Writing for healing

Have you thought about diarising your personal experiences?

Lots of people find it helpful to diarise their own experiences, either by setting up a personal blog on the Online Community or by using a pen and paper. In this blog we will help you set up your own blog and share information about the benefits of diarising your experiences.

How can writing help?

Writing can be a powerful tool. It can help you express yourself in a healthy way and make sense of how you are feeling. People use writing for emotional healing as lots of deep emotions can be felt when being affected by cancer. Journalling and writing down your thoughts is a personal coping mechanism that can be used in daily life to support your mental health.

Where to start?

Starting a journal or blog can feel overwhelming if you have never done this before as you may not know where to start. A blog or journal is personal to you so there is no right or wrong way to begin or structure your writing, but it can help to have some journal prompts and guidance.

If you prefer using pen and paper the Macmillan organiser includes a Cancer Guide with useful information and a ‘my records’ notepad to help you keep track of your appointments, medication, and how you are feeling.

You can download or order ‘My Records’ from Macmillan’s website. It’s a handy booklet to help you to:

• keep notes to show your healthcare team
• keep track of how you are feeling
• You can also write down appointment times and write down contact details, but we don’t suggest you do this on the Community.

Writing prompts

In the ‘My Records’ booklet there is a signpost to Think About Your Life website where you can find examples, stories and different thinking tools. It is run by people who had cancer and there’s more information about what they do on this page. It is a good tool to use if you are looking for some writing prompts to help you reflect. 

Use the comment box below to share any writing prompts you have used and think others may find helpful. 

How to set up your own blog on the Community?

Setting up your own blog on the Community. Visit our blogs page to see the blogs other members have created at to set up your own blog. There is some useful step by step guidance and short video tutorials in our Help Pages to help you set up your own blog.

• How do I create a blog?
• How do I create a blog post within my blog?
• How do I edit my blog post?
• How do I delete a blog post?

Bloq FAQs:

What should my blog title be?

You can get creative with your title or keep it simple, whatever you choose, it will be unique and personal to you. An example may be your name/username then blog e.g Megan’s blog or you may want something more creative.

How often should I post?

Posting in your blog can be done as often as you like. There is no limit to the number of posts you can add to your blog. Some members like to post daily during periods of their cancer journey and others like to post when there is an update on their situation. It’s your blog and personal to you.

When you set up your own blog, you can visit this through your profile by clicking on the ‘blog post’ tab or you can bookmark your blog page by finding the ‘bookmark this blog’ button.

Below are some images as the bookmark button is on the right hand side of the page when using a desktop device however it is at the bottom of the page when using a mobile.

Desktop device:

Mobile device:

If you want to share parts of your personal experiences but don’t want to set up your own blog, there is always the opportunity for members to be a guest blogger. Here are some of our guest blogs and you can read more in the ‘cancer stories’ section of the Community news blog.

• The changing faces of cancer- Scalp cooling, hair loss, and regrowth
• Have you tried expressing yourself? Creativity and coping with member WeeMe

If being a guest blogger sounds like something you would be interested in, post a comment below or email community@macmillan.org.uk. Please also let us know if you need any help setting up your own blog.