Trusted information from day one
When you or your loved one is diagnosed with cancer, it can feel like the whole world has turned upside down. You may feel upset, angry, sad, worried or simply numb.
“Still trying to take it all in! As I had been expecting to be told I had kidney stones.” Community member, ‘Bladder cancer’ forum
“I was told I had bowel cancer and my world fell apart.” Community member, ‘Bowel (colon and rectal) cancer’ forum
“Hi, I was diagnosed with Vulval cancer last week…I am in total limbo and do not know how I am supposed to be feeling” Community member, ‘Vulva cancer’ forum
As well as being worried about your health, or the health of your loved one, you may find your head is full of lots of different questions. ‘What will treatment be like?’ ‘How will this affect my family?’ ‘Do I need to tell work about my cancer diagnosis?’
“At present I am coming to terms with the shattering news we received a fortnight ago when my 69 year old wife was again given the news she has a cancer in her Lung at the back of her Heart. Having moments of clarity re. the situation, nonetheless, I have waves of "what if's, how will this affect all concerned, etc." Community member, Lung cancer’ forum
“Yesterday it was confirmed that I have stage 4 bowel cancer that has spread to the liver, to say that this has knocked me sideways is an understatement. I stopped work 3 years ago to be a full-time carer to my mother who has Alzheimer's & am seriously stressed about her future care, the financial costs involved & what happens during my treatment.” Community member, ‘New to the Community’ forum
There is no right or wrong way to feel when you hear those difficult words and the most important thing is to remember that you don’t have to do this alone – our Community, and Macmillan, are here for you.
One thing our members often mention when sharing their experiences of diagnosis, is that it can be hard to take in all the information you are given then and there.
“Hi I got diagnosed last Wednesday to be honest I didn’t take a lot in what the doctor said” Community member, ‘Breast cancer’ forum
“Blimey my head is full of surgical jargon and choices I need to make even though each day I wake thinking about it and go to sleep thinking about it I sometimes find myself bursting into tears at the complexity of it all.” Community member, ‘Breast cancer’ forum.
Coping with the emotional impact a diagnosis can bring as well as navigating through all that information to try to find the answers to your questions can be hard but we are here to help.
Information from day one straight to your inbox
As well as joining our Community to connect with others for peer support, one simple thing you can do to support yourself if you, or a loved one, has been diagnosed with cancer is to sign up to receive trusted cancer information by email from Macmillan to support you from day one.
We know how important it is for our members to find trusted information and support to guide them through the shock of diagnosis, so we wanted to explain more today about how to sign up to receive trusted cancer information straight to your inbox.
How to sign up
You can sign up to receive trusted cancer information emails on our website by clicking here.
To make sure the information we send is relevant to you, you will simply need to answer a few questions about your situation first. For example, whether it is you or someone else who has received the diagnosis, what type of cancer has been diagnosed and your work situation.
Then we’ll send bite-sized information about the specific cancer type, cancer treatment, how to access support and information on things like money or work, or your feelings as well as questions to ask your healthcare team and how to speak to your children about cancer.
What information will I receive?
If you have cancer
If you are the one who has received the diagnosis, we’ll send you a series of 9 emails every week then 10 emails every 2 weeks on relevant topics to help you through your diagnosis, along with details of other services and support. We will aim to send your first email within the next business day of signing up.
What you can expect in the next few emails:
If you’re supporting someone with cancer
If you are supporting someone with cancer, we’ll send you 8 weekly emails on relevant topics to help you through your loved one’s diagnosis, along with details of other services and support. We will aim to send your first email within the next business day of signing up.
What’s coming up in the next few emails:
No matter how you are feeling, or how many questions you have when you find out you or a loved one has cancer, Macmillan is here to help. It can be a very overwhelming time, and sometimes knowing where to go to find the right information and support can be confusing.
To finish today we have collected some resources that anyone struggling with questions after diagnosis may find useful:
