Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Coffee Morning with Macmillan's Online Community

September marks Coffee Morning month! While Macmillan’s official Coffee Morning date is 25 of September, you can take part anytime. It’s a chance to come together, share a cuppa and start talking. Here at the O nline C ommunity, we know how important those conversations can be. By sharing experience s, advice and support, members help one another feel listened to and less alone. In this blog, we’ll hear from members about the connections they’ve made and support they’ve received. We’ll show you how you can join conversation s in our forums and find your nearest Coffee Morning. Grab a cuppa and let’s celebrate coming together. Feeling less alone Many members of our community have found comfort and support through our forums. For some it may be the first time they’ve felt able to open up…

Lizzie - Online Community Team
Meet Kirsty, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2024 alongside an existing health condition

May we introduce you to Kirsty, who is here to share her story about coping with a breast cancer diagnosis alongside other long-term health issues. Kirsty described living under the shadow of acute Ulcerative Colitis for 21 years before finding a lump in her breast last April. In Kirsty's story, she describes with candid honesty and humour how she dealt with tests for cancer whilst managing relationships with her loved ones. In this first of two blogs telling Kirsty's story, you will hear Kirsty's experience as she told it to us. "I thought that I had been given my slice of bad luck with my health until last year. On April 28th I found a lump in my left boob whilst in the shower. My sister had had breast cancer 3 years previously, so I had taken to regularly checking my own and thank…

Steph - Online Community Team
Awake and up all night? Get emotional support around the clock!

Trouble sleeping? Receiving news of a cancer diagnosis can often trigger a time of great uncertainty. Whether the diagnosis is for yourself or a loved one, it is often accompanied by feelings of dread, sadness, and anxiety. Those negative emotions can significantly impact your ability to concentrate during the day and relax at night. Similarly, cancer treatments and the side-effects of various drugs can have an impact on finding restful sleep. During the day, there are usually plenty of commitments to take up your time, and plenty of people around who might need your attention. Be it in your own home, at a place of work, or perhaps at a medical appointment – there are no shortage of distractions. But what happens toward the end of the day? Maybe your friends have gone home. Family members…

Matthew - Online Community Team
Bringing the Community together - virtual coffee morning

September is the hallmark month for Macmillan’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning. This year is the 35th year anniversary of the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning which continues to make a difference to support everyone affected by cancer. 35 years of coming together to raise vital funds so Macmillan can be there to support people when they need us the most. It’s also 35 years of bringing people together to talk about cancer. Whilst coffee mornings are a great way to fundraise, it’s also a good opportunity to raise awareness and share personal cancer experiences. The Online Community brings the cancer community together every day. Our forums provide peer to peer support all day and all night helping you navigate the emotional and practical challenges cancer can bring. "Thank you to everyone…

Megan- Online Community Team
An update to our Online Community email notifications

Hi everyone, We just wanted to let you know about a change to the way our email notifications work. Previously, if you opted to receive email notifications about new posts or Private Messages, a preview of the content would be included in the email. In order to comply with the UK's new Online Safety Act , our website has now been updated to remove message preview content from all notification emails. Although this does mean you will need to check the Online Community directly in order to read the actual contents of new messages or thread replies, it also means users are protected from receiving copies of potentially upsetting posts which may have been subsequently removed from public view. We hope you can appreciate the reasons behind why had to update the way notification emails work. If…

Moderator - Macmillan Community
"So why are pets great? Because without them, I don't know if I'd still be here, and if I were I'd not be as upbeat as I am!" - why pets help us and our wellbeing

This week, we’ve been asking the Community about the benefits of pets. We’ve really enjoyed putting this piece together and it’s clear to see our pets mean so much to us. They can be our most loyal companions, our shoulder to lean on and an ever-lasting source of comfort and love. It’s been so lovely to see all of the responses we received and I’ve no doubt you’ll all love them too. "...the crazy cockapoo welcome I get on my return from work is the perfect antidote from the strains of the most stressful day." 'We had never had a dog before and had always planned to get one when we retired. Retirement plans were sadly brought forward for us upon my husband's diagnosis 4 years ago but we decided to put our retirement plans into action instead of on hold and we found our adorable Milo. Milo…

Ellen - Macmillan
"I have always thought that giving up is not an option, it's more of a stepping stone to what is next" - thoughts from our Community Champion, Mike

Last week on the Community, we spotted this response from Thehighlander , one of our dedicated Community Champions. We couldn’t help but share it, it epitomises the very essence of peer support and that’s what the Community is all about. Enjoy… On the 10th May 1999 I was told that I had a rare type of Skin Lymphoma, so for over 20 years I have lived all the levels of acuity and stress so do understand the 'low' moments a cancer diagnosis brings... what did I do to overcome them? 20 years back I was told that my condition would 'get' me at some point in time, someday, some year but with no calendar... I very quickly come to realise that I could not let my condition define me. A good consultant friend told me very early on in my diagnosis that "all the stress and worry in the world would…

Ellen - Macmillan
'The outcome is still unknown but I am glad that I don't have to face this ordeal all alone' - My journey through Breast cancer in verse and word - Vol 1

Today we are really pleased to welcome a new guest blogger for the Community News, Amanda-Jayne. Amanda-Jayne was diagnosed with Breast cancer in June 2019 and used poetry and journaling to diarise her experience throughout. Amanda-Jayne has very kindly sent through her poetry and writing to us here and we are going to be sharing it with you over the next few weeks. So, here is volume one of Amanda- Jayne’s journey through breast cancer in verse and word. Amanda-Jayne with her husband Tristan, and parents in law, Sharron and David. Little Tinker Just a little while ago tinker came to stay, Hope she doesn’t get comfy Wish she would go away. She sits there just beneath my skin Knows there’s nothing I can do, 'She can’t hide from the doctors For her they’ll see right…

Former Member
Dining with an Ostomate - "What I didn't find was any decent recipes for tasty meals..."

Debbie, known to the Community as Jersey Lily , is an Ostomate. She’s also a real ‘foodie’, so off the back of a temporary ileostomy earlier this year, she found it difficult to find tasty and suitable recipes anywhere. Debbie though powered through, adapting a few of her favorite recipes, and discovering new ones suitable for an Ostmate. This week Debbie’s shared with us a recipe for a fresh and health ‘Super Green Soup’, packed full of green goodness – but first, here’s Debbie to tell us a little more about her story… Before I was diagnosed, I was living a healthy lifestyle – eating all the right things, exercising regularly, getting plenty of sleep. I am not an anxious person, have little stress in my life (being able to retire early from teaching has been a real bonus), believe in positivity…

Former Member
"I think the power of song is massively understated..." - Music and your wellbeing...

Whatever the difficulties you might be facing in life right now, listening to or playing music helps people cope – it’s a way of expressing how we feel, and for many people an accessible way of venting difficult thoughts or emotions. Music can energise us, reduce stress and promote wellbeing – it’s no surprise then that music, your favourite artists and songs are a regular topic of discussion across the Community. Here’s what our members have been saying about music and its benefits... Post Your Favourite Cancer Anthem Here, members have compiled a playlist of songs that have helped them as they’ve faced cancer. “Six years ago, we wondered if we dare look into the future and this song helped us both through chemo at a scary time.” "It's very catchy and it would help to stop the…

Former Member
I forgot to be ME

Lindsay, known to much of our Community as Leolady56 , has been an avid member and Community Champion for a couple of years now. Just a couple of months ago I discovered that outside of the Community Lindsay’s involved in a fair few rather interesting hobbies – something you’ll shortly read about further. In addition, she’s also the founder of the ever popular Walking back to Happiness thread, where members share their walks, or any outside excursions they might’ve recently been on with the group. Given this, I thought it good idea to ask Lindsay about her hobbies, and how they helped her cope with cancer. The response? These hobbies reminded Lindsay to be herself. You are all going to have to forgive me for a few sentences.......You see the; ‘I forgot to be ME’ started a long time ago. …

Former Member
Wellbeing Wednesday tips: February

In case you missed it, earlier this year we introduced ‘Wellbeing Wednesday's’ – the day of the week where we bring to you our weekly tip on improving your wellbeing; be helping improving sleep, coping with stress, or a couple of mindfulness tips to help you look for the positives throughout the day. It’s last day of February today, so here’s a summary of our tips to date: Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. Mindfulness is a skill. It requires work like any therapy and practice like any skill. You can find out more on the MIND website here . What was good about your day? Finding the good on the bad days can be hard. Trying to find…

Former Member