Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Protecting your mental health on the Online Community

The Online Community is a big source of support for lots of members. It can be a comfort to read that other members are going through a similar experience to you. However, it’s important to look after yourself online. Sometimes we may need different types of support depending on how we’re feeling. Sometimes it can be difficult to read posts where other people are talking about their experiences, even if those experiences are similar to yours. We want you to feel you can be honest and use the Online Community in the best way for you. We’re here today to talk about how you can look after your wellbeing online. We’re also going to talk about ways you can be mindful of other members’ mental wellbeing. “Everyone can be affected by a cancer diagnosis in so many ways.” Ask a nurse How can you…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Alone in this, together. Blood cancer awareness.

Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be an isolating experience. "Im just feeling so lonely because I cant talk to my loved ones about my fears because I know how much it will make them be afraid!" julielovesGoats, New to the Community group . This can be even more true for those who receive a rarer cancer diagnosis, like some blood disorders. In today’s Community News Blog we’re hoping to create a space where those diagnosed with a rarer cancer can come together and share their experience. We will also share some resources and direction for those affected by blood disorders, to honour blood cancer awareness month this September. Feeling isolated is something that most people have experienced in the last year in one way or another. The Online Community is here to remind you that you are not alone…

Tom C - Online Community team
Urology Awareness Month

Urology. Defined in the Oxford dictionary as the branch of medicine concerned with the function and disorders of the urinary system. It’s always been a sensitive topic and often leads to not getting the medical attention that is required when a problem occurs in this area. In fact, according to the research done by Bupa , one in five UK adults who have experienced potential cancer symptoms, have not seen a doctor due to being too embarrassed to go. In this blog, we take a look at the Community to help break down the stigma of embarrassment and taking better precautions to look after our urological health. Listed below are the different areas in the urological system than can be affected by cancer. They are as follows: Prostate Bladder Kidney Testicular Penile Each link contains…

Syed - Macmillan
Cancer & Me 35 Years On – ‘against all odds we can survive’

Willo is back today with the final Instalment of her blog series, ‘Cancer and me 35 years on’. Willo is a member of our Community who was diagnosed with Anal cancer in 1986 while living in Zambia. In this blog series Willo has been sharing her experience of living through and beyond cancer. Alongside sharing everything she has been through, Willo has also been sharing the amazing artwork she created during this time in her life. We shared Willo's first blog, ‘ To begin at the beginning ’ back In May 2020, and over the last 18 months, Willo has talked about everything she has been through. From moving back to England for treatment, her Abdominoperineal Resection , going back to art school post-surgery and the amazing friends and family that helped her through. When Willo first started her…

Former Member
Introducing Community badges!

Introducing our new Community badges! We are really excited to be able to share with you today a new feature on the online Community, our Community badges. Our Community badges are not only a new way for our members to quickly identify the Community team, and our Community Champions, but also a way to celebrate you and the amazing support you provide each and every day on the Community. We have three badges which we are going to be launching, and we wanted to tell you more about each of these badges below. Staff badge This badge is for Macmillan’s Community team. The Community team are Macmillan staff that are dedicated to running the Community. The Community team are available 7 days a week and are here to support you. This badge will only be given to members of Macmillan’s Community…

Former Member
Join me in celebrating our amazing volunteers.

At Macmillan, we are really excited to kick off the month with Volunteers' Week, 1-7 June. We’re dedicating this time to celebrate and thank all our amazing volunteers for the time they’ve given to help people with cancer live life as fully as they can, over the last year and during this difficult time. Whatever you’re doing right now, whether you’ve had to pause your volunteering or not, your support is valued now more than ever. In the Online Community, we have additional reason to celebrate and thank our volunteers, as the fantastic Community Champions, have won an incredible award. You may have seen Community Champions around the different groups on our Community cancer forum , helping welcome and support members. We are so proud of the way they use their own cancer experiences…

Steph - Online Community Team
"I was not a man in my 60’s or 70’s – I was a 34 year-old female!"

Gina was diagnosed with lung cancer at just 34. She's kindly shared with the Community her experience of being diagnosed, and the shock and impact being diagnosed with cancer had on her at such a young age. If, like Gina, you were diagnosed with cancer at a young age, go ahead and share your experiences with us in the comments section below. You might also like to visit our Diagnosed at a young age group to talk about and share your experiences with others of a similar age. If you saw me walking down the street, it wouldn’t cross your mind that I have lung cancer would it? However, I am a growing statistic that seems to lack an awareness. It is becoming more and more common for young women to be diagnosed with lung cancer. Often, they have never smoked – so the usual red flags are out the…

Former Member
Arts, crafts and coping with cancer

"…it gave me better pain relief than any drug could ever do.” Facing cancer arguably takes a lot of energy, and naturally it becomes a central focus of someone’s life. But this doesn’t mean hobbies or pastimes, including arts and crafts, need to fall to the wayside. Such hobbies often provide a vital escape to where cancer is no longer the central focus, but rather your enjoyment and perhaps solace in whatever hobby or pastime works for you. You might already be aware of this, but our Community has various threads dedicated to arts, crafts and other hobbies members are involved in that they find beneficial when facing cancer. I asked members of these threads to tell me how arts and crafts has helped them... “I’ve quite a history of arts and crafts, I pastel paint (but haven’t for a while…

Former Member
"...I was winded by the realisation that I could've died. Equally, I realised that now I had to live." - David's story

Last month, Community News shared My cancer, my sexuality, me. – a piece written by a gent named David, which spoke about his diagnosis and its relation to his sexuality. David’s story made for an extremely honest and heartfelt read, so I thought I’d ask him to contribute another piece this month. Fortunately, David recently underwent chemotherapy treatment which proved to be successful. His below piece covers difficulties and mixed feelings David felt following this news. I should mention David originally shared this piece with the Centre for Mental Health ; a fantastic charity that works to promote mental health and wellbeing, and to change inequality and disadvantage throughout the life course. The walk from the waiting room to his office seemed interminable. The lights were harsh…

Former Member
Temporarily disabled email notifications

Hi everyone, Last week, we used a feature to send an email notification to all members to let them know about our update on the site upgrade . You may have seen the below email in your inbox: Unfortunately, due to a technical glitch, this email is being sent to users multiple times. Because of this, we have had to temporarily disable email notifications from the Community. This means users will not receive any email notifications from the Community. We have raised this as a critical issue and this is being looked into as a priority. We're really sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and we hope to have email notifications up and running shortly.

Ellen - Macmillan
"It's heartwarming for me when I see in print that someone has wished me well...it's better than any pill I could take." - 'What the Community means to me...' Vol 1: tvman

Here on the Community News Blog we want to showcase just how much support, friendship and kindness is shared on this site every single day. To try and shine a light on this we are starting a new series called ‘ what the Community means to me…’ which looks at some of our member’s stories, how they came to find the Community and what it means to them to be on the site. In our first volume today tvman shares his story, why not take a moment to read through? Tvman about to plant bulbs with his grandson and wife watching. Tvman’s story I was diagnosed with Myelodysplasia (MDS) in March 2015. This diagnosis followed a period of time that my haemaglobin level was up, it was down but the general trend was downward. So in February 2015 I underwent a bone marrow examination. Getting the sample taken…

Former Member
'I am struck not only by the quality of the information but by the depth of care that people who post show. It’s humanity at its best.' – A word from our CEO Lynda

We are thrilled to announce that kicking off 2020’s guest blogs, we have our very own Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Support, Lynda. Lynda is a huge advocate of the Community and the amazing support you all provide every day. The beginning of a New Year can bring many thoughts and feelings, some very difficult and some more hopeful but it can be a really good time to look forward over the coming days, weeks or even months and really take time to focus on what is most important to you. Whether that is spending more time with friends and family, taking time out to make sure you are giving yourself a proper rest, or maybe booking that appointment you have been putting off. Lynda’s piece today focuses on the importance of seeking medical guidance even when it can feel extremely daunting. Sometimes…

Former Member

Awake and up all night?

We know that cancer can sometimes cause sleepless nights. Join our Cancer Chat forum for some company here in the 'Awake and up all night' thread.

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