Charity warns of lonely Christmas for cancer sufferers

HUNDREDS of thousands of cancer patients will feel lonely this Christmas, a charity is warning.

One in six people (16%) with cancer think Christmas is the loneliest time of year while the same proportion think New Year is lonely, a poll for Macmillan Cancer Support found.

The anniversary of the death of a loved one was also cited by 17% of people as being a particularly lonely time.

Macmillan estimates that up to 400,000 of the 2.5 million people living with cancer could experience loneliness this Christmas.

Possible reasons include spending time in hospital, not having enough money to spend on travelling to visit relatives due to not being able to work, and losing a sense of taste or feeling tired during treatment.

Its poll of more than 1,000 people with cancer found those aged under 65 were almost twice as likely to feel lonely around Christmas as those who were older.

Women were also a third more likely to say they were lonely than men.

Lynda Thomas, chief executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “We normally think of Christmas and New Year as being a time when people come together, but this research shows that festive periods can be really difficult and lonely times for many people living with cancer.

“When the usual hustle and bustle of everyday life stops over Christmas and New Year, it can cause many people with cancer to reflect on what is almost always a physically tough and emotionally draining experience and with this may come a real feeling of loneliness for some.

“While invaluable support is always available for people affected by cancer on Macmillan’s online community, as family, friends and neighbours we all have a part to play in making sure that no one face cancer alone this Christmas.”

Macmillan said at least 150,000 people would be urgently referred by their GP for tests for suspected cancer this December, while a further 20,000 would start their first treatments.

Bereaved relatives might also need extra support over Christmas, it said.

Kiran Aldridge, 42, from London lost her mother Piari, 62, to endocrine cancer in 2014.

She said: “Mum was such a fun and glamorous woman so her diagnosis in 2013 really shook me.

“She died on Christmas Eve two years ago and although I had my family around me, I felt utterly alone in my sadness.

“Losing someone at any time is hard, but when everyone else is getting ready to celebrate the festivities, knowing my mum isn’t there, has left me with a real sense of loneliness.”

Call Macmillian free on 0808 808 00 00