Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Cancer & Me 35 Years On – Vol 2 – Best Friends Forever

Flame lily (watercolour) by Willo Today in our Community News blog Willo is back with the second instalment of our new 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 1, 'T o begin at the beginning' , you can click here to catch up. Here is Willo to tell us more about today’s piece: Visiting a doctor at any time can be embarrassing, but when it involves anal examinations and biopsies – and two of the doctors concerned are people you meet socially, well, it doesn’t get much worse! That said, there is…

Former Member
Thinking about volunteering?

National Volunteers’ Week is a great time to think about whether it’s something you’re interested in doing. Volunteering isn’t for everyone or just might not suit your situation at the moment, and that’s okay. However, if you feel it might be something fun to do, volunteering can be great for our wellbeing. As a previous Macmillan volunteer, I want to bust some myths about what it’s like to volunteer and help you decide what’s right for you. Myth: Volunteering takes up a lot of time It’s a common misconception that lots of us think that we don’t have time to volunteer. Many people think of volunteering like having a part-time job, where you might be required to dedicate lots of time each week. However, it’s important to remember that volunteering is not a job. While a charity might ask…

Eliza -Online Community Team
'I appreciate everything I learn from you' - celebrating our wonderful Volunteer Specialists

This week marks Volunteers’ week here at Macmillan, it’s a time where we recognise and celebrate all of the amazing volunteers across the organisation. As part of this, in today’s Community news Blog, we are shining a light on our wonderful Volunteer specialists who dedicate their spare time and their expertise to answer your questions in our ‘ Ask an Expert’ sessions. To share a bit more about her experience of being a Volunteer specialist here on the Community is Lorraine, Lorraine is a Psychosexual Nurse Specialist and answers questions in the ‘ Ask about Sex (Men’s cancers)’ session. She is one of our team of 12 specialists working alongside surgeons, dentists, physiotherapists and other professionals to provide information and support to our members. Last year our volunteers answered…

Former Member
Join me in celebrating our amazing volunteers.

At Macmillan, we are really excited to kick off the month with Volunteers' Week, 1-7 June. We’re dedicating this time to celebrate and thank all our amazing volunteers for the time they’ve given to help people with cancer live life as fully as they can, over the last year and during this difficult time. Whatever you’re doing right now, whether you’ve had to pause your volunteering or not, your support is valued now more than ever. In the Online Community, we have additional reason to celebrate and thank our volunteers, as the fantastic Community Champions, have won an incredible award. You may have seen Community Champions around the different groups on our Community cancer forum , helping welcome and support members. We are so proud of the way they use their own cancer experiences…

Steph - Online Community Team
"I am just persevering" - Shaun's story

This week, we’re sharing Shaun’s journey with cancer, in his own words. You can also read his wife Janet’s story on Community news here . In November 2019, I had two of my upper teeth taken out at my dentist. In the following days I noticed a swelling in my neck so I went to the doctors where I was given antibiotics. After a week of these there was no difference so I was given another course. A week later I went to the doctors who sent me straight to A&E. At A&E, I was given an x-ray and another course of antibiotics and told that I would need a scan in the next couple of days. Within four days I was at hospital where a scan was done and three samples taken from my neck. I was told I would get the results in a week's time. Within three days I had an appointment. Both myself…

Eliza -Online Community Team
'This is a really easy, quick and tasty mid-week supper' - Dining with an Ostomate - Chicken on cheesy leeks

During this time of uncertainty many of us have turned to cooking as a way of keeping us busy and relieving stress. We are pleased therefore, to bring you Debbie’s delicious cheesy leeks recipe today. Debbie is our wonderful ‘chef to Ostomates’ and all of her recipes are, of course, designed with Ostomates in mind. In case you’ve missed any of her recipes to date, you can find them all in our Ileostomy, colostomy and stoma support group here . So why not put an apron on and get cooking! This is a really easy, quick and tasty mid-week supper. I never experienced any problems with eating leeks when I had my ileostomy, but if you are concerned about them being too fibrous make sure you cook them until they are really soft and puree them with a handheld blender. I often don’t add the Ciabatta…

Former Member
Mental Health Awareness Week, kindness and blogging in the Community...

It’s Mental Health Awareness this week in the UK and the theme this year is ‘being kind’. Today we’re exploring different ways of using shared experience in the Community to help protect your mental health, plus as a kindness to other members. "I still take comfort in the many kind words of wisdom given on this forum." Peanut123 , Bereaved spouse forum "Thank you so much for taking the time to reply, your kindness and for sharing your personal experiences. Your words read like sunshine on the page." Kralc , Ovarian cancer group We regularly see the benefit of members sharing their perspective, as it can be not only feel helpful to put your thoughts on paper, but it can be such a kindness to others. Finding someone to talk to, who has been through similar experiences can mean so much…

Steph - Online Community Team
I don't know what to say

Knowing the right thing to say can be really hard, and it’s something that everyone struggles with sometimes. Many times, you might say nothing at all in case you say the ‘wrong thing’, or accidentally hurt someone’s feelings. Sometimes, you might feel hurt because of something someone said, even though they didn’t mean anything unkind. While we can’t stop these things because accidents happen, we can work together to find good ways of communicating here on the Community. Everyone has a memory of a time where knowing someone cared helped. Whether that memory is from the Community or otherwise, we all know the feeling of knowing someone listened, even if they couldn’t solve what was troubling us. Talking and supporting each other is what makes the Online Community tick, and in our humble opinion…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Keeping safe in the sun.

May 6 th -12 th was Sun Awareness week in the UK and as many of us are self-isolating, furloughing or working from home, it’s a good time to remind ourselves to stay safe in the sun. Although it’s unlikely any of us living in the UK will come into contact with foreign climates over the next few months, many will end up spending more time outside. Whether you’re taking the time to relax or work in your garden; taking a walk instead of the gym, if the sun is out, please do stay aware. Staying safe in the sun can reduce your risk of some cancers. It can also be particularly important for people going through some cancer treatments to stay out of the sun. '...when I was on chemo one of the nurses said to stay out of the sun. And then when I had my radiotherapy planning meeting they said of…

Steph - Online Community Team
Cancer & Me 35 years on – vol 1 – To begin at the beginning

With my German Shepherd puppy before my cancer appeared. Today on our Community News blog we are sharing with you the first volume of our new 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 on the Community News , here is Willo to tell us more about her writing: As I am a survivor (thus far) of two primary tumours, one recurring – and later with metastases (30 years ago at the time of writing), I hope my story might offer some support and encouragement to those currently in a similar daunting situation. To begin at the beginning... ‘My…

Former Member
'Treasure every moment daily, move on with head held high, breast cancer has been overcome, it’s now with joy I cry.' - My journey through breast cancer in verse and word' - Vol 4

Today here on the Community News we wanted to share with you the final volume of our series ‘My journey through breast cancer in verse and word’ by Amanda-Jayne. Amanda-Jayne was diagnosed with Breast cancer in June 2019 and used poetry and journaling to diarise her experience throughout. Amanda-Jayne has very kindly sent through her poetry and writing to us here and we are pleased to have brought you this series detailing her experience. In her writing Amanda-Jayne talks openly about her thoughts and feelings through diagnosis and treatment. If you missed the last volume of Amanda-Jayne’s blog, click here to catch up. 21st August 2019 Life is good, getting a bit bored being at home but am still healing internally so need to be patient and rest and allow this to happen. Two more weeks and…

Former Member
What’s it all for anyway?

There are certain events in life that can really make you question the meaning of it all. Why do we fight so hard to go swimming in one direction just to have the tide change and drop us in waters we never planned for, miles away from where we thought we were going. The fear caused by uncertainty and the unknown can be powerful and paralysing, but that’s not necessarily the end of the story. “ in my times of uncertainty this community has been a saving grace for me. I want you to know you are not alone.” – BeeWise02 - original post Image description: a vast body of water, vibrant with colours created by the sun behind clouds. Often those dealing with the most can be the most inspiring. The strength and depth of character displayed by those affected by cancer, in times of uncertainty…

Tom C - Online Community team

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