Would cancer information in audio suit you better?

If you, or someone you know, struggles to read print, you can still get the high-quality information you need in audio. We produce 50 of our booklet titles as audiobooks, covering cancer types, tests, treatments, and living with and after cancer.

Having information can help you understand your situation better, feel more in control and make informed decisions. Here at Macmillan, we want to reach everyone who’s affected by cancer, whoever they are. But making sure the right information gets to people at the right time, in the right format, can be a challenge. That’s why we produce our content in a range of different formats, including audio.

Who can audio information help?

Having information in audio might be a better format for many people, including those:

• with impaired sight
• with learning difficulties such as dyslexia
• whose first language isn’t English
• who are simply too tired to read.

Macmillan’s audio information

We endeavour to make our audio information as high-quality as possible. Some of the things you might find helpful about our audiobooks are:

• Background listening – you can take in the information when and where suits you, perhaps in the car or whilst cooking
• Hearing what real people have been through – some of our audiobooks include clips of real people affected by cancer, talking about their personal experiences
• Easy navigation – you can pause and skip through to the tracks you want to listen to
• Clearly designed and easy-to-read packaging – our audiobooks meet the RNIB large and clear print guidelines for people with impaired sight.

Examples of the audiobooks we produce

Coping with fatigue

If you find you’re just too tired to read information, but you want to know how to cope with these feelings, you might find our audiobook Coping with fatigue helpful. You can listen to discussions about why fatigue arises and how to deal with it at work and home. It also talks about diet, exercise, relaxation and sleep.

Understanding brain tumours

One thing that can be affected if you have a brain tumour is eyesight. Our audiobook Understanding brain tumours is there for people who are having difficulty reading print. It talks about causes and symptoms, diagnosis, staging and grading, treatments and clinical trials. It also talks about the emotional, practical and financial issues that you might experience when facing a brain tumour diagnosis.

Cancer and older people

We know that older people affected by cancer may have a greater need to have information in accessible and clearer formats. With this in mind, we produced the title Cancer and older people as an audiobook for those people who find it difficult to read print. It suggests specific questions you might want to ask about cancer and which health professional may be able to answer them. There’s information about symptoms, how cancer is diagnosed and treated, how it can affect you and how to cope.

You can order these and other audio titles for free from be.macmillan.org.uk or call our cancer support specialists on 0808 808 00 00.

If you can’t find the title you’re looking for or have any feedback you’d like to pass on to us, do feel free to contact us at audiofeedback@macmillan.org.uk and we’ll do our best to help you.

We hope our audiobooks help you through your journey. And if you know anyone else who is affected by cancer and may prefer to listen to our information, please let them know about the support that's available.

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Keep in touch Follow Macmillan’s cancer information team on Twitter @mac_cancerinfo