Community News - Macmillan Online Community

'Advice to Bureaucrats' by Michael

As lockdown is eased, yet shielding measures for many are extended, we wanted to share a poem with you from our guest writer Michael. ADVICE TO BUREAUCRATS It falls to you to draft a shielding letter Of weighty pages, not too clear, for someone Who has an underlying health condition, The relevance of which he may not know. Ensure you couch the information in Alarmist terms, including dicta aimed At other people rather than himself; Omit important pertinent personal details, Above all why he is included in This current noble process; for best results Print out a list of all diseases known To indicate great vulnerability Yet have no claim on his known dispositions; Don’t mention why the letter might be sent Well after start of lockdown, nor if the clearly Arbitrary…

Tom C - Online Community team
Let's keep talking...

In Macmillan’s cancer information blog back in November, featuring Men’s Health Awareness, we talked about how important it was to keep the conversation around men’s health and well-being flowing throughout the year. According to research, men often find it particularly difficult to talk about cancer, let alone ask for support. The Online Community provides an anonymous forum where people can come and talk about the physical, financial and emotional effects of cancer with others who understand. We know that talking to family and friends about cancer can be hard, so if you’re worried about how your diagnosis will affect them, or just need someone to talk to, the Community is here 24/7. Recently, through the guest blog series in Community news, we featured this lovely couple’s experience when…

Steph - Online Community Team
"I felt as though I was in a dream" - Janet's story

Today in Community news , we’re sharing Shaun’s story from his wife Janet’s perspective. If you missed Shaun talking about his experiences with head and neck cancer, click here to catch up. I always felt sad for anyone that had got any type of cancer, but nothing had prepared me for the long road to come. When my husband found out he had cancer in his left tonsil and lymph nodes, we were devastated. We came out of the hospital numb and in disbelief. We both cried together, but Shaun was definitely the stronger of us. I felt as though I was in a dream. Everything that followed would take me probably a year to write, because I have never known a man be put through as much. It broke my heart to see him so poorly. "I felt as though I was in a dream" After the diagnosis, there…

Eliza -Online Community Team
“Your help is tremendously appreciated” - a big thank you to Macmillan nurses and professionals

"We are still here for you.  Your treatments will still continue in the safest way that we can deliver them.  Your nurses, doctors and therapists are still working to provide you with the best standard of care.  We may talk to you over the phone now instead of bringing you in for appointments, but that telephone conversation is still focused around you.  Please contact your Nurse Specialist or medical team if you are worried – we are still here to talk to you and will support you in whatever way we can."    Alison, Lead Cancer Nurse We want to thank our Macmillan professionals every day for all their hard work supporting as many people affected by cancer as they can, but we think it’s best coming from you. In the current time, it’s more important than ever to show all medical professionals…

Eliza -Online Community Team
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

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.

Additional content from Macmillan

Access cancer information and more stories from around Macmillan.

Cancer stories and resources

Get further support from our Men and Cancer campaign:

Find the words to talk about cancer