General reading list

You and your family might find these books, booklets and websites useful. They include information about cancer, treatment and coping.

General books about cancer

Dr Ian Banks
J H Haynes & Co Ltd, 2004
ISBN 978-1844251582

Written by a doctor, the Haynes Cancer manual is an optimistic book, featuring hints and tips for a healthy lifestyle as well as easy to understand information on all cancers affecting men.

Dr Terry Priestman
Sheldon Press, 2009
ISBN 978-1847090485

This handbook deals frankly and sensitively with the issues of cure, follow up, treatment side effects and recurrence. It looks at the support available to people who have finished their treatment.

Dr Knut Schroeder
John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2010
ISBN 978-0470660966

This useful book offers practical and reassuring advice from an experienced GP. It covers everything from basic physical assessments and first aid procedures to advice on spotting both mental and physical health problems (including the symptoms of cancer).

Cancer treatments

Dr Terry Priestman
Sheldon Press, 2009
ISBN 978-1847090805

Gives information about chemotherapy, its side effects, and how to cope with them. Also discusses the effect of chemotherapy on everyday life, including tiredness, sex life and fertility, social life, work, holidays, exercise and diet.

Dr Terry Priestman
Sheldon Press, 2007
ISBN 978-0859699990

Gives information about radiotherapy, its side effects, and how to cope with them. Also discusses the effect of radiotherapy on everyday life, including social life, work, travel, exercise and diet.

  • Understanding chemotherapy
  • Understanding radiotherapy
  • Coping with hair loss
  • Coping with fatigue
  • Eating problems and cancer
  • Healthy eating and cancer
  • Work and cancer

You can order these and many other booklets on the Macmillan Cancer Support website.

Living with cancer

Jane Freeman
Sheldon Press, 2012
ISBN 978-1847091413

Written by a cancer dietitian, this is a practical handbook for people with cancer. Filled with helpful tips and recipes.

Clare Shaw
Kyle Books, 2023
ISBN 978-1804190654

This cookbook explores the foods that will support and nourish you during and after cancer treatment. It offers more than 150 recipes.

Karen Jung
Granville Island publishing, 2008
ISBN 978-1894694575

The writer's husband had cancer and this book is a compilation of recipes that they created together. The book aims to help people with cancer to incorporate healthy and appetising dishes into their diet. It has tips for meals and snacks to help people maintain their weight whilst on treatment. The book and the measures used are Canadian.

Chris Geiger
Oneworld Publications, 2015
ISBN 978-1780747262

A collection of inspirational and uplifting stories about living with cancer. Each story is written from a personal perspective, giving a very warm, friendly style of writing that is relaxed and sometimes humorous. It can help patients and their relatives feel less alone and isolated as they cope with the cancer and its treatment.

Marie Curie have a range of publications for people living with a terminal illness. They have booklets with advice on finances and booklets on common problems faced by people with a terminal illness.

The following are some examples of their booklets:

  • Being cared for at home
  • Managing breathlessness
  • Keeping active
  • Managing pain

A project on metaphors for cancer at Lancaster University has produced a ‘Metaphor Menu for People Living with Cancer’ as a resource for talking and thinking about the experience of having cancer. The Metaphor Menu is based on the finding that different metaphors suit different people, or the same person at different times, and that it is therefore important to have many different metaphors to choose from.

It is available for anyone to read, share, use and add to.

Provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding of mental health.

Infoline: 0300 123 3393 

Legal line: 0300 466 6463

Family, friends and carers reading list

Anne Orchard
Rainbow Heart Publishing, 2008
ISBN 978-0955979705

Anne Orchard has written this following her own experience of supporting a loved one with cancer. With some practical advice, as well as guidance on how to take your own inner journey, she suggests how to deal with this challenge in your life.

Deborah Hutton
Short Books Ltd, 2010
ISBN 1906021566

Deborah Hutton wrote this from her own experience of cancer. She gives examples of ways in which family and friends can help including practical advice and ideas of what to say. It includes contributions from celebrities. 

Supporting children and young adults

Breast Cancer Now

These booklets are available from Breast Cancer Now:

  • Talking with your children about breast cancer
  • Mummy's lump (aimed at younger children)

The following are some examples of the booklets available from the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group (CCLG).

  • My brother or sister has cancer
  • Helping your child to eat well during cancer treatment
  • Keeping your child active during and after treatment
  • Ruby's stem cell harvest and transplant

These booklets and many others are free to download from the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group website.

Booklet from Macmillan Cancer Support (revised 2019)  

This free booklet has advice on talking to children, including why, when and how to tell them about cancer. There is also an audio version. This and other booklets for children and young people are available from the Be.Macmillan website.

Maya Silva and Marc Silva 
Sourcebooks Fire, 2013
ISBN 978-1402273070

Maya was 16 when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. She has written this book with her father in order to help other teenagers in a similar position.

ZoAnn Dreyer
Checkmark Publishing, 2008
ISBN 978-0816075614

A complete guide for teens coping with cancer. It gives real life examples of living with cancer day to day.

Winston's Wish was set up to help bereaved children and young people. You can buy books from the online shop. Or you can phone 01242 515157.

Titles of books available include:

  • A Child's Grief
  • As Big As It Gets
  • The Secret C
  • You Just Don't Understand

They also have a separate website called Help 2 Make Sense. It is to help young people who have experienced the death of a loved one. They also have a podcast called Grief in Common.

Sexuality, fertility and menopause reading list

Ian Banks
J H Haynes & Co Ltd, 2009
ISBN 978-1844258086

A practical guide to sexual health and enjoyment. 

Macmillan Cancer Support produces a number of free booklets to help support people with cancer. This includes information about relationships and fertility:

  • Cancer and fertility
  • Cancer and relationships
  • Cancer and your sex life (including an easy read version)

This booklet is written by Dr Louise Newson and Ellie Waters. Ellie was 15 when she had the menopause after cancer treatment. Dr Newson is a GP and menopause expert. She founded The Menopause Charity and created the Menopause Doctor website, now called Balance, which provides a wealth of information about the menopause.

This booklet provides information about what the menopause is, what the possible symptoms are and what you can do to help, and about how menopause might affect future health.

This booklet is written by Dr Louise Newson and Ovarian Cancer Action. Dr Newson is a GP, menopause specialist and founder of the Menopause Charity. Ovarian Cancer Action is a UK charity that raises awareness of ovarian cancer and funds research into the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer.

This booklet is for women who have an increased risk of gynaecological cancer, usually due to their family history or because they carry a change in a gene that increases the risk, such as BRCA 1 or 2, or Lynch syndrome. These women may have surgery to remove their ovaries and fallopian tubes, and so have an early menopause.

Books for people with learning disabilities

FAIR Multimedia publishes a range of booklets about health specifically designed for people with learning disabilities. These include a series on cancer. You can view these on the FAIR website or order them by downloading FAIR's order form. 

V Donaghey and others
Beyond words, 2002
ISBN: 978-1901242843

This is a true story about a woman with Down’s syndrome whose doctor tells her she has cancer. It describes how scared this makes her feel. She is reassured that the cancer can be cured but will need to have surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The book is designed for use by anyone working with people who have a learning disability and have been diagnosed with cancer.

If you would like to recommend a book

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Last reviewed: 
06 Oct 2023
Next review due: 
06 Oct 2026

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