Community News - Macmillan Online Community

“Everyone needs time to feel crappy and sorry for themselves.” - Family and friends

Our Online Community’s a real ‘Community’. However you’re affected by cancer, the Community’s a place where you can ask questions, and talk through your thoughts and feelings with people who understand what you’re going through. For family and friends, a diagnosis can have a huge impact of them emotionally, and also stretch relationships and support available within family and friendship groups. Whilst it might not always feel a priority, it’s so important for these people to take care of themselves and ensure they’re getting the support they might need. For these reasons, the Community has its Family and friends group. Here are a few recent highlights from the group to illustrate the support available: Having a bad day – a discussion that’s been running just shy of 3 years. Discussions…

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"Being diagnosed at a young age affected me more than I ever imagined." - Diagnosed at a young age: Gbear

After last month’s work-focused ‘Diagnosed at a young age’ piece with Ginajsy , this week sees Gbear opens up to the Community - sharing with us the impact her diagnosis had on both her family and social life, as well as its emotional impact. Being diagnosed at a young age affected me more than I ever imagined... This was me, pretty much a carefree scuba diver. I used to work retail which paid for my holidays to Egypt where I did most of my diving, aged 37. All this changed when I realised that something was very wrong and went to see my GP, who was great very understanding and got me sent off to the hospital to get scans done. I found that I was bleeding in-between periods at first just spotting but I kept feeling sharp pain that wasn’t normal. This was July 2016, I had been told that…

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"...and remember the mantra - chew well!" Dining with an Ostomate: Salads

It’s time for another instalment of ‘Dining with an Ostomate’. In today’s post, Debbie talks to us about summer salads, and shares her deliciously fresh and nutritious ‘Pesto lemon chicken salad’. All of Debbie’s recipes are of course designed with Ostomates in mind, and in case you’d missed any of her recipes to date, you can find them all in our Ileostomy, colostomy and stoma support group here . Enjoy… Summer salads As an Ostomate, I was nervous about trying salad vegetables at first. As my surgery was in January, I didn’t really give it much thought until March, when I was beginning to yearn for salads instead of soup for lunch. Having eaten spinach in soup, and then cooked as a side vegetable, the first salad leaves I tried were baby spinach. As this was a success, I then moved…

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"In your 30's, you are supposed to be in your prime..." - Diagnosed at a young age: greg777

Being diagnosed with cancer at a young age often means you’ll face challenges that differ to those who sit under an older age bracket; you might feel it has a significant impact of your education, your career, dating and perhaps starting a family - to give but a few examples. For the above reasons we have our Diagnosed at a young age group – a space for those diagnosed at a young age to share and talk about their experiences. Over the next month I’ll be sharing a few Community News posts from members who’ve been diagnosed with cancer at a young age, and agreed to share their story, thoughts and experiences with us. In today’s post greg777 , who was diagnosed with myeloma at the age of 36, shares his story… Losing the lottery – what was it like being diagnosed at 36? The closest thing…

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"Summer is a time to eat lots of fresh, seasonal vegetables." - Dining with an Ostomate

We’re well and truly into Summer now, and Debbie – our ‘Chef to the Ostomates’, is back to talk to us about her favourite fresh, seasonal vegetables, and also to share with us a rather delicious ‘Courgette and mozzarella bake'. All of Debbie’s recipes are of course designed with Ostomates in mind, and in case you’d missed any of her recipes to date, you can find them all in our Ileostomy, colostomy and stoma support group here . Summertime – Courgettes and tomatoes: "For me, the stars of the season are courgettes and tomatoes." Summer is the time to eat lots of fresh, seasonal vegetables. For me, the stars of the season are courgettes and tomatoes, particularly if you are lucky enough to be able to grow them yourself. In my early days as an Ostomate, I peeled the courgettes, but after…

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"...putting on make-up and knowing I look good gives me a boost..." - Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisors

The visible side effects of cancer treatment can arguably have a huge impact on a life. It can change how your body looks, works or feels, and really impact on a patient's confidence. Patient.info editorial assistant, Milly Evans recently put together a post for the Patient.info website entitled How to manage the visible side effects of cancer treatment . In it she talks to one of our Boots Macmillan Beauty Advisors , Natasha, offers some top tips on how to feel more like yourself as you face cancer.. Here's Milly's piece... Cancer and cancer treatment not only have an impact on your physical well-being but also change your appearance and skin. Some are able to embrace these changes whilst others can struggle with confidence and feeling themselves. Lost identity... For Anita Brown…

Megan- Online Community Team
"I think the power of song is massively understated..." - Music and your wellbeing...

Whatever the difficulties you might be facing in life right now, listening to or playing music helps people cope – it’s a way of expressing how we feel, and for many people an accessible way of venting difficult thoughts or emotions. Music can energise us, reduce stress and promote wellbeing – it’s no surprise then that music, your favourite artists and songs are a regular topic of discussion across the Community. Here’s what our members have been saying about music and its benefits... Post Your Favourite Cancer Anthem Here, members have compiled a playlist of songs that have helped them as they’ve faced cancer. “Six years ago, we wondered if we dare look into the future and this song helped us both through chemo at a scary time.” "It's very catchy and it would help to stop the…

Former Member
Diet and cancer on the Community...

Who doesn’t love food? It’s a huge part of our lives – both in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but also a social sense – catching up with family and friends, celebratory occasions etc. If you’re healthy, eating the right number of calories and nutrients might not be a problem. However, if you’re receiving treatment for cancer this can be a difficult thing to do – treatment might result in you feeling unwell and unable to eat or digest certain foods. The Community’s a great place to be in the sense that here you can talk to, offer suggestions and support to others who might be struggling with their diet as they go through treatment. I’ve picked a few discussions and highlights from the Community where members have been supporting each other when it comes to diet and cancer. Diet and soya…

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"As an Ostomate, I am always looking for tasty recipes to add variety to my diet." - Dining with an Ostomate: Carrot and ginger soup

It’s time for another Dining with an Ostomate post. This week Debbie shares with us a TASTY AND SUPER SIMPLE ‘Carrot and ginger soup’ recipe. Here’s Debbie to tell us more about the benefits of carrots and ginger… The benefits of carrot and ginger… As an Ostomate, I am always looking for tasty recipes to add variety to my diet. With summer around the corner, although we’ll soon be thinking about salads rather than warming soup, my next recipe is a soup. It’s quick to make and ideal for those grey cross-season days. "Carrots are tolerated well by Ostomates, and can be included in the diet straight after surgery." Carrots are tolerated well by Ostomates, and can be included in the diet straight after surgery. They are high in vitamin A, beta-carotene, antioxidants and minerals, as well…

Former Member
Dining with an Ostomate - Chicken and squash gratin

It’s time for another Dining with an Ostomate post – this week Debbie shares with us a DELICIOUS AND SIMPLE ‘Chicken and squash gratin’ recipe. It features the immune boosting, vitamin and fibre-packed butternut squash; and chicken breasts for an added protein punch. Enjoy… Chicken and squash gratin Serves 4, easily halved, and freezes well. Ingredients 1 tbsp vegetable oil. 1 onion, finely sliced. 1 leek, roughly sliced. 450g butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2.5 cm pieces. 3 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized strips. 50g butter. 50g plain flour. 500ml milk. 100g mascarpone cheese. 2 tsp dried tarragon (or 1 tsp fresh, chopped). 100g ciabatta bread, torn into small pieces. "Immune boosting vitamin and fibre-packed butternut squash..." Method Heat the oil in a…

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"Indulge in a favourite past-time, watch boxsets, clean the house..." - Wellbeing Wednesdays: May

June’s here, and with it the Great British Summer...there’s still time for it to arrive, it's just over a week ‘til Summer officially begins. Here's something to brighten your day, our favourite wellbeing tips from you, our members, over the past month… “We all deal with this horrible situation in our own ways, but we all do understand. But I think for all of us the term taking life one hour at a time is never truer than in the first few weeks.” Mush brain “I was able to make a list of my worries, get that list down to bullet points and to set aside just a 10-minute period each day for looking at those worries, and the rest of the time just acknowledging them and putting them aside for that time.” KTatHome “Googling is a definite no-no, as that's just guaranteed to turn you into…

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"...joining this group has given me a safe place to open up..." - Carers Week

It’s Carers Week ! A time to celebrate carers, but also recognise the potential impact of being a carer, and ensure they’re aware of and able to access support available to them. Caring for someone with cancer can be emotionally and physically exhausting – it’s important for carers to take time to look after themselves, and get su pport if it’s needed. To recognise the above, I thought I’d share a few highlights from our Carers only group, where there’s an astounding amount of supportive discussions and guidance been offered up: "Nobody can do this journey for us, but sharing it makes a huge difference." Just a distracting moment – Birdfeeder shares a very heartfelt, positive post, talking about how the group’s helped her, and the friends she’s made along the way. “ Nobody can do this…

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