Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Anastrozole and reduced risk of breast cancer

Since yesterday (Tuesday 7 th November), various media outlets have been sharing a news story about Anastrozole, a medication that may be offered to tens of thousands of women who are at an increased risk of developing breast cancer. This could be a huge step forward for breast cancer prevention in the UK, and it has generated a large number of conversations across the Online Community around breast cancer treatments. Macmillan Cancer Support have been asked to provide a statement in response to this announcement. Statement from Macmillan Cancer Support Dany Bell, Strategic Adviser for Treatment, Medicines and Genomics at Macmillan Cancer Support, said: “Knowing that you have an increased risk of developing breast cancer can be difficult to deal with, so today’s news about Anastrozole is…

Syed - Macmillan
Helping you rest better

After a few busy festive months, the pressures of New Year's resolutions, and starting the week with Blue Monday, it seems like a good time for some self-care. A big part of self-care can often be making time to rest. Everybody needs some ‘me time’ so why not dedicate some time today to rest, and try one of the suggestions in this blog? What do we mean by resting better and why do we need to do it? Resting and looking after your wellbeing is a skill. It can take time to develop this skill by trying new things and finding what works best for us through trial and error. By doing this, we will become so much better at looking after ourselves as we know what our mind and body need to relax and rest. I'd describe getting better rest as finding and doing something that you enjoy, which will…

Megan- Online Community Team
The bright side - Kevin's story

Kevin, known on the site as kevatvinegarhill , was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer in March 2019. As part of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month, he’s decided to share the story of his diagnosis and treatment with the Online Community. Unexplained weight loss, fatigue and a continual feeling of indigestion after hot meals. There couldn’t possibly be anything serious, could there? My GP thought otherwise and referred me for a series of tests which began in November 2018 and went on to March 2019. My GP rang me in March and told me it was suspected cancer, and that she wanted me to hear the news from her rather than get an appointment letter from the Churchill cancer unit in Oxford. That was very kind of her. By this time however, I had gotten quite jaundiced and the news did not come as any…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Hair care, hair loss and styling tips from the Community

Are you having treatment and worried about losing your hair? Or do you have questions about styling hair changes? This blog includes some recent experiences and suggestions from Community members across our different groups. There are some great support resources and information to help you cope with hair loss, and we will include some of these towards the end of the blog. We know that hearing the experiences of others can be invaluable when learning how to manage side effects like hair loss, hair styling and maintenance, so we hope you will find the following helpful. Hair loss Coming to the forums to ask questions about hair loss can help you manage and process any hair loss side effects of treatment: “After chemotherapy, when the hair starts growing back, has anyone had experience…

Megan- Online Community Team
Mental Health Check in

It was World Mental Health Day on Sunday 10 th October. Since then, there have been many conversations about our mental health. The Community is a place for these conversations to continue alongside being a source of support. Our Mental health and wellbeing are just as important as our physical health, so we should take the time to understand how we are feeling, and how we can look after ourselves. “Sorry about my long post, it's made me feel a little better to actually type this all out though and see it in print.” moosiemoo , Supporting someone with Incurable cancer forum “ I just feel like I need to voice my feelings, and this seems a safe place to do so.” Sunflower1988 , Follicular lymphoma forum “My biggest distraction is my family, looking after my boys, and enjoying conversations…

Megan- Online Community Team
'But wait—there’s myrrh...' Our second Community Christmas prize draw is here

Today we are excited to announce the second of our festive prize draws. Thank you to everyone that took part last week, we loved to read about your Christmas traditions. This week we’re giving away two care packages which were kindly donated by Cancer Care Parcel . These thoughtful care packages include both useful and fun things that anyone who may be having treatment or going through a difficult time may find comforting. Included in the care package: To enter the draw: This week we want to hear your favourite Christmas song, whether your partial to some Mariah Carey, Wham, Slade or anything else, we want to hear what you love to listen to around the festive period. Just comment your favourite Christmas tune in the Comment section of the blog below. T&C’s: The prize is a…

Former Member
Mary’s experience of Living with Cancer and coronavirus

During the Coronavirus pandemic many people turned to the Online Community for support. Although the Online Community has always provided a space to access peer support, it really did mean so much to our members as they were still able to access support when most face to face services had closed. “Being able to access these forums has meant so much especially during the pandemic.” - Winkers60 , “ Thank you for sharing your experiences Gemmary, they are so insightful and a real benefit to anyone going through similar. I love your perseverance in navigating and overcoming the challenges, keep going Gemmary, keep climbing upwards!” - Ourgirlinthenorth Members turn to one another to offer support by sharing their experiences in our Community groups. This is what Mary did at the start of March…

Megan- Online Community Team
"... The wind blows softly, the wind blows swift to carry my doubts and worries away..."- Creativity on the Community

Today on the Community News Blog we are shining a light on all things creative from every corner of the Community. It doesn’t take long when looking through the community to stumble upon something creative, from knitted toys to poetry there are so many ways that members express themselves. Why not take a look through? Creative Arts & Crafts In the ‘ Breast Cancer’ group posted pictures of some wonderful knitted toys she’s made in the ' Crafts and BC' thread. Sticking with an animal theme, here we have 's beautiful quilt made by paper piece quilting. GBear has uploaded her incredible painting of a tiger in the ‘ Express yourself ’ group. Poetry and Writing WhatHappened put her feelings about the Community into a poem in the ‘Breast Cancer’ group. "Mental pain…

Former Member
Dealing with Fear and Anxiety during Cancer Treatment

In this blog, one of our Community Champions Jane is sharing some of the emotions she felt whilst having treatment and some of the strategies she used to help cope with the uncertainty. Jane was diagnosed and treated for endometrial carcinoma sarcoma in 2022. She underwent surgery, chemotherapy and external beam radiotherapy. She became a Community Champion to support others who face cancer whether themselves or a loved one. She regularly supports others through the Online Community, reviewing content and by writing about her experiences. Having a diagnosis of cancer can make things feel overwhelming and out of control and it is normal to feel anxious about what lies ahead. Along with support from family and friends, that the peer support that can be found through Macmillan’s Online Community…

Megan- Online Community Team
Resilience - Coping in the eye of the storm

Resilience is defined as the ability to recover quickly from difficulties. The ability to be resilient is often a lifelong aim for many people. Looking after yourself and being resilient might be more important in your life now, than ever. Dr Russ Hargreaves is a Counsellor and Clinical Supervisor here at Macmillan. Russ is here to talk you through finding your personal resilience, and what helps him stay resilient. As I write this blog, we are in the midst of yet another Covid-19 lockdown. For some, this has been a huge inconvenience. For others, possibly the most worrying time of their lives. Others still have appeared to breeze through it, taking each new challenge in their stride. I don’t know which camp you are in, but I dare say you have had your moments over the past year. I certainly…

Eliza -Online Community Team
“With hope in our hearts and wings in our heels” – Linda’s story

Linda, known as here on the site, posted in the “Breast cancer” group about how running has helped her through her experiences with cancer treatment and body confidence. We wanted to share her story here on Community News. In today’s blog, Linda talks all about what the benefits of exercise during cancer treatment have been for her personally. I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer just before Christmas, I am 52 years old and I must admit it came as a complete shock. I started having chemo every 3 weeks and I am now having it every week, I am 9 down and 7 to go, not that I’m counting! In fact, as I write this, I am wired up having chemo number 10. The worse side effect I have experienced is that this whole process has completely affected my confidence. As much as I was determined…

Eliza -Online Community Team
"That there is love in the world when sometimes nothing makes sense..." - A teddy bear's picnic

Just last week, Anna got in touch with me to share the below heartfelt and uplifting story which can only be described as “the ultimate teddy bear’s picnic”. Anna’s mum sadly passed away with cancer quite recently, and given the family’s rather creative history, the picnic served as the perfect tribute to Anna’s mum... A teddy bear’s picnic Recently my mum passed away from cancer after only finding out about it 5 months ago. It was a very tough journey and opened our eyes to the suffering of what sick people go through, especially with cancer. We were strong all the way through but sadly lost the fight. "A celebration of life! And what else did my mum love, but always a cup of tea!" A brief history of the family - we are all creatives, and my mum and dad loved teddy bears. For 50 odd…

Former Member

Awake and up all night?

We know that cancer can sometimes cause sleepless nights. Join our Cancer Chat forum for some company here in the 'Awake and up all night' thread.

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