Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Humour - It's no joke

How much does a polar bear weigh? Enough to break the ice. Hi, I’m Syed, a member of the Community Team and today, I would like to draw your attention to something the opening remarks didn’t. Humour. It’s almost a taboo subject that poses the question: 'can humour be used as a coping mechanism if you’re affected by cancer?' I want to leave a short disclaimer that this blog may not be for everyone as it will highlight an alternate coping mechanism through humour. For those who regularly use humour to cope, and for those who are curious as to how anyone would see the funny side with a diagnosis, I hope you find this blog helpful. Here on the Community, we have our own Laughter is the best medicine forum . You may have spotted me liking your content on this forum. Alongside the jokes scratching…

Syed - Macmillan
Sexual health and cancer: Erectile Dysfunction during and after cancer treatment

Dealing with erectile dysfunction (ED) during and after cancer treatment can be a challenging and sensitive topic for many men. In this blog, we’ll delve into the experiences of our Community members. Sharing their valuable insight on how they navigated the emotional and physical aspects of ED. Additionally, we’ll discuss sexual health and intimacy, challenging the notion of a “normal” sex life. “My surgeon gave me the option of whether to spare my nerves or not and I told him my life was the most important thing to consider and to do whatever was necessary.” Community member, Prostate cancer forum Experiences of Erectile Dysfunction Here in the online Community, no subject is taboo, and our goal is to have safe spaces where members can chat freely about what they…

Dylan - Online Community Team
Are you looking for some hope?

It can be a challenge to feel hopeful during a difficult time so in today’s blog, we are sharing lots of hope from the Community. Although some members may not feel very hopeful with their personal circumstances, we hope the following will offer some reassurance, inspiration and positivity. “Firstly I want to give you a warm welcome to the group no one WANTS to join but having joined, I hope you listen and read posts and other peoples Profile pages, so you know there is hope.” Community member, Living with incurable cancer forum The word hope was used 1846 times on the Community last month. In a short space of time, it shows how often people come to the Community to find and offer reassurance and hope when facing difficult times. “There is hope I’m still…

Megan- Online Community Team
Supporting friends - how to ask for, or give support when you or your friend has cancer

After a cancer diagnosis, it might be difficult to know what support you need from friends. When you’re supporting someone you know with cancer, it can be difficult to know how best to support them. Some people feel that they’re not receiving the support they expected from those around them. Some may even feel that their cancer diagnosis has led them to feel ignored or excluded. In this Community News Blog, we’ll be sharing thoughts around being supported and tips on best supporting someone when they have cancer. How best to support my friend? If someone you know is diagnosed with cancer, you will probably want to help. But you might not know what you can do. Or you may have trouble finding the right words when speaking to them. You might be so worried about what to say that you avoid…

Steph - Online Community Team
Music speaks – how music can help us get through difficult days

Community member and Macmillan volunteer Wee Me ’s husband was diagnosed with a Glioblastoma brain tumour in September 2020. You may know her from the “Carers only” group or “Glioblastoma multiforme brain tumour” group . Wee Me has shared lots of blogs here on the Community News. She has shared her experiences and support, from how to cope with hearing news to how to cope as a carer. Today, Wee Me is here to talk about something which is very important to her as a source of comfort and support – music. To quote Hans Christian Andersen, “where words fail, music speaks.” Music is all around us and to some it might just be background noise in a shop or “hold” music on a phone call, but it’s there whether you consciously recognise it or not. It touches us all and gets into your subconscious…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Life One Year Later- Jane’s story

Jane recently shared her ‘ Importance of pets during our cancer journey’ blog and is back as a guest blogger to share her reflections on her Endometrial cancer experiences one year later. She talks about some of the lasting effects from her chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments and also about dealing with the fear of recurrence. Jane also talks about how she recognises the positive changes on her life and talks about her volunteering role as a Community Champion. I am just coming up to a year since my treatments ended, the cancer has gone but life has changed. I think that when the treatments end, there is time where you can begin to try to process it all. The endless trips to hospital have stopped and now it is just once every twelve weeks. You sort of almost forget it until the letter…

Megan- Online Community Team
Dealing with a teenager’s cancer diagnosis: Mandeep and Jai’s story

A cancer diagnosis can impact the whole family. As a father, Mandeep shares his experience of his son Jai’s cancer diagnosis in the hope of helping more families who are going through the same experience. Transcript Mandeep: I just remember looking at his face and I just saw him as a child. You could tell he was scared. It was as a parent, soul destroying. There’s never a nice day anyway to be told that you have cancer but, on your birthday, that is probably a birthday that we will never forget for the wrong reasons. If you look back at the photos from his 17 th birthday you can see it’s not Jai. He’s not his smiley self. He is a 17 year old lad, cutting his cake and at the same time, he’s got a real rough road ahead of him. They were saying that he will definitely loose his hair…

Megan- Online Community Team
“The biggest shock of my life." Stage 4 metastatic breast cancer to the bones: Karin’s story.

During her first routine mammogram in July 2019, Karin, aged 51, received the shocking news that she had stage 4 metastatic breast cancer to the bones. She lives happily in Stroud with her partner, 2 rescue dogs and foster pups. In this blog, she shares her story with us, giving us a window into her life, over 4 years after receiving the shocking news. Receiving the news That was the biggest shock of my life, being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer with mets to my bones from my first routine mammogram. “Treatable, not curable”, they said. Me, terminal cancer! Under Palliative Care. What!? Once I’d picked myself up from that one and started treatment, I’ve luckily had no avid disease (NAD) for 4 years. The COVID pandemic added to the cancer bubble mayhem, but I somehow navigated my way…

Dylan - Online Community Team
Life after cancer – getting the all-clear, recurrence anxiety, and moving on

The Macmillan Online Community plays host to a wide range of different discussion forums. As well as different forums for a whole range of cancer types, the Community also has spaces for a range of cancer experiences. One such space is our Life after cancer forum . It’s a common misconception that every person will have an exclusively positive reaction to being given the ‘all-clear.’ It’s tempting to think that getting this hoped-for news will be the moment all your stresses and worries instantly melt away forever. But is that true? Although feelings of relief are common, they can sometimes be short-lived, or at least far more complicated under the surface. “How do we do this? How do we manage to put one foot in front of the other and get out the door? Then meet people, who may…

Matthew - Online Community Team
“It has taken me over 5 years to come to terms with what I went through” -Dimple is sharing her story

Dimple shares her cancer diagnosis story and how telling her children about her cancer was the hardest thing she has ever done. Cancer and treatment can have an emotional and financial impact on your life and Dimple tells us about some of the challenges she faced when living with cancer. On the 29th of December 2015, I was diagnosed with Cancer or Cookies as I called it because the word still scared me so much. The term the doctor used when they told me I had Cancer was primary cancer unknown - in other words the cancer had spread, and they didn’t know where it had started. The doctor that told me didn’t even ask if I had someone with me or how I would be getting home. It felt like I was just on his list for that day and he delivered his news and carried on with his day. I managed to hear…

Megan- Online Community Team
Summer Picture Festival

What better way to look back on summer than through pictures? This summer, we asked Online Community members to share their experiences of summer through photographs and artwork as part of our Summer Picture Festival in our “Express yourself” forum . This forum is a place to celebrate creativity and how being creative can help you to feel better. Here on Community News, we’ll be reflecting on summer as we go into autumn by looking through a selection of members' photographs and artwork. Remember you can also see all the pictures from this year’s Summer Picture Festival in the “Express yourself” forum . Lots of members shared pictures of flowers in bloom. If you share a love of gardening, why not take a look at our blog on gardening chat ? Some members shared their paintings. If you…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Coffee, cake and catching up with the Community

Lots of us enjoy an occasional treat. Whatever you’re going through, it’s good to have something to look forward to. September is the month of the famous ‘ World’s Biggest Coffee Morning ’ where people all over the world get together whilst fundraising for Macmillan Cancer Support . In celebration of coffee mornings everywhere, in this Community News Blog we will be exploring the Community’s love of baking and getting together. What’s your favourite treat? Earlier in the year, Community member Mum started a baking thread, sharing a photo of their freshly baked chocolate mocha muffins. We thought they looked so delicious that we have used their image to accompany this blog. "I think a few people here like baking cakes and a few more perhaps like eating them and discussing…

Steph - Online Community Team