Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Let's talk about cancer and sex

Our recent Community News blog ‘Cancer and Fatigue – when will I start feeling less tired’ sparked off a conversation in the bladder cancer forum around sex after cancer treatment. It’s also a subject that many of you are talking about across the Community. Some people might find sex an embarrassing or tricky subject to talk about. Some are worried that it might be considered trivial or irrelevant to think about your sex life when you or your partner have cancer. Here in the Community, no subject is taboo. You can post completely anonymously and talk with others in similar circumstances. You can talk about any erections and penis pumps, vaginal dryness and lubricants, dilators or prosthetics. You can chat about how your cancer diagnosis, side effects or body image have affected your sexual…

Steph - Online Community Team
Radiotherapy: Tips from the Community

Radiotherapy is part of many people’s experiences with cancer, and lots of members talk about Radiotherapy here in the Online Community. No matter what treatment you’re experiencing, here in the Community there might be someone who really understands. We’ve collated some of our members’ tips and support below. Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays, such as x-rays, to treat cancer. People can have radiotherapy for different reasons, and you can read more about how radiotherapy works, side effects and more on Macmillan’s information and support website . It’s important to remember that the tips below are from Community members’ personal experiences. Everyone’s experience of cancer and radiotherapy can be different. If you have any questions or concerns about radiotherapy, it’s important to seek…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Coping with anniversaries - Bereavement support

This photo was taken at 7:05 am on a Sunday while I was volunteering at Kielder for the running weekend. The grey bar across the middle is actually a fog bank drifting over Kielder water and there is one lone duck swimming from the shore to the jetty. – David Anniversaries can mean something different to everyone, it can be the birthday of a loved one, a wedding anniversary, or the anniversary of a diagnosis or of their passing. These significant dates can be difficult to cope with for many reasons. You may want to spend the day thinking about the person who has passed to celebrate their life or mark their passing in some way. You may find you would prefer not to mark the day at all, and instead choose to treat the day as any other. There is no right or wrong way to feel or react when an…

Former Member
Lights! Camera! Action! Steph & Emma's Secret London Trip

Earlier in March, Steph and Emma from the Community team took part in a top-secret Macmillan TV project! I’m Steph and I’m excited to share some of our experience with you today. We travelled to London to film with a professional crew so that a message about the Online Community can appear on primetime television in the coming weeks. The filming was part of a larger project, designed to increase understanding and awareness of Macmillan services. We know just how important the Online Community can be to those who use it. Through our TV spotlight message, we hope to reach more people living with and affected by cancer so we can be be there for everyone who needs us. Intrigued? Whilst we can’t yet reveal full details of the project, we wanted to share a diary of our day in London and some…

Steph - Online Community Team
New Dates for 2026 - Local Cancer Community Meet-ups

It's 2026 and we're back with all-new dates for your diary! If you're in Birmingham, Bradford, Manchester, Prestatyn, Preston, Rochester, Washington, or Watford... we're delighted to announce even more opportunities to make new friends face-to-face. These in-person events intend to build supportive communities of people local to the areas they're hosted in. To avoid confusing them with our Online Community, we refer to these events as 'Local Cancer Community Meet-ups' in this blog. If you would like to discuss attending this event with other members of the Online Community, please don't forget that our Community Guidelines still apply. The Private Messaging system is a safer way to discuss specific meet-up plans with friends on the forum. Please see our guide to Private Messages and Friends…

Matthew - Online Community Team
Spring into our Online Community Quiz

Welcome to our spring themed quiz Members have been talking about springtime across the Online Community. Whether it's blossom coming out on the trees or the longer days, there's lots of positivity in the air. Even if you're not feeling particularly positive right now, you might find light-hearted distractions to be helpful. After receiving feedback that many of you have enjoyed a chance to relax and engage with light-hearted content, w e've created a spring themed quiz for the Community today. How to play the interactive quiz Use the voting buttons to choose your answer from the multiple choices shown. You are welcome to try all ten questions, or just a few. Once you have voted for your answer, you will be able to see how many others chose the same answer as you. Where can…

Steph - Online Community Team
The Online Community Festive Quiz - 2024 Edition

Frost-kissed windows, bald trees and hedges become a platform the robin redbreast’s grand, virtuoso winter performance that fills the chilly air with a sense of warmth and comfort. You could say ‘tis the most wonderful time of the year. That being said, guess who’s back? Back again. The quiz is back! Tell a friend. After extensive research, conducted by hundreds of researchers. Kidding. This year, we’re going to continue using the same format as the previous quiz. Multiple choice questions, a variety of them surrounding the festive theme. We hope you’re warm, cosy and comfortable this holiday season. So grab a mince pie, a cuppa or any food that will keep your belly warm, as it’s time for the 2024 Online Community Festive Quiz. How to play It’s very simple, you use the voting buttons…

Syed - Macmillan
Confused about your diagnosis or treatment options?

Lots of members come to the Online Community with questions. It can be really difficult to cope with feeling that you don’t understand your own cancer diagnosis, treatment options, or information you’ve been given. It’s important to make sure you can access the explanations you may need. It’s also important that you are asking questions in the right place. Remember that you’re not alone, and that there’s lots of support available to you. “I'm just very confused that all this has happened so fast” Online Community member, ‘Acute myeloid leukaemia’ group Receiving a new diagnosis can be overwhelming. You might have received information you don’t understand, or medical terms which sound confusing. Not understanding your diagnosis may cause more worry and uncertainty. You might feel frustrated…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Cost of living - support for people with cancer

" I have been signed off work now, will worry about the finances at a later stage." - Community member Money may not be the first worry after receiving a cancer diagnosis, but we know that cancer can have a severe impact on finances. You might be spending more on everyday costs, such as energy bills or extra costs if you need to travel for cancer treatment. You may be experiencing loss of income if you’ve had to reduce your hours or stop working completely. With increasing costs of living in the UK, we understand that this might be really worrying for people, particularly if you’re already struggling with the household bills. "I am a carer for my wife but money is a worry how many hours can I work part time while still getting carers allowance?" - Community member At Macmillan Cancer…

Steph - Online Community Team
Breaking down the barriers and blushes

Last week we published the ‘why do I feel so guilty?’ blog exploring why we may feel guilty when living with, or being affected by cancer. Today we are talking about embarrassment because it’s often a feeling many people experience when it comes to talking about your body. On the Online Community, we often see members posting about how embarrassed they feel to talk about parts of their body with friends, family and medical professionals. Embarrassment shouldn’t hold you back from getting the support you need so in this blog we’re sharing some of the discussions from our Community groups to help break down the barriers and the blushes of feeling embarrassed when being affected by cancer. Embarrassment is described as a feeling of shame, awkwardness, and becoming self-conscious about something…

Megan- Online Community Team
Local Cancer Community Meet-ups - support and socialising in Glasgow

If you're in the Glasgow area and you fancy chatting face-to-face with other people affected by cancer, this could be a great opportunity to make some new friends. Macmillan is trialling a new kind of event this summer called 'Cancer Community Meet-ups'. These events intend to build supportive communities of people local to the area they are hosted in. Not to be confused with our Online Community, we'll refer to these events as 'Local Cancer Community Meet-ups' in this blog post. If you would like to discuss attending this event with other members of the Online Community, please don't forget that our Community Guidelines still apply. We ask members not to share contact details or make specific meeting plans on the public forums. The Private Messaging system is a better way to discuss plans…

Matthew - Online Community Team
Spring Picture Festival - Community in Bloom

As we’re approaching summer, we wanted to take some time to look back on the Spring Picture Festival this year. We recently asked members to share pictures of what their spring looked like, whether pictures of flowers, art and crafts, pets or more. We’d like to say a big thank you to everyone who shared a picture as part of the Spring Picture Festival. We’d like to add a special shout out to one of our Community Champion volunteers, jane2511 who kick-started the discussion and picture sharing. There are far too many beautiful pictures of flowers, gardens and animals to share everyone’s photographs here in this blog. You can view all the pictures as part of the Spring Picture Festival in the discussion thread in the Express Yourself forum . If you’re new to the Community or if you might…

Eliza -Online Community Team