Well you're in luck – we have some great booklets written just for young people, and yesterday we launched a brand new area of our website, full of cancer information for teenagers and young adults.
In the past you may have visited our website TIC (Teen Info on Cancer). Well, we're saying goodbye to TIC, but we're keeping the best bits of it – all the great cancer info.
The new area of the website includes information about the most common cancers in young people, including leukaemias and lymphomas. There's also information about tests and scans, and about how cancer is treated. And because it's written by Macmillan, you know the information is trustworthy. Everything we write is produced by our information development nurses and content editors. It’s all reviewed by expert professionals and people affected by cancer, before being signed off by our clinical oncologist. And to make sure you're reading the latest information, we update it all every two years.
So, make sure you visit macmillan.org.uk/cancerinformation/teensandyoungadults for reliable, clear information on cancer.
Booklets and audio
If you're looking for printed information or audio books, we have two resources written just for teenagers and young adults with cancer.
Your first port of call might be I’m still me (also available as an audio book), which starts by explaining what cancer is, and then takes you through the entire cancer journey – from diagnosis, treatment and life in hospital, right through to how cancer can affect your relationships and how you might feel when you go back home.
How you use this booklet is up to you. It can be read cover-to-cover, or you could use it as a reference to dip in and out of. That way you could choose to read about things as you face them, or as you feel ready to. Some of its handy features include a glossary of medical terms, a list of who does what at the hospital, and a directory of other organisations who can provide you with practical or emotional support.
Our other booklet is called Relationships, sex and fertility for young people affected by cancer (also available as an audio book). It covers topics such as how cancer affects sexuality, coping with thoughts and feelings, and talking about sex. But its main focus is on fertility, and in particular the effects that cancer and its treatments can have on a young person’s fertility. It provides information about fertility testing, and covers the options available to young people whose fertility has been affected but who want to have children.
We hope the website and booklets we've mentioned here help you through your journey. And if you know anyone else who is young and affected by cancer, please let them know about the support that's available.
