One of those surveyed, Vicky Ayech, 67, breast cancer survivor from Hertfordshire who received treatment in Cambridgeshire said: 'I was taken up to the ward by 8.30pm after my breast removal surgery.
“I was so hungry as I'd not eaten for 24 hours. I was given a menu but didn't get any food until 11pm and then it was only bread and jam.
“After such an experience with nurses busy and impatient, I got myself discharged the next morning, earlier than was wise in retrospect.”
The figures come from a YouGov online survey of 2,142 UK adults living with cancer that was conducted between November 26 and December 14 2012.
Results presented are based on the 358 people diagnosed within the last two years who had a stay of one or more nights in hospital during their cancer treatment.
Of those 358 people, 122 say they had needed extra food and 69 of these say they did not always get it.
MacMillan Cancer Support says there are an estimated 170,000 cancer patients in England admitted to hospital each year for treatment.
The survey also showed that 6% say they were given the wrong drugs, equating to an estimated 10,000 patients each year whose health could be compromised.
And 7%, equating to an estimated 12,000 cancer patients, say they felt like dropping out of treatment early because of the way they say hospital staff dealt with them.
More than a third (37%) surveyed said their hospital room or area was not always kept clean and tidy.
Ciarán Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “While most cancer patients get great care most of the time, it is alarming that so many cancer patients are given the wrong drugs, left hungry while being treated in hospital or have even felt like dropping out of treatment because of their interactions with staff.
“This survey sheds a worrying light on the sub-culture within some parts of the NHS where bad patient experience is acceptable. We have seen this at its worst in the case of the Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust exposed in the Francis Inquiry.
“'What staff need is the time and space to truly care for patients and to be given the tools to do this. We are calling on the NHS to adopt our recommendations in this area.”
Macmillan is working with partner organisations to improve patient and staff experience through the Macmillan Values Based Standard recommendations which patients, professionals, family and carers worked together to design.
The National Cancer Patient Experience Survey 2013, which is due out in June, will highlight which hospital Trusts need to make significant improvements in the patient experience they provide.