Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Cancer and gardens - enjoy garden and gardening chat with members of the Online Community

Image credit: tvman - part of my vegetable garden Members of the Community have been talking a lot about gardens and gardening. If you’re struggling with cancer, or the effects of cancer treatment , you might benefit from gentle activity around the garden, or simply just sitting in nature. It’s often said that the physical activity of gardening is beneficial to both the body and mind. Whether you have your own garden, you’re in a gardening group or have access to a community garden , you might find there are health benefits to getting outside. Let’s have a look at some of the conversations about gardens and gardening from across the Online Community. Community member tvman regularly shares the benefits of gardening through regular updates about his fruit and vegetable growing in the…

Steph - Online Community Team
Finding human connections and support: Rubina’s story

Receiving a cancer diagnosis can feel lonely and isolating. But you don’t have to feel alone. There’s lots of support available for you, although you may not know at first where to find it. We’re here to help here on the Online Community. Every month, we share a person from Macmillan’s Digital Storytelling project here on the Online Community. Today, we’re featuring Rubina. Rubina was diagnosed with bowel cancer. It took a long time for Rubina to receive a diagnosis, she felt her primary care did not fully investigate her concerns. By the time Rubina was diagnosed, her cancer was already advanced. Rubina felt very disappointed, angry and frustrated as there was no compassion or empathy from her medical professionals when she needed it the most. She couldn’t share her feelings as she didn…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Coping with the news you have incurable cancer

Finding out you have an incurable diagnosis can bring lots of different emotions. You may not feel your friends and family members can understand what you’re going through. You may not understand why you feel the way you feel. Jenna is one of our Information and Support Advisors on Macmillan’s Support Line . She is here to talk you through ways to understand and cope with your emotions and mental health. If you’ve been diagnosed with incurable cancer, it may help to talk. Please remember you can access support in our “Living with incurable cancer” group . This blog post is a bit longer than our other blog posts here on Community News. This is just to help you access all the information and support you may need in one place. Please feel you can read this at your own pace. To help you find…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Living with incurable cancer – Online Community support

Macmillan’s Online Community can support you when you have incurable cancer. Only those who have an incurable diagnosis can truly understand how you are feeling, so it can be helpful to connect with others in a similar situation. If you have an incurable cancer diagnosis, you may find it helpful to join the Living with incurable cancer forum as an additional source of support. The following will introduce you to the group and highlight the emotional support this forum can offer. We will feature discussions and posts from people already posting in this group alongside other sources of support. Why join the Living with incurable cancer forum? It's good to connect with people who have a similar cancer type in the other cancer forums so you can support each other through similar treatments…

Megan- Online Community Team
Holly’s Cancer Poems: Coping with chemotherapy (Part 2)

Holly was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2005. Holly has shared her experience through poems, written at different points of her experience with cancer. If you’ve not read Part 1 where Holly describes her diagnosis, you can read Part 1 on Community News . In today’s blog, we’re sharing 5 poems which talk about Holly’s experience going through chemotherapy. Her poems also talk about coping with side effects from chemotherapy, such as hair loss. Holly also talks about her experiences of talking to family and friends about cancer. This Community News blog is a little bit longer than our other blogs. If you would like to skip straight to Holly’s poems, please use the buttons below: Holly's poems: Cancer terror Under Siege Going bald Sick to the stomach with chemo The…

Eliza -Online Community Team
World Poetry Day: Holly’s Cancer Poems (Part 1)

Today is World Poetry Day, where we’re taking this opportunity to share Holly’s poems. Here on the Online Community, it’s clear how much being creative can help. Poetry can be a way to cope, a fun distraction and sometimes even a form of art therapy. Members in our “Express yourself” group and across the Online Community enjoy writing and sharing poems. Holly was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2005. Holly has shared her experience through poems, written at different points of her experience with cancer. In today’s blog, Holly shares her emotions, thoughts and worries from her initial breast cancer diagnosis. We’re sharing 4 poems from Holly’s poetry collection, titled “Holly’s cancer poems…The truth behind my smile.” Holly also describes what was happening and how she was feeling…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Support resources for Carers, family members and friends

This blog is a support resource for carers, friends, and family members who are supporting a loved one living with cancer. When supporting a loved one it’s important to know what help you can access, so the following will tell how the Online Community can support you and where to turn for additional support. The Online Community is here to support you “There is such a thing as Carer burnout where you get to the stage that you just cannot cope… coming onto somewhere like here and just venting gave you the release valve that you needed, and you will always find a listening sympathetic ear from others who really get where you are at. I am so glad that you are already able to contribute to help others and together we will get the support that we all need.” Community member,…

Megan- Online Community Team
Coping with anticipatory grief when you're supporting someone living with cancer

The feeling of grief and loss before a loved one’s passing is something that is often discussed here on the Community. If you’re feeling this way at the moment, or have done in the past, you’re not alone. This blog is exploring anticipatory grief and hopefully you’ll find some comfort and ways of processing anticipatory grief after reading the following. What is anticipatory grief? Anticipatory grief can be experienced when you’re aware of an impending loss. It’s the feeling like you're coping with bereavement before a loved one dies. The feelings associated with grief, such as sadness, guilt, anger and denial, don't only surface after a loved one has died. It’s not uncommon to start the grieving process before a loved one’s passing. “Someone wrote on one of the chats that when someone…

Megan- Online Community Team
The power of shared support on Macmillan's Online Community

When you first join the Community, supporting others might be the last thing on your mind. You might have just received a cancer diagnosis , feeling alone and fearful of what lies ahead. You might be reeling with news of a loved one’s diagnosis and not sure how you’ll cope. You might be struggling with cancer treatment and just want someone to talk to in the middle of the night. Although finding support might be your initial need, you might be surprised to find that by simply posting here, your words will help to support others. We hope it brings you comfort to know that by sharing your personal experience here on the Community, you become part of a powerful social network of peer support . "I came on your thread to comfort you and you've given me comfort right back! Thank you" Community…

Steph - Online Community Team
Support from Macmillan with funeral arrangements

Funerals can be difficult in lots of ways. It can be easy to feel isolated or overwhelmed if you are planning a funeral. It can also be hard to cope with feeling excluded from a funeral or the planning process. While for some people, funerals are a helpful way to find closure and say goodbye, this might not be true for everyone. In today’s blog, we are going to talk through support options from Macmillan and reassurance from the Online Community that you are not on your own. It’s natural to feel lots of different emotions around a funeral, and the Online Community is here to help. All of the quotes we’re featuring are from our “Bereaved spouses and partners” group and our “Bereaved family and friends” group . These groups are safe spaces to find support and talk about your experiences with…

Eliza -Online Community Team
How do you prepare to hear the news? Getting the results with member Wee Me

Whether you have been personally diagnosed or you are supporting a loved one, waiting for and getting results can be difficult. It can be hard to know how you might feel if you receive news you didn’t want or didn’t expect. You might know Community member and Macmillan volunteer Wee Me from our “Carers only” group or “Glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour” group . You might also know her from all her blogs here on Community News. Wee Me’s husband was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumour in September 2020. Following on from her blog in March 2022 for Brain Cancer Awareness Month, Wee Me is here today to talk about hearing the news. She shares her experience of going to appointments, looking at scans and hearing her husband’s results. “Point to the picture of the blue pencil under the…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Lung cancer support: Catching up with the Lung cancer forum

Next month is Lung Cancer Awareness Month . In this Community News Blog, we’re catching up with our Lung cancer forum . This supportive online group is for anyone affected by lung cancer, whether you’ve been diagnosed or are supporting a loved one. It’s a place to share your thoughts, worries, and experiences with people who understand what you're going through. Read on to see what discussions have taken place in our Lung cancer forum recently. "I'm so glad I've decided to join as I've been reading all your amazing posts of support." Community member – Lung cancer forum Coping with pain and treatment side effects For many, managing the physical pain of lung cancer can be overwhelming. The Lung cancer forum is a safe space where you can share your struggles and ask questions. A member…

Dylan - Online Community Team