Five big issues people with cancer in the UK are concerned about right now

Data from some of our latest research shows five big issues that are affecting people with cancer in the UK.

Travel insurance a top concern for people with melanoma and head and neck cancer 

Almost one in three people with lung cancer (30%) are worried about increasing costs

A quarter of people with cancer struggle with exhaustion

Sleep problems a leading issue for people with breast cancer

A fifth of people living with cancer also dealing with fear and anxiety

Impact of cancer on intimate relationships and fertility



5 big issues for those living with cancer are travel insurance, money, exhaustion, sleep, and anxiety and depression.
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References

  • References and sources used

    Below are the references used in this information.

    i. Macmillan Cancer Support/YouGov survey of 2,050 adults in the UK who have had a cancer diagnosis. The vast majority of fieldwork was undertaken between 31st May and 15th June 2022, with a small additional sample surveyed on 9th and 10th July 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of people living with cancer in the UK.

    ii. As per ref i. Respondents were shown a list of possible physical and emotional concerns they could have been experiencing in the past few weeks as a result of their cancer or its treatment; the figures reported here refer to those that respondents selected as being either 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale related to their level of concern, equating to being of ‘moderate concern’.

    iii. As per ref i. Survey included 56 respondents living with head and neck cancer.

    iv. As per ref i. Survey included 171 respondents living with melanoma.

    v. As per ref i.

    vi. As per ref i. Survey included 66 respondents with lung cancer.

    vii. Based on responses from 3,947 holistic needs assessments completed by lung cancer patients on Macmillan's eHNA platform between January 2022 and 1 September 2022 across the UK. “Tired, exhausted or fatigued” was reported as a concern in a total of 479 assessments carried out at the point of initial diagnosis.

    viii. As per ref vii.

    ix. As per ref i.

    x. As per ref i.

    xi. Based on responses from 42,468 holistic needs assessments completed by breast cancer patients on Macmillan's eHNA platform between 2019 and 1 September 2022 across the UK. Sleep problems were reported as a concern in 8,839 of these assessments. When looking at specific stages of a person’s diagnosis and treatment, sleep problems were reported as a concern in 21% of assessments carried out during treatment (1,824/8,643) and in 24% of assessments carried out at the end of treatment (3,819/15,661).

    xii. As per ref i.

    xiii. As per ref xi. Worry, fear or anxiety was reported as a concern in 28% of assessments carried out at initial diagnosis (3,104/11,100), 35% of assessments carried out at the start of treatment (1,305/3,743) and 29% of those carried out at the end of treatment (4,529/15,561).

    xiv. Based on responses from 38,985 holistic needs assessments completed by urology patients on Macmillan's eHNA platform between 2019 and 1 September 2022, across the UK. Overall, sex, intimacy or fertility was raised as a concern in 4,683 assessments (12%).