come to realise that the ripple effect of cancer is far reaching, affecting not just those of us living with it but everyone around us. 'A New Kind of Normal' gives an insight into my relationship with my then partner, now husband; my children and their reaction to my illness, my family and friends, my work colleagues, people who wrote to me, and the professionals who cared for me; everybody reacts differently. Breast cancer assaults your femininity - the treatment is tough and the surgery brutal. It isn't easy, but it is possible, and I'd like to feel this book may be a source of comfort to anyone who's life is touched by breast cancer; maybe even help them to find their 'New Kind of Normal'. There are many things in life we may have to give up on, but hope is not one of them. (P
Graffeg Limited
'There's only one mum quite like me. I wish that there were two. I'd have more time to spend And I would spend it all with you.' Most of us can't imagine having the time we spend with our children or loved ones cut short, but this is the reality being faced by mother of two Lisa Wells, who was diagnosed with terminal bowel and liver cancer in December 2017 at the age of 31. The Only One of Me project grew from Lisa's determination to leave a lasting legacy for her daughters and her desire to help other families rally against the difficulties of loss. Only One of Me is the product of Lisa's lifelong love of writing and a newfound friendship with award-winning children's author Michelle Robinson. The two collaborated on this tender and moving rhyming poem, with charming illustrations by Catalina Echeverri, which is both a love letter to Lisa's own daughters and a testament to the unwavering strength of parental love, a timeless message for families facing the challenges of bereavement. (Publisher)
Atria Books (Simon and Schuster)
In this evocative and gorgeously wrought memoir reminiscent of Rob Sheffield’s Love Is a Mixtape and George Hodgman’s Bettyville, Michael Ausiello—a respected TV columnist and founder and editor-in-chief of TVLine.com—remembers his late husband, and the lessons, love, and laughter that they shared throughout their fourteen years together. For the past decade, TV fans of all stripes have counted upon Michael Ausiello’s insider knowledge to get the scoop on their favorite shows and stars. From his time at Soaps in Depth to his influential stints at TV Guide and Entertainment Weekly to his current role as founder and editor-in-chief of the wildly popular website TVLine.com, Michael has established himself as the go-to expert when it comes to our most popular form of entertainment. What many of his fans don’t know, however, is that while his professional life was in full swing, Michael had to endure the greatest of personal tragedies: his husband, Kit Cowan, was diagnosed with a rare and very aggressive form of neuroendocrine cancer. Over the course of eleven months, Kit and Michael did their best to combat the deadly disease, but Kit succumbed to his illness in February 2015. In this heartbreaking and darkly hilarious memoir, Michael tells the story of his harrowing and challenging last year with Kit while revisiting the thirteen years that preceded it, and how the undeniably powerful bond between him and Kit carried them through all manner of difficulty—always with laughter front and center in their relationship. Instead of a tale of sadness and loss, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies is an unforgettable, inspiring, and beautiful testament to the resilience and strength of true love. (Publisher)
Short Books
"Cancer is not a laughing matter, as I was told by a cross German lady from Dortmund when I showed her this journal. She had herself had breast cancer and is right of course; there are lots of things that are not fun about cancer, most of them unavoidable. I was therefore as surprised as the next person to realise that a huge amount of funny things happen on the way to chemo, or indeed on the way to most places, and that once you get your eye in, you completely forget to be scared..." This is not just an educational book about cancer, although it is certainly safe to give to cancer patients as a cheerful present. More importantly, it sheds new light on why Kim Kardashian is worth Keeping Up With, what playlists to make for MRI scans, the truth behind the legend of Medea, bikini etiquette on a deserted beach, what to do with a glut of rainbow chard, what an Oscar-winner should say in an acceptance speech, how to deal with cold-callers selling life insurance, and what to wear on a March Against Menopause (layers, obviously)... (Publisher)
Virago Press (Little, Brown Book Group)
Coming up to her sixtieth birthday, Kate Figes found herself turning to the larger questions of family, love and life's meaning. It is like this author to examine different stages in writing, and her books - from new motherhood and adolescence to coupledom and infidelity - testify to this way of understanding herself and others: so naturally she turned to writing to explore the challenges of becoming sixty. And then - a horrible, and sudden diagnosis of breast cancer which had metastasised. Instead of a gentle journey into middle age, Kate Figes began to write for her life. Now, clawing back confidence and control was not just the ordinary business of these years: it was the only way to try and survive great pain and emotional turmoil. As her writing became an honest reflection on ageing, failing, regrets and the importance of childhood memory, friends, family and love she found a new determination to live to the full and about finding ways to face up to a shortened life expectancy with dignity. Original, passionate, funny and moving, On Smaller Dogs and Larger Life Questions will resonate with anyone dealing with the many griefs and freedoms of midlife. It is about living with a life-threatening disease but it is even more: an intelligent and passionate look at the way we can approach disappointment and trouble, friendship and love - every day. (Publisher)
Square Peg (Vintage)
This is a singular memoir: an excavation of mother love, a candid account of the agonies, and absurdities, of the cancer experience, and a doggedly optimistic paean to life. When Genevieve Fox finds a lump in her throat, she turns up for the hospital diagnosis in a party frock and fancy hair. I can’t have cancer, she thinks. I’ve done my hair. But there is another reason she can’t countenance cancer. Genevieve was orphaned to it at the age of nine. Genevieve’s story weaves together past and present as she recalls her rackety, unconventional childhood, while also facing the spectre of being lost to her young boys. Yet, she confronts her treatment with the same sassy survival instinct that characterised her childhood misadventures. Through an extraordinary alchemy, Genevieve takes life’s precariousness and turns it on its head. (Publisher)
Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Drawing on her family's own experiences and those of other parents facing the death of a child from illness or a life-limiting condition, Sacha Langton-Gilks explains the challenges, planning, and conversations that can be expected during this traumatic period. Practical advice such as how to work with the healthcare professionals, drawing up an Advance Care Plan, and how to move care into the home sit alongside tender observations of how such things worked in her own family's story. The book also includes a template person-centred planning document, developed by experts in the field. Empowering and reassuring, this book will help families plan and ensure the best possible end-of-life care for a child or young person. (Publisher)
Macmillan Cancer Support
The new Macmillan Organiser includes a copy of The cancer guide and My records for recording key contacts, appointments, medication and symptoms. There is also space for keeping appointment letters or other information resources. Additional copies of the My Records booklet can be ordered separately.
The Royal Marsden NHS Trust
This booklet uses a question and answer format to help people with cancer decide whether to participate in a clinical trial of cancer treatment. It includes sources of further information and support.
Graffeg Limited
There's only one dad quite like me. I wish that there were two. I'd have more time to spend And I would spend it all with you. Most of us can't imagine having the time we spend with our children or loved ones cut short, but this is the reality being faced by mother of two Lisa Wells, who was diagnosed with terminal bowel and liver cancer in December 2017, at the age of 31. The Only One of Me project grew from Lisa's determination to leave a lasting legacy for her daughters and her desire to help other families rally against the difficulties of loss. Only One of Me is the product of Lisa's lifelong love of writing and a newfound friendship with award-winning children's author Michelle Robinson. The two collaborated on this tender and moving rhyming poem, with charming illustrations by Tim Budgen, which is both a love letter to Lisa's own daughters and a testament to the unwavering strength of parental love, a timeless message for families facing the challenges of bereavement. (Publisher)
Findhorn Press
A compassionate, practical guide to end-of-life matters, empowering us to clarify and share our wishes and continue to live life to the fullest. Many people say “I wish I had known what they wanted” when their loved one has died. Too often, a person’s wishes for end-of-life care, and for after they have gone, have not been recorded. With this valuable guide, you can now begin to do this for yourself, so your relatives will be able to honor your wishes more easily, saving them unnecessary stress and upset at a potentially intense time. Before I Go addresses the emotional, spiritual, and practical aspects of end-of-life planning to help you make well-informed decisions about your end-of-life care and prepare well for your death. Jane Duncan Rogers guides you with equanimity, care, and humor through subjects such as how to have a conversation about dying, the impact of grief on relatives responsible for estate matters, DIY funerals and what that entails. She states clearly what you need to have in place to ensure the best end of life possible, helps you identify your values and beliefs in this area, and demonstrates which actions you then need to take, and when. With a full resource pack of essential information available to you, including guiding questions, exercises, and recording tools, as well as downloadable worksheets and supportive online courses, decision-making will be much easier and you will find relief and peace of mind knowing you have taken care of outstanding matters. You will also be giving a great gift to your loved ones. When they have this information in advance, you spare them many difficult decisions and administrative hassle at a time when they will be grieving and not in a fit state to cope. It can bring great comfort to those left behind to know they are indeed carrying out your wishes. It also provides an opportunity for you to record your achievements and history, giving them a legacy they would otherwise not have. (Publisher)
SPCK Publishing
London-born Kate Bowler, a thirty-five year-old professor at the school of divinity at Duke, had finally had a baby with her childhood sweetheart when she began to feel jabbing pains in her stomach. She lost thirty pounds, guzzled antacid, and visited doctors for three months before she was finally diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. As Kate navigates the aftermath of her diagnosis, she pulls the reader into her life and her history - affectionately filled with a colourful retinue of friends, mega-church preachers, parents, and doctors - and shares her irreverent, laser-sharp reflections on faith, friendship, love, and death. She wonders why suffering makes her feel like a loser and explores the burden of positivity. Trying to relish the time she still has with her son and husband, she realizes she must cure her habit of 'skipping to the end' and planning the next move. An historian of the American Prosperity Gospel (the creed of the megachurches that promises believers a cure for tragedy, if they just want it badly enough) Kate finds that she craves these same 'outrageous certainties'. Why is it so hard to surrender when she knows there are no spiritual guarantees? (Publisher)
Macmillan Cancer Support
This booklet will help people affected by cancer to review their pension arrangements (state, occupational, personal). It covers protecting pension rights, taking pension income, and protecting survivors.
Polygon (Birlinn Imprint)
How do you start a new life when the person you love is about to die? At the age of thirty-six, Gordon Darroch's wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a devastating blow just as he, and their two children with autism, were preparing to move to her native Holland. Eighteen months later, as their plans seemed to be back on course, came the second blow: Magteld was terminally ill and possibly had only a few months to live. As her health rapidly deteriorated, they became caught up in a race against time to get a dying mother home and give their children a future in a country they hardly knew. How could they build a new life in the midst of grief and loss? How would their two sons adjust to such enormous changes? And what would remain of Magteld once she was gone? All the Time We Thought We Had is a story of love and loss and a meditation on grief and memory. It's about how events shape our lives and how we cope with them. And it raises important questions about what we value in life and the legacies we leave behind. (Publisher)
Olop and Flossie Publishing
What does the mother say to her six-year-old when she asks the question that no mother ever wants to be asked? How does the fourteen-year-old cope with the illness while struggling with the typical angst of a teenager? This book is about an ordinary family who is faced with extra-ordinary changes and challenges when the mother is diagnosed with a potentially life-limiting illness. IT (the illness) becomes the uninvited guest in the family and as the story develops the frustrations, anxieties and impact all become very real. (Publisher)
Books Beyond Words
Going to the doctor can be worrying. For people with a learning disability, there may be the added worry of not being able to explain what’s wrong, as well as not understanding what’s happening. This book shows Jim, Anne and Laura who visit their General Practice for different reasons. The stories look at the ways the doctor and nurse listen to each of them, asking questions, explaining what will happen next and checking their understanding so that they can give informed consent. Many of the scenarios shown in the book form part of the annual health check. They also show how to involve the supporter appropriately. This book can be used to help someone get ready to visit the doctor, as a reasonable adjustment during the consultation, and for wider health promotion work. (Publisher)
British Lung Foundation
This information is for people with a long-term lung condition who are coming to the end of their life. It is also for those who are close to them, including their carers, family and friends.
Bone Cancer Research Trust
This factsheet describes primary bone caner, the types, who it affects, symptoms, causes and risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care, and rehabitation and support.
Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust
Credit-card leaflet with facts about cervical cancer, including incidence, the symptoms to look out for, how to reduce the risk, and cervical screening.
University College London Hospital Cancer Collaborative|FruitFly Collective
A short film produced with the Fruit Fly Collective to support parents when they decide to tell their children about their cancer diagnosis. It provides guidance about how and when to tell them, and looks at different age groups and how they may feel and behave when they have been told.
Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust
This booklet describes what cervical cancer is, the symptoms, causes, the different types and (briefly) the treatment options.
The Oesophageal Patients Association
A guide to the patient pathway following diagnosis of oesophageal or stomach cancer. It is based on the pathway at St Thomas’ Hospital in London but treatment is standardised across the UK.
Jo's Cervical Cancer Trust
A guide for women who have recently been diagnosed with cervical cancer, and those who care about them.
Macmillan Cancer Support
This audiobook explains rectal cancer, covering causes and symptoms, diagnosis, staging and grading, treatments and clinical trials. It also looks at emotional, practical and financial issues.
Cancer Focus Northern Ireland
Information to help you to lower your risk of cancer and improve your health.
Safe payments by:
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