Books about cancer

Our main information book about cancer is called Your Guide to Cancer. It was published in 2023 and was developed with support from young people with cancer and the healthcare professionals who work with them.  

This is an update of our previous book, called A Young Person’s Guide to Cancer. The book is split into five sections: your diagnosis, your treatment, your feelings, your life outside hospital and your life after treatment. 

Who is Your Guide to Cancer for?  

This book is for any young person between 13-24 with a cancer diagnosis. You might also like to share it with your friends and family if they have any questions or if they’d like to understand more about your diagnosis and treatment. 

What’s in Your Guide to Cancer? 

These sections cover lots of different topics including understanding the tests and types of treatment you might have, tips on how to deal with the emotions you might be feeling, understanding how cancer might affect relationships with friends and family and also the impact on your education and work life. It also covers some detail on what expect when you finish cancer treatment. 

We’ve included diagrams in the guide which will hopefully help you understand some of the tests and treatments you might have. We have also included quotes from other young people with cancer who have very kindly shared their stories and experiences of their own cancer diagnosis and treatment.  

How was Your Guide to Cancer developed? 

We worked with lots of different people to make sure this book was as useful as it can be for young people with cancer. We spoke to young people who have had their own personal cancer diagnosis to find out what information to include and what the book should look like.  

We also spoke to lots of healthcare professionals who work with young people with cancer, this includes nursing staff and Teenage Cancer Trust Youth Support Coordinators as well. They helped us with all the complicated medical information and making sure we covered all the topics we needed to and helped us make sure it was written in a way that is easy to understand.  

How do I use Your Guide to Cancer? 

There’s not set way to use this book, you can do whatever works best for you. Some people might want to read through it bit by bit, you might want to read the whole thing or you might want to keep it somewhere safe and look through it whenever feels right for you.  

There’s also a notes section at the back of the guide. You can use this however you want too. You might want to write down any questions you have for your care team or make notes during appointments. It can be a good way to keep track of extra information you’re given by your doctors or nurses.  

Where can I get a copy of Your Guide to Cancer? 

We have digital and printed copies of the guide – you can use whichever you find more useful.  

You can ask your healthcare team if they have a copy of the book you can have or if you would like to order a physical copy of the guide please email us on [email protected] and we can have one sent to you. 

This book about cancer diagnosis was developed in 2022 in partnership with Young Lives vs Cancer, another charity that supports young people.  

Who is Your Diagnosis for? 

Your Diagnosis is for anyone between 13 and 24 years old who has just been diagnosed with cancer. 

What’s in Your Diagnosis? 

There’s lots of practical information in the book for young people who have just been diagnosed. There’s tips on how to talk about your cancer, what to expect from staying in hospital and finding out who you might meet in hospital. You can also find out more about what side effects you might experience, the mental health support available, and information on work and education. 

There’s also lots of tips included throughout on where you can find more information, if you’d like it.  

How was Your Diagnosis developed? 

Your Diagnosis have been developed by young people, for young people. We worked with young people with cancer throughout the process and we asked them to share their tips for other young people with cancer. This means you can find really useful tips throughout the book on all the different aspects of being diagnosed with cancer.  

We also worked with healthcare professionals who work with young people with cancer to understand more about which topics we should be covering in the book.  

Where can I get a copy of Your Diagnosis? 

You can ask your care team if they can give you a copy or you can email us on [email protected] if you would like a printed copy.