Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Kidney Cancer Support

We know how important support groups can be after a cancer diagnosis. For kidney (or renal) cancer patients and loves ones alike, it’s important you have somewhere to reach out for support and connection. Today we’re catching up with our Kidney cancer forum. Whether it’s you or a loved one with a renal cancer (or any other form of kidney cancer) diagnosis, there is always somewhere to reach out for support. There are different types of kidney cancer. Whilst most kidney cancer diagnoses are renal cell carcinoma, we appreciate it is not always the case and our kidney cancer forum is for all cancer diagnoses related to the kidneys. In today’s Community News Blog we’re going to highlight some recent conversations from the forum. We’ll also talk about the kind of support you are likely to find…

Tom C - Online Community team
Community Round-Up Blog - March 2022

March sparks the season of change. As nature starts to repair after winter and spring starts to arrive (although I wish spring would get a move on with the temperature change!) March has also been a time of change for us here on the Community as we have welcomed some fresh new features to the site. We also welcomed 1,764 new Community members last month. So get ready to read all about the what’s been going on on the Community for the marvellous month of March. We kick-started March by releasing some new changes on the Community. We took your feedback to the drawing board and created a new look for the platform, you can find out more about these changes on the Look out for our improvements blog. It takes a deep dive into all the changes that have been made this past month. Here is some of…

Syed - Macmillan
Supporting men with breast cancer in the Online Community

In our October 2021 Community News blog for breast cancer awareness month we linked to some Macmillan information on male breast cancer with the hope it could help people find that information when they need it. A breast cancer diagnosis in men is rare, so it can feel particularly isolating when going through diagnosis, treatment and beyond. Recently, a new member of the Community posted in our breast cancer group , looking for other men going through similar experiences . In this blog, we will be highlighting the conversation that followed with the intention of helping others find the group and join in. There is lots of support offered to everyone in the breast cancer support groups across our Online Community . “ Hi, I have recently joined this female dominated cancer world I have had…

Steph - Online Community Team
Finding support for adenoid cystic carcinoma

This blog is a way of getting to know the Adenoid cystic carcinoma forum . We’re looking at the questions and personal experiences that have been shared on the Online Community. Adenoid cystic carcinoma also known as ACC, is known to be a rarer form of cancer in the salivary gland and can be found in other places of the head and neck too. If you’re looking for information or want to know how you can support other Community members with a rare cancer, stay and read this blog post. There are hundreds of different cancers, some are more common than others. About 1 in 5 people with cancer in the UK have a form of rare cancer and about 1 in 3 of those rare cancers are very rare types. A cancer may be referred to as ‘rare’ because it is a subtype of a more common cancer or because it is in an…

Megan- Online Community Team
Prostate Cancer - How does our Community help?

March marks Prostate Cancer awareness month. You may have seen Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City Football Club, donning the famous ‘Man of Men’ badge as well as billboards in various sports signposting to Prostate Cancer UK . According to Prostate Cancer UK , 1 in 8 will encounter at some point, however those odds are increased to 1 in 4 if you are black. It affects a lot of members in the Community; however, what kind of support is available for members on the Community? So in this blog, let’s take a deep dive into Prostate Cancer and how members support each other on the Prostate Cancer forum . As we nestle into the middle of March, we are also in the middle of Prostate Cancer Awareness Month . This month has been highlighted to provide the information, signs and symptoms to…

Syed - Macmillan
Catching up with the Liver Cancer Forums for Liver Cancer Awareness Month

October is Liver Cancer Awareness Month . In this Community News Blog we will be catching up with the liver cancer forum and the secondary liver cancer forum on the Community to see what support has been shared during the run up to the month . The liver cancer forum and the secondary liver cancer forums are friendly online support groups for anyone with liver cancer, or for anyone supporting a loved one with liver cancer. Both forums are places where you can share your thoughts, worries and anything else you might be going through with people who have been there themselves. Support on diagnosis If you or your loved one has recently been diagnosed with liver cancer, it can be comforting to be able to speak to people in similar circumstances. "I was diagnosed with inoperable…

Steph - Online Community Team
Humour - It's no joke

How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice. Hi, I’m Syed, a member of the Community Team and today, I would like to draw your attention to something the opening remarks didn’t. Humour. It’s almost a taboo subject that poses the question: 'can humour be used as a coping mechanism if you’re affected by cancer?' I want to leave a short disclaimer that this blog may not be for everyone as it will highlight an alternate coping mechanism through humour. For those who regularly use humour to cope, and for those who are curious as to how anyone would see the funny side with a diagnosis, I hope you find this blog helpful. Here on the Community, we have our own Laughter is the best medicine forum . You may have spotted me liking your content on this forum. Alongside the jokes scratching…

Syed - Macmillan
Dealing with a teenager’s cancer diagnosis: Mandeep and Jai’s story

A cancer diagnosis can impact the whole family. As a father, Mandeep shares his experience of his son Jai’s cancer diagnosis in the hope of helping more families who are going through the same experience. Transcript Mandeep: I just remember looking at his face and I just saw him as a child. You could tell he was scared. It was as a parent, soul destroying. There’s never a nice day anyway to be told that you have cancer but, on your birthday, that is probably a birthday that we will never forget for the wrong reasons. If you look back at the photos from his 17 th birthday you can see it’s not Jai. He’s not his smiley self. He is a 17 year old lad, cutting his cake and at the same time, he’s got a real rough road ahead of him. They were saying that he will definitely loose his hair…

Megan- Online Community Team
Coffee, cake and catching up with the Community

Lots of us enjoy an occasional treat. Whatever you’re going through, it’s good to have something to look forward to. September is the month of the famous ‘ World’s Biggest Coffee Morning ’ where people all over the world get together whilst fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support . In celebration of coffee mornings everywhere, in this Community News Blog we will be exploring the Community’s love of baking and getting together. What’s your favourite treat? Earlier in the year, Community member Mum started a baking thread, sharing a photo of their freshly baked chocolate mocha muffins. We thought they looked so delicious that we have used their image to accompany this blog. "I think a few people here like baking cakes and a few more perhaps like eating them and discussing…

Steph - Online Community Team
Living with Lymphoma- Yamour's shares her story with her mother Isaf.

Yamour and her mum, Isaf, talk in their Mother Tongue Turkish, about some of the issues and cultural stigmas they encountered when Yamour was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin lymphoma when she was aged 21. . This video is part of Macmillan’s mother tongue project. (4 minutes and 49 seconds). We hope to feature different lived experiences here on the Online Community to represent different ethnic cultures and communities, so nobody feels they are facing cancer alone. Please see an English transcript written below. There are also English subtitles available when watching the video. For additional support information in other languages, scroll to the end of this blog page. Transcript Yamour : In the early days after I got diagnosed with cancer my father would say, “No, daughter…

Megan- Online Community Team
"People are afraid to use the word cancer in our Community." - Nahida and Saddiya tell us more

Nahida & Saddiya speak in their Mother Tongue Sylheti, a dialect of Bengali, to talk about some of the cultural stigmas when faced with a cancer diagnosis. This video is part of Macmillan’s mother tongue project. (3 minutes and 54 seconds). We hope to feature different lived experiences here on the Online Community to represent different ethnic cultures and communities, so nobody feels they are facing cancer alone. Please see an English transcript written below. There are also English subtitles available when watching the video. For additional support information in other languages, scroll see the 'Additional support information' section at the bottom of this page. Transcript Saddiya : People are afraid to use the word cancer in our Community. They immediately panic the moment…

Megan- Online Community Team
"I became a stage 4 lung cancer patient from an ordinary man overnight." - James shares his story

James and his wife Helen, talk in their Mother Tongue Cantonese to share some of the cultural stigmas and issues they faced when James was diagnosed with lung cancer. This video is part of Macmillan’s mother tongue project. (4 minutes and 38 seconds). We hope to feature different lived experiences here on the Online Community to represent different ethnic cultures and communities, so nobody feels they are facing cancer alone. Please see an English transcript written below. There are also English subtitles available when watching the video. For additional support information in other languages, scroll to the end of this blog page. Transcript James: Before I was diagnosed with lung cancer, I had no idea that cancers can actually be treatable. From my own experience, I learned…

Megan- Online Community Team