Festive Period Among Loneliest Times For Cancer Patients, Survey Finds

6 December 2016, 06:19 | Updated: 6 December 2016, 06:30

Thousands of cancer patients in Scotland will be lonely this Christmas and New Year, according to a survey for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Data collected by YouGov from 1,000 people across the UK highlighted that younger people with cancer are more likely to experience loneliness over the festive period.

Macmillan Cancer Support believes many things can contribute to cancer patients feeling alone such as having to spend the time in hospital or not having the funds available to travel to relatives.

An estimated 30,000 people living with cancer said Christmas is one of the loneliest times of the year, with about 50,000 saying New Year is the same.

Macmillan is urging anyone with cancer or carers who are feeling lonely over the Christmas holidays to log on to its online community for support.

Janice Preston, head of Macmillan in Scotland, said: ''While we often think of Christmas and New Year as being a time when people come together, this research shows that festive periods can be really difficult for many people living with cancer.

''We want to remind family and friends of someone with cancer that they may be feeling especially low and try to make an extra-special effort to spend time with them if they can.''

Support around the clock can be found at community.macmillan.org.uk.