Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Cancer and me 35 years on - Vol 8 - Lanzarote & Menorca

On a very cold and grey January afternoon during a national lockdown, thinking about holiday memories can be a lovely pass time. National travel restrictions mean it may be a while before we can pack our suitcases excitedly again, but luckily today our guest blogger Willo, known on the Community as patsyann85 , is here to tell us about her first holiday in Europe after recovering from her Abdominoperineal Resection procedure. To catch up with the rest of Willo’s blog series, ‘Cancer & me 35 years’ on, click here . Lanzarote & Menorca At the end of April and beginning of May, my friend Alma invited me to spend two weeks with her at her time-share in Lanzarote – and another friend offered to pay my airfare, so footloose and fancy free for the first time since I was 14, off I went for my first…

Former Member
Cancer and food - how the Community can help

We hear that many of you come to the Community looking for help around taking control of your diet, or worried that you might not be eating the right foods. Cancer or treatments can sometimes cause problems with eating, or may restrict what you can eat. Whatever your situation around food, there is usually some support to be found in the Community. Sugar-awareness is important to a healthy diet, but perhaps not for the reasons you might have seen on social media. We hear there can be lots of misleading information around about sugar and cancer. Community member Harri53 had started drinking more fruit juice and came to the Community for advice about the amount of sugar this contained. “I am concerned that this sugar intake may be worsening my condition.” - Community member Harri53 in…

Steph - Online Community Team
Cervical cancer Prevention week

This week is Cervical cancer prevention week. We wanted to share some information and resources to help answer many of the questions asked here on the Community. Please remember that you are welcome to post in our Ask a Nurse section or contact the Macmillan Support Line if you need some additional guidance. Very early stage Cervical cancer may not cause any symptoms. It is usually found and treated because of Cervical screening tests. What are the symptoms of Cervical cancer and when should you get tested? It’s good to know the potential symptoms of cervical cancer. Whilst many of them can be symptoms of other conditions it is important that we speak to our GP with any of the following; Heavier periods that you normally would have Vaginal bleeding between periods, after sex or…

Megan- Online Community Team
Make Blue Monday a You Monday

Today is known to be the bluest day of the year, so why not make your Blue Monday a YOU Monday. Last year Jimmy published ' Blue Monday is the most depressing day of the year? Only if you insist! ' in the Community News Blog. Here he talks about the formula that explains why we feel so depressed on this day. Click here to read more. What is Blue Monday? If you don’t know what ‘Blue Monday’ is, it is known to be a day where people feel at their lowest. After the recent festivities and the new hope of a new year, the annual ‘winter blues’ creep up on us. It is ok to feel down, but when we feel this way often it may be a time to practice some self-care. Sometimes we can feel guilty for wanting or taking some time for ourselves as our day to day lives can demand so much of our time or we are focussed…

Megan- Online Community Team
Cancer & me 35 years on - Vol 7 - The recovery

Today in our Community News blog we are very pleased to welcome our guest blogger, Willo, back with the seventh instalment of her 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 6 – ‘ The Abdominoperineal Resection with Colostomy ’ you can click here to catch up. Vol 7 - The recovery As you may have seen in the last chapter, my abdominoperineal resection was in November 1987 and coming round from the procedure (as everyone who has had major surgery will know) found tubes feeding in or out of every…

Former Member
Trans Day of Visibility 2021

Trans Day of Visibility, or International Transgender Day of Visibility, is a worldwide day to celebrate trans people and raise awareness. It’s difficult to know how many trans people in the UK and across the world are affected by cancer. However, we know that trans people may experience inequalities and difficulties in accessing the right healthcare treatment and support. It’s important to seek the right medical help and guidance if you have a symptom which is worrying you. Cancer Research UK have some online information around cancer screenings if you are trans or non-binary . If you’re interested in reading more about what being transgender means or finding some other resources if you’re transgender and affected by cancer, take a look at our Transgender Awareness Week blog . Whether…

Eliza -Online Community Team
The Visit - coping with bereavement

Photo taken by David We are back today with the 4 th volume of our bereavement series. This series aims to shine a light on some important topics and key experiences that people may go through when they have lost a loved one to cancer. We began our bereavement series with the aim to normalise discussions around death, dying, and what comes after. Even though these kinds of discussions can be incredibly difficult, talking more openly about these experiences can help patients and loved ones find the right support to suit them in end of life and throughout bereavements. Grief, and what you may go through after someone close to you has passed away, can be a really difficult topic to talk about. It can be especially difficult if you have been recently bereaved, but by sharing experiences on…

Former Member
Respecting everyone on the Online Community

Cancer can often seem to be linked to your gender. It can be easy to make assumptions that only women get womb cancer, or only men get prostate cancer. When chatting to others on the Online Community, sometimes it might feel easy to presume who someone is due to their or their loved one’s diagnosis. Anna, Macmillan’s LGBT+ Network Lead, is here to talk about why it’s important not to make assumptions when talking to others online, and how this can help our Community cancer forum to be a welcoming space for everyone. Within this blog, we are talking about gender and biological sex being different. Your biological sex is what people are assigned at birth, and gender is what people identify themselves as. For lots of people, this is the same. However, it’s not the same for everyone. We hope…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Planned maintenance - Wednesday 17th March, 6am - 9am

Hi everyone, Due to some planned maintenance, the Online Community will enter a read-only mode between 6:00am and 9:00am on Wednesday 17th March 2021. This means that you will not be able to log in, post or reply on the Online Community during this time. You will still be able to read posts and blogs on the site. If you feel you need some support while the Online Community is unavailable, please remember our Support Line is here for you. Our teams are available 8am-8pm, 7 days a week on freephone 0808 808 00 00 , or by email or webchat . Thank you for your patience and support as Macmillan continues to update and improve our online services. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at community@macmillan.org.uk . Best wishes, Eliza, Ellen, Rachel…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Coping on Mother's Day - some support from the Community

This Sunday, it’s Mother’s Day in the UK, so in this Community News Blog we’re taking some time to celebrate and remember mums. We're also sending out a big virtual hug to anyone who finds the celebration a difficult time to get through. We know that Mother’s Day can be particularly tough for those who can't see their mum, or other loved ones, for many different reasons. The Community is here for you if you need emotional support. For those who have lost a child, lost their mum or have a difficult relationship with their mum, it can be a particularly emotional time. Certain days or events like these can often trigger lots of different emotions, no matter how much time has passed. Our thoughts go out this weekend to anyone grieving for their mums, or mother-figures. You can find support…

Steph - Online Community Team
Hair Loss - Information and Guidance

Image: Landscape of Yorkshire moors with dark clouds sitting over a valley on a spring day. On the Community team we often ask for your input or feedback, we want to make sure we’re listening to our members. In a recent newsletter we asked for you to get in touch with the topics you would like to see us write about. In today’s Community News Blog, we’re talking about a topic you asked for - hair loss. We know from many of our members’ comments that hair loss can be difficult to deal with, both physically and emotionally. "The hair loss was something I was absolutely dreading and absolutely heartbroken about." , Breast cancer forum "Main one for me is hairloss Hair loss was awful but I've learned to accept myself with short hair now. Take each day at a time." , Breast cancer forum …

Tom C - Online Community team
Community guidelines update – sharing medical pictures

Please note that this blog is no longer up-to-date. To see the most recent review of the Community guidelines, please see our more recent blog here . We have some important information to share here on the Online Community. We have decided to trial updating part of the Community guidelines around medical images. Our Community guidelines are what everyone agrees to when they join the Online Community. They’re in place to ensure that everyone is safe while using the site. Previously, our guidelines asked that members not to upload any photos of body parts or medical documents, as this often leads other members to try and diagnose, or offer medical advice. We’ve seen from feedback and conversations on the site, that seeing images of people’s medical journeys can be an important source of…

Eliza -Online Community Team

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