Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Let’s talk about treatment: Prostate cancer and zoladex injections

In today’s Community News Blog, we’re kicking off Prostate cancer awareness month and our new “Let’s talk about treatment” series. This series will feature stories from members of the Online Community around what their treatment experience was like. Firstly, we have Roger, known as Pozthinker on the Online Community cancer forum . Roger was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011. They’re here to talk about zoladex injections and managing their long-term symptoms. Zoladex is a type of hormone therapy . It is also known as Goserelin. People might have it as a treatment for breast or prostate cancer. I was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2011, the year I was 66. (Yes, I'm 75 now.) I first opted for radiotherapy, but I was unable to hold my water. However, I was able to stay with the…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Sunita’s experience with post-surgical menopause, chemotherapy and hair loss.

Sunita was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer and is sharing her experience with post-surgical menopause, chemotherapy and coping with her changing body image. There can be a whole range of things to consider when you go through treatment and everybody’s experience is so unique to them. Different aspects of body image are often talked about on the Community and Sunita is sharing her personal journey in the hope it can help you. As a trained makeup artist, Sunita also shares some of the things she did which you may find helpful. My whole world – and plans for a family – were shattered in April 2016, when I was suddenly diagnosed with ovarian cancer, having shown no previous symptoms of the disease. Cancer is still stigmatised in the Asian community, from my experience, with many people unwilling…

Megan- Online Community Team
Improvements are coming

On Wednesday 5 th May, we will be introducing the first of our improvements to the Community. In our previous blog, ‘Look out for improvements’ , we announced that we would be making some key improvements to the site. We are continually grateful for all of the feedback that you send to us, the Community team, as this is what has helped us to work on the things that matter the most to our members. We’ve got three releases coming to the Community over the coming months. Each of these releases will bring improvements to the site – some small fixes and some larger developments. On Wednesday 5 th May, we’ll be introducing the first of these three. EDIT: We've been informed that there will now be some downtime needed to release these improvements. The Community will be down for half an hour…

Ellen - Macmillan
National pet month

April is National Pet month and we want to take a moment to talk about the support given . F or those who have furry, smooth, big or small animals in y our lives , you know how much they can affect your we l lbeing. In our Animals are family too forum , we see how much a nimals mean to you and how they have provided support in different ways. “While I was having my radiotherapy and chemotherapy in March/April 2019, Chynna would always come on my knee every day while I was waiting for the hospital transport to collect me. It was almost as if she knew what I was going through.” - blackstuff “About 6 weeks before I was diagnosed with cervical cancer my dog would not leave my side, he's normally quite clingy but I noticed he was exceptionally clingy just would not leave me, I am about to…

Former Member
Taking Care of Yourself – COVID-19 and Lung Cancer Awareness

Autumn is fully upon us and as the dark nights close in, it’s as important as ever that we have access to the support and health services that we need. In today’s Community News Blog, we’re talking about the impact of COVID-19 on health services and cancer. November is lung cancer awareness month too, so we will highlight some of the specific issues related to lung cancer. COVID-19 has had a huge impact on cancer patients. The first lockdown over the UK summer (April – August 2020) saw 350,000 less people put onto urgent suspected cancer referral lists. Not all those referred have cancer of course, but it does raise concerns about the implications for people that do. In a thread posted in our Lung cancer forum, 'mum diagnosed during pandemic' , we can read and feel what it’s like for a…

Tom C - Online Community team
Spending Christmas without a loved one

At a time of year where we want to rejoice with our loved ones, sadly there are many different reasons why this may not be possible. This may be your first Christmas without a friend or family member, and there may be additional restrictions in place which means this festive period will be very different for you. However you are spending Christmas this year, we hope you can still find some peaceful moments. “This Christmas is going to be a very different one, so don't even try and compare it to others, you need to take care of yourself” AT7 , Reality hits and it hurts blog "I had planned a busy Christmas with a number of changes, but the government have put paid to that! I wonder how many others will struggle more because of this? I have a feeling it could be a long few days with too…

Megan- Online Community Team
Supporting yourself while supporting someone with incurable cancer (Part 2)

A loved one’s cancer diagnosis can have just as large an impact as a personal diagnosis. Our Cancer Information and Support Advisor, Jenna, is here to talk through some of the complicated emotions you might feel, and ways you can help yourself cope. If you missed the Jenna’s first blog post, you can read it here . In Part 1 of this blog series, I talked through the huge emotional impact coping with the incurable diagnosis of a loved one can have. We discussed the importance of being gentle with yourself and listening to your emotions to help you understand what you need. In Part 2, I hope to share some ways to support yourself through what can be such a difficult time. Just as everyone’s emotional response is individual, what each person needs to help them find their way through is also…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Here's to you, our Community members.

Our recent Community news blogs ‘ Being a partner and carer, how cancer affects relationships ’ and ‘ Let’s talk about cancer and sex ’ open up the discussion of how cancer can impact your personal relationships and sex life. There’s another important relationship that we’d like to feature in today’s blog. That relationship is between you, and the other Community members. The Community is here all hours of the day to listen, to care and to help. Everyday there’s so much kindness offered in the discussion threads and it’s warming to see you come together to be a friendly voice at the end of an emotional post. Being a reassuring friend to another member is a really kind thing to do. We’d like to take some time to highlight how much your kindness means to those you support. “There is no…

Megan- Online Community Team
Cancer, exercise and you

Here on the Community we know that staying active looks different for everyone. Everyone is unique, and so is how they may feel emotionally and physically after their cancer treatment. For some people, trying to keep active and move their body after treatment can be a way of looking after themselves. It may help you feel less stressed and lift your spirits if you are feeling low. It can also help you feel more in control, because you are doing something positive for yourself. We all know the benefits of exercise, and that eating well and trying to keep active can be good for our physical and mental health. But for some people, building up fitness after treatment also means getting back to activities and sports that are important to them. Doing what you love and what makes you happy is…

Former Member
Kath's bowel cancer journey and life with a stoma

There are many discussions here on the Community about how a cancer diagnosis can affect someone’s life. Kath is here to share her experience of being diagnosed with bowel cancer 11 years ago and the physical and emotional challenges that she has faced. There can be some comfort gained from reading a shared experience which is why Kath is sharing her story in hope that it can provide support to others. If you read Kath’s story and want to read other personal experiences, you can find many different discussions in the Bowel cancer forum . Eleven years ago, I was diagnosed with Bowel (rectal) cancer. I'd visited my Doctor several times the previous year as I was having to go to the toilet more frequently. Sometimes there was blood in my stools, and I was told I'd had piles. I wasn't given…

Megan- Online Community Team
What does the Online Community mean to you?

Last month, shared a wonderful Community News blog highlighting the kindness shown across the Community. “No matter what has brought you to the site, no matter how cancer has affected your life, our members will support you through. The kindness of strangers soon becomes the kindness of friends.” – Rachel - Macmillan, Community News Blog, June 2021 It was lovely to hear from Community members in response to Rachel’s blog. We heard that you really enjoyed the chance to read some of the kind and supportive messages from across the whole site. If you haven’t yet read Rachel’s blog ‘Our members are here for you’, you can catch up by clicking here. Although we’re sorry that circumstances have brought each of you to the Community, we’re so proud that the site provides so much support. We’d…

Steph - Online Community Team
How Reflexology helped me - Charlie's story part II

In today’s Community News Blog, we’re hearing from the lovely Charlie. Charlie began to share some of her experiences with us back in February, where she kindly put together some videos to show the Community how they can use simple reflexology techniques to help them. Charlie is a Clinical Reflexologist and was diagnosed with breast cancer in January this year. She’s been using some reflexology techniques to help her cope with the side effects of treatment. Today she’s sharing some tips to help with heart burn, sleep and nausea. We’d like to say a big thank you to Charlie for sharing more about her journey, and for taking the time to put together these videos especially for us here on our Community cancer forums . Since my last blog the it feels as though an awful lot has happened to me and…

Ellen - Macmillan

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