Community News - Macmillan Online Community

Head and neck cancer - when food is fuel

We know that receiving a cancer diagnosis can be scary, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Members in the Community have been there. They can help you to face those worries. Through shared experiences, they can help you face the unknown and make you feel much less alone. In this Community New Blog, we’re highlighting the head and neck cancer group and some of the issues members face through treatment and beyond. We’ll be focusing on eating problems, maintaining weight through treatment and staying as healthy as you can. Many members come to the Community looking for support with eating the right foods through treatment and dealing with side effects. "End of week 3 and taste buds have gone. Does anyone have any ideas of what foods they can still taste?" - Carran, head & neck…

Steph - Online Community Team
Have you seen these conversations?

In today’s blog, we’re catching up on some recent conversations from across the Online Community. Members have been offering each other lots of support lately. From side effects to talking to children, members have been talking about everything and anything around their cancer experiences. Even if you have a different type of cancer, remember that you're still welcome to talk to other members in groups across the site. Why not join in and find support? “How was/is the experience of chemo and how do you deal with the side effects?” Bertz, “Bowel (colon and rectum) cancer group In the “Bowel (colon and rectum) cancer” group, member Bertz started a conversation around managing side effects from chemotherapy. Lots of members have replied to share their own experiences. Kareno62’s tip is…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Cancer, exercise and you

Here on the Community we know that staying active looks different for everyone. Everyone is unique, and so is how they may feel emotionally and physically after their cancer treatment. For some people, trying to keep active and move their body after treatment can be a way of looking after themselves. It may help you feel less stressed and lift your spirits if you are feeling low. It can also help you feel more in control, because you are doing something positive for yourself. We all know the benefits of exercise, and that eating well and trying to keep active can be good for our physical and mental health. But for some people, building up fitness after treatment also means getting back to activities and sports that are important to them. Doing what you love and what makes you happy is…

Former Member
Kath's bowel cancer journey and life with a stoma

There are many discussions here on the Community about how a cancer diagnosis can affect someone’s life. Kath is here to share her experience of being diagnosed with bowel cancer 11 years ago and the physical and emotional challenges that she has faced. There can be some comfort gained from reading a shared experience which is why Kath is sharing her story in hope that it can provide support to others. If you read Kath’s story and want to read other personal experiences, you can find many different discussions in the Bowel cancer forum . Eleven years ago, I was diagnosed with Bowel (rectal) cancer. I'd visited my Doctor several times the previous year as I was having to go to the toilet more frequently. Sometimes there was blood in my stools, and I was told I'd had piles. I wasn't given…

Megan- Online Community Team
Planned Online Community Maintenance - Tuesday 10th August, 6AM - 10AM

Hi everyone, Due to some planned maintenance, the Online Community will enter a read-only mode tomorrow morning, Tuesday 10th August from 6:00am to 10:00am. This means that you will not be able to log in, post or reply on the Online Community during this time. You will still be able to read posts and blogs on the site. If you feel you need some support while the Online Community is unavailable, please remember our Support Line is here for you. Our teams are available 8am-8pm, 7 days a week by phone on freephone 0808 808 00 00 and also by email or on webchat . Thank you for your patience and support as Macmillan continues to update and improve our online services. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at community@macmillan.org.uk . Kindest Regards…

Moderator - Macmillan Community
“With hope in our hearts and wings in our heels” – Linda’s story

Linda, known as here on the site, posted in the “Breast cancer” group about how running has helped her through her experiences with cancer treatment and body confidence. We wanted to share her story here on Community News. In today’s blog, Linda talks all about what the benefits of exercise during cancer treatment have been for her personally. I was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer just before Christmas, I am 52 years old and I must admit it came as a complete shock. I started having chemo every 3 weeks and I am now having it every week, I am 9 down and 7 to go, not that I’m counting! In fact, as I write this, I am wired up having chemo number 10. The worse side effect I have experienced is that this whole process has completely affected my confidence. As much as I was determined…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Mary’s experience of Living with Cancer and coronavirus

During the Coronavirus pandemic many people turned to the Online Community for support. Although the Online Community has always provided a space to access peer support, it really did mean so much to our members as they were still able to access support when most face to face services had closed. “Being able to access these forums has meant so much especially during the pandemic.” - Winkers60 , “ Thank you for sharing your experiences Gemmary, they are so insightful and a real benefit to anyone going through similar. I love your perseverance in navigating and overcoming the challenges, keep going Gemmary, keep climbing upwards!” - Ourgirlinthenorth Members turn to one another to offer support by sharing their experiences in our Community groups. This is what Mary did at the start of March…

Megan- Online Community Team
What does the Online Community mean to you?

Last month, shared a wonderful Community News blog highlighting the kindness shown across the Community. “No matter what has brought you to the site, no matter how cancer has affected your life, our members will support you through. The kindness of strangers soon becomes the kindness of friends.” – Rachel - Macmillan, Community News Blog, June 2021 It was lovely to hear from Community members in response to Rachel’s blog. We heard that you really enjoyed the chance to read some of the kind and supportive messages from across the whole site. If you haven’t yet read Rachel’s blog ‘Our members are here for you’, you can catch up by clicking here. Although we’re sorry that circumstances have brought each of you to the Community, we’re so proud that the site provides so much support. We’d…

Steph - Online Community Team
Cancer & me 35 years on - Surgery at St. Mary's

Today we are back with the 13th volume of our longest running Community News Blog series ‘Cancer & me 35 years on’. Willo was diagnosed with Anal cancer in 1986 while living in Zambia. In this blog series Willo has been sharing her experience of living through and beyond cancer. Alongside sharing everything she has been through, Willo has also been sharing the amazing artwork she created during this time in her life. So far, Willo has covered her experience of moving back to England for treatment, her Abdominoperineal Resection , going back to art school p ost-surgery and the amazing friends and family that helped her through. In today's blog, Willo talks about a very important, and often very difficult time in anyone’s cancer experience, waiting for results. We are back with Willo today…

Former Member
How Reflexology helped me - Charlie's story part II

In today’s Community News Blog, we’re hearing from the lovely Charlie. Charlie began to share some of her experiences with us back in February, where she kindly put together some videos to show the Community how they can use simple reflexology techniques to help them. Charlie is a Clinical Reflexologist and was diagnosed with breast cancer in January this year. She’s been using some reflexology techniques to help her cope with the side effects of treatment. Today she’s sharing some tips to help with heart burn, sleep and nausea. We’d like to say a big thank you to Charlie for sharing more about her journey, and for taking the time to put together these videos especially for us here on our Community cancer forums . Since my last blog the it feels as though an awful lot has happened to me and…

Ellen - Macmillan
Being bodies: vaginal dryness

Vaginal dryness affects lots of people, for many different reasons. Some cancer treatments can cause vaginal dryness. Vaginal dryness can also be a symptom of the menopause that some people may experience. Your body and how you feel about sex can also be affected by how you are doing emotionally. For some people, it can feel difficult to seek the right help. This could be because you feel embarrassed or ashamed, or not listened to. It’s important to know that you’re not alone. In today’s Community News blog, we’re talking all about vaginal dryness, and what might help. “It is so frustrating when something so delicate and intimate can affect us all.” Community member The vagina usually produces some natural fluid. If your vagina is producing less of this fluid, some types of sex might…

Eliza -Online Community Team
Talking about grief

Photo by David Today we are back with our 5th instalment of our Bereavement series. The aim of this series is to try to shine a light on important issues facing those who have lost a loved one to cancer, and remind everyone that the Community is a safe space where we welcome any conversations about grief and bereavement. But why is it important to talk about grief and how we are coping after the death of a loved one? And do we all need to be more open about what we go through when we are grieving? Today we will explore this further and look at the different ways of accessing support. Why is it hard to talk? Talking about grief can be really difficult, it can be hard for both those who are grieving, and those who are supporting them. For those who are grieving, you may worry that…

Former Member

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.

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