Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Catching up with the ‘Anal cancer’ group

Here on the Online Community, we have lots of different groups where you can find support from someone with a similar diagnosis. If you or your loved one have been diagnosed with a form of anal cancer, the ‘Anal cancer’ group is a safe place to find support. In the Community News blog today, we’re going to feature some recent discussions and highlight how supportive our members are. Our members are here to reassure you that you’re not alone, and it’s ok to talk about what you’re going through. “Ask, Ask Ask away, there's so many people on here that will be able to help and offer support. Also, don't think anything is too much information or too gross to talk about it. It's all been asked before.” Community member, ‘Anal cancer’ group Some members recently welcomed a new member to the…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Cancer & Me 35 Years On Vol 5 - Jolly Hockey Sticks!

Today in our Community News blog Willo is back with the fifth instalment of her guest blog series called ‘Cancer & me 35 years on’ . In this series, Willo, known on the Community as patsyann85 , tells us about her experience of being diagnosed with Anal cancer in 1986 while living in Zambia. We will be sharing more of Willo’s writing and incredible artwork throughout the next few months in the Community News . If you missed Vol 4 – Brachytherapy you can click here to catch up. 'For almost a week the caesium needles were sewn into position and I was becoming quite badly burnt and the sickly sweet smell of burning flesh was very noticeable. As the deadline for removal approached I became more and more sore and very scared, as I have good healing skin and anticipated it being difficult and painful…

Former Member
Cancer and Covid- Ruth's Story

October is Breast cancer awareness month and to mark this, Ruth sharing her cancer experience of being diagnosed with Breast cancer during the Coronavirus pandemic. Ruth talking about becoming a mum and being diagnosed, all during a national lockdown. I never thought I would be diagnosed with breast cancer, at 32, with a 7-week-old baby. I also never thought that I would be on my own when I heard those fateful words. But thanks to Covid and a nationwide lockdown, I was. I had found a lump in my breast whilst pregnant but thought it was due to the changes my body was going through anyway. However, after my daughter was born, the lump was still there. I also had problems breastfeeding on that side, so I decided to go to the GP to get it checked out. By this point, I was more worried about…

Megan- Online Community Team
Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month

Did you know that November is Pancreatic cancer awareness month? Around 9,600 people are diagnosed with pancreas cancer in the UK each year. Here in the Online Community, the “Pancreatic cancer” forum has over 2400 members. This November, we wanted to shed light on the amazing support they offer 365 days a year. In 2020 alone, the “Pancreatic cancer” forum has had over 13 million views. Across 2019, members posted 1192 replies to posts in the group. That’s 1192 offers of support, sharing experiences, and care. Our members are here every day, to reassure anyone with who has been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer, that they’re not alone. “…rest assured on this forum you will never be alone and i found the cancer nurses/doctors are always happy to discuss any concerns you may have” Kevatvinegarhill…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Transgender awareness week

Friday 13 th November to Friday 20 th November is Transgender awareness week. To support this, we wanted to make our members aware of our LGBT+ forum . Should you need support for living with a cancer diagnosis and identifying as Transgender, this is a safe place for you to access support. It is a place for you to speak to others who may have had a similar experience and who can understand how you may be feeling. What does Transgender mean? Transgender is a term to refer to all people who do not identify as their assigned gender at birth/and or the binary male/female gender system. Assigned Gender is the gender a person is given at birth and what gets written on their birth certificate when they are a baby. Gender identity is a personal concept of oneself as either male, female, both…

Megan- Online Community Team
Bereavement Support in the Online Community

On this day of remembrance across the UK, we’re talking about bereavement support in this Community News blog. We understand that the death of someone close to you isn’t something you ‘get over’. It’s something you attempt to come to terms with. The Community can be a comforting place to share your feelings and get bereavement support from people who understand. “I just don't know how to shake this feeling, it’s been a year and it feels raw now, it didn't feel that way last year I think I was just in shock, but I can't help but feel so lost without her.” - Mario189, bereaved family and friends group. Learning to live with your grief can mean so many different things to different people. There’s no set period of time in which you should expect to ‘feel better’. “No one knows how…

Steph - Online Community Team
The Community team are now available on webchat!

When looking round the Community recently you may have noticed a new ‘ Chat with us’ button appearing when looking at our ‘ Ask an Expert ’ pages or our ‘ Help section’ . This is Macmillan’s webchat feature and we are pleased to announce that the Community team are now available for you to live chat with for technical support Monday – Friday 9am – 5pm. What is webchat? Webchat is a service that has been available on Macmillan’s main website for a number of years. It is now available directly on the Community as well. Webchat allows anyone to connect with a member of our Macmillan specialist teams online and live chat with them for help and support. This means that you can message one of our specialists directly and receive live support from them as they answer your questions, or help…

Former Member
Cancer & me 35 years on - Vol 6 - The Abdominoperineal Resection with Colostomy

Today in our Community News blog Willo is back with the sixth instalment of her guest blog series called ‘Cancer & me 35 years on’ . In this series, Willo, known on the Community as patsyann85 , tells us about her experience of being diagnosed with Anal cancer in 1986 while living in Zambia. We will be sharing more of Willo’s writing and incredible artwork throughout the next few months in the Community News . If you missed Vol 5 – ‘Jolly hockey sticks’ you can click here to catch up. I returned to Zambia, still working furiously (as I said previously, being faced with your own mortality really spurs you on) and everything was going smoothly until 18 months later when during a regular check-up my doctor (George again) felt something higher in the rectum. I could feel him flicking his finger…

Former Member
2020 on the Online Community

Picture from , as part of 2020’s Winter Picture Festival Looking back on this year, life might feel very different now than it did a year ago. One thing hasn’t changed: the Online Community is still here for you as a source of support. Here in the Community team, we are so proud of all of our members for sharing their experiences, and offering support to others. We wanted to reflect on everything that the Online Community has achieved in 2020. Our Community Champions won the Vicky Clement-Jones Award Here in the Community team, our volunteers winning the Vicky Clement-Jones Award was an absolute highlight of 2020. The Vicky Clement-Jones Award is for individuals or groups who use their own cancer experiences to improve the lives of other people affected by cancer. We’re sure you’ll agree…

Eliza -Online Community Team
A day in the life of...an Online Community officer

When looking round the Community recently you may have noticed a new ‘chat with us’ button appearing when looking at our ‘Ask an Expert’ section or our ‘ Help pages ’. This is our new Webchat feature and we are really pleased to let you know that the Community team will now be available to live chat with Community users Monday – Friday 9am-5pm to help answer your technical questions. For more information about webchat and how it works, please click here to read our recent blog. We thought, therefore, that it would be great to start a new Community News blog series showing you the faces behind webchat. We have started our ‘A day in the life of...' blog today with Community team member Rachel, who is here to tell you a bit more about what she does day to day to help support those affected by…

Former Member
In Conversation With Macmillan

If you’ve visited the Macmillan Instagram , Facebook or YouTube channels recently, you may have seen this amazing video, 'In Conversation with Macmillan', which you can watch again by clicking on the video below. https://youtu.be/0TP0Hpyiq5Y The video includes personal experiences of living with cancer through lockdown, covers some of the most frequently asked questions about the emotional and physical effects of cancer, and explains how Macmillan can help you through these difficult times. In the opening section, Macmillan host Terri, chats to Mandy, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011, about her experience of living with cancer and how she’s coped with the pandemic. “At times when I just can’t sleep and I want to reach out and I want to talk to someone, I’d use the Online Community…

Steph - Online Community Team
Not everyone can see your pictures

Thursday 3 rd December marks the International Day of People with Disabilities, or International Day of Disabled Persons. Not everyone might know that as part of the Equality Act in 2010, anyone with a cancer diagnosis can choose to identify as having a disability. However, it’s important to remember that people can be affected by cancer, and other disabilities, in very different ways. The theme for 2020’s International Day of People with Disabilities, is “not all disabilities are visible.” Of course, this is especially true on the Online Community. Here on the site, you can anonymously talk to people from all over the UK and internationally. While you might come to know quite a lot about someone else’s cancer experience, you might not always know how they might be affected by a disability…

Eliza -Online Community Team

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