Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Cancer and Anxiety

Both bowel and testicular cancer awareness months happen in April. Whilst cancer diagnoses can vary hugely, the feelings and emotional experiences can sometimes be similar. In today’s Community News Blog, we are talking about cancer and anxiety. Whether it be anxiety around physical symptoms, concerns about upcoming cancer treatment, or even anxiety you can’t quite ‘label’ - we are here to talk about it all. Where to Start "I just seem to have no bounce. No urgency in myself. I’ve lost something within." - Online Community member. A cancer experience can impact your confidence and of course bring a lot of stress. Cancer treatment, and it’s side effects, can impact mental health. Whether you have a diagnosed anxiety disorder or not, we know from our members how hard it can be to ‘find a new…

Tom C - Online Community team
Cost of living - support for people with cancer

" I have been signed off work now, will worry about the finances at a later stage." - Community member Money may not be the first worry after receiving a cancer diagnosis, but we know that cancer can have a severe impact on finances. You might be spending more on everyday costs, such as energy bills or extra costs if you need to travel for cancer treatment. You may be experiencing loss of income if you’ve had to reduce your hours or stop working completely. With increasing costs of living in the UK, we understand that this might be really worrying for people, particularly if you’re already struggling with the household bills. "I am a carer for my wife but money is a worry how many hours can I work part time while still getting carers allowance?" - Community member At Macmillan Cancer…

Steph - Online Community Team
Take a moment

Today’s blog is exploring how you can take a moment for you, in a way that is accessible and safe for your situation. We know that alongside the physical impacts of cancer, there’s also the emotional effects to cope with and you may be wondering what support is available to help you. There’s a lot of discussions from members of the Community sharing the different strategies and techniques. Complementary therapies and relaxation techniques can have a positive impact to your emotional and physical wellbeing. Included in this blog are personal experiences shared by members of the Online Community. Why is it important to take a moment Living with cancer, or being there to support someone, can add a lot of anxiety and stress. This could be from dealing with uncertainty, attending lots of appointments…

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
Caring for a partner with a brain tumour – a Community member’s story

Wee Me is a member of the Online Community and Macmillan volunteer. Her husband was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumour in September 2020. Here on the Community, there's lots of support for carers and loved ones of those diagnosed with cancer. We have our 'Carers only' group and our 'Family and friends' group where members like Wee Me find and offer support. Following on from a conversation in the ‘Carers only’ group where members talked about what they wish they’d known at the beginning , Wee Me is sharing her family’s story from diagnosis, to today. So, March is Brain Tumour Awareness month …. if only our family didn’t have to be so aware. At 7.52am on Wednesday 26 th August 2020, I was sitting at the kitchen table quietly finishing my breakfast. At 7.53am, as I got up from the…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Supporting anyone new to the UK with cancer information and support

When you’re living with cancer, or supporting someone with cancer, it can be all consuming. Cancer can be an awful lot to deal with. The current tragic events unfolding in Ukraine had us thinking about people living with cancer who might also be dealing with other life changing events, or who may be new to living in the UK. Whether you’re coming to the UK as a refugee or for other reasons, Macmillan are here to support you. We’re also here for anyone supporting a refugee living with cancer, or anyone else new to the UK who might benefit from cancer support and information. In this Community New Blog we will highlight all the ways you can find support from across Macmillan and beyond. Online Community We welcome anyone living with cancer or supporting a family member/ friend with cancer…

Steph - Online Community Team
All the details you need for the upcoming improvements

After the ‘ Look out for our improvements’ blog we posted last week, we wanted to give you some more information about our upcoming improvements and all the details you need to know about when these new features are going live. Once the improvements go live later this week, the following information in this blog should help show you how to make the most of some of the new exciting functions we are introducing. Don’t worry, we’ll also be updating our Help pages with some step by step guidance should you need a helping hand. When will these new improvements go live on the site? We are hoping that our improvements will be finished and ready for our members to use by 10pm on Thursday 10th of March 2022 . In order for us to bring you these improvements however, there will be some scheduled…

Megan- Online Community Team
Look out for our improvements

On Macmillan’s Community, our members are at the heart of everything we do. We’re always looking to improve the site for you and we’re so excited to finally be able to share some improvements that are just around the corner. We know what an important source of support the Online Community is for many. In the next few weeks we will be launching a number of improvements on to the site. These enhancements aim to improve the site for all, as well as add a number of new features many of you asked for. All the images and examples below are shown using the Community on a mobile phone. We know these are the devices most used by our members. The improvements we’ve made are based on your feedback. You spoke up and we heard you, now here’s what we’ve done. Our New Homepage You said that the site was difficult…

Tom C - Online Community team
Looking back at the Online Community during February

Let’s take a look at what happened on the Online Community during February. Today’s blog is a roundup of the discussions, blogs and questions posted last month. If you’re new to the Community or just want to catch up with what’s been happening on the site, this blog has all the information you need. There’s been a lot for everyone to process recently with the coronavirus restrictions being lifted in some parts of the UK and other recent events being reported in the news. This is going to add to any anxious and worried feelings you may already be coping with, so it’s important that you have access to support when you need it. The Community is a safe space for people to talk about how they are coping, and speak to those who understand what they’re going through. Here are some of the conversations…

Megan- 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
Finding support with Bile Duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma)

In this Community News Blog, we'll be highlighting the support shared in the Community's bile duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma) forum and sharing some other ways you can find help. When you or your loved one has been diagnosed with bile duct cancer (Cholangiocarcinoma) , it's important you can find the right emotional support. The Online Community's bile duct cancer forum is an online cancer support group. It's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and you can find support from people who understand. Because they've been there themselves. You might be looking for tips to help you get the best from your cancer nurse and health care team or ideas around coping with side effects and improving quality of life. You might just need to talk. Whatever support you're looking for, the bile duct cancer…

Steph - Online Community Team
Here's to you, our Community members.

Our recent Community news blogs ‘ Being a partner and carer, how cancer affects relationships ’ and ‘ Let’s talk about cancer and sex ’ open up the discussion of how cancer can impact your personal relationships and sex life. There’s another important relationship that we’d like to feature in today’s blog. That relationship is between you, and the other Community members. The Community is here all hours of the day to listen, to care and to help. Everyday there’s so much kindness offered in the discussion threads and it’s warming to see you come together to be a friendly voice at the end of an emotional post. Being a reassuring friend to another member is a really kind thing to do. We’d like to take some time to highlight how much your kindness means to those you support. “There is no…

Megan- Online Community Team