Community News - Macmillan Online Community

"Nowhere to turn? How I discovered the Online Community..."

Last month Gina, one of our Online Community Champions, shared with the Community part of her cancer journey, specifically interactions with family, friends and colleagues. The blog was called “Most of us just want normality!”, and if you haven’t already read it, it makes for a really thought provoking read. Gina’s back this week to tell us how she discovered the Online Community when she most needed it, and how it’s helped her to date. Enjoy! I got my diagnosis on the last appointment of Maundy Thursday. I left the consultants office in a daze trying to make an understanding of what had just been said and what it would all mean. Initially, when I got the appointment at that time, I felt relief, it meant I would have 4 days off to digest and process what I had been told. To compose myself…

Former Member
Arts, crafts and coping with cancer

"…it gave me better pain relief than any drug could ever do.” Facing cancer arguably takes a lot of energy, and naturally it becomes a central focus of someone’s life. But this doesn’t mean hobbies or pastimes, including arts and crafts, need to fall to the wayside. Such hobbies often provide a vital escape to where cancer is no longer the central focus, but rather your enjoyment and perhaps solace in whatever hobby or pastime works for you. You might already be aware of this, but our Community has various threads dedicated to arts, crafts and other hobbies members are involved in that they find beneficial when facing cancer. I asked members of these threads to tell me how arts and crafts has helped them... “I’ve quite a history of arts and crafts, I pastel paint (but haven’t for a while…

Former Member
"Always trust your gut instinct" - Colleen's story

Colleen got in touch with the Community team a couple of months ago to share with us her experiences following her appendix cancer diagnosis. Colleen’s story offers not a great insight into what is a rare cancer, but also the emotional impact diagnosis had on her and how she reacted. If you’ve been affected by appendix cancer, why not share your experiences in the comments below. So, on being woken on a Friday night in March ’17 with what I can only describe as a pain that I hadn’t experienced before – it wasn’t excruciating, I just knew something wasn’t right... Trip to the out-of-hours service and following a couple of tests I was sent home – the pain went the Saturday, only to return the Sunday, and I was due to fly to Barcelona Monday. So off back to the out-of- hours service, and…

Former Member
Navigating life after losing a loved one

Having recently lost her grandmother, Marie got in touch with myself and the team to share some tips and advice that helped her cope with the loss. Off the back of this, she agreed to put a blog together in the hope that it might be a source of support to users of the site who've perhaps lost a loved one to cancer. Losing someone you love inevitably means reframing your life in some respects. When you’re grieving and in the process of learning new ways of thinking and acting, your world can feel crushingly complex, especially if you need to make sizable lifestyle adjustments. Consider this practical advice for finding your way through major transitions without becoming overwhelmed. Workplace woes Returning to work after losing someone you love can be extremely challenging, especially…

Former Member
"Most of us just want normality" - Gina's story

This week one of the latest additions to our Community Champions team, Gina (Ginajsy), has kindly put some words together for the Community detailing her experience and interactions with family, friends and work colleagues following her cancer diagnosis. It makes for an interesting and really thought provoking read. When you are diagnosed with cancer, along with all of the angst, confusion and shock one of the biggest questions us cancer patients have to contend with is, are we really open about our diagnosis and tell everybody? Or do we keep it a secret? Both options have their pros and cons and if you opt to tell everyone, you cannot then take it back. Knowing I would have to have chemotherapy, I assumed (incorrectly) I would automatically lose my hair and I would also need several weeks…

Former Member
International Volunteer Day - Julia's story

Today marks International Volunteer Day , and to recognise this Julia, who’s volunteered for Macmillan since 2011, has shared with us a little about her story, and the affect volunteering's had on her life following her cancer diagnosis. A year in the life of… I can’t believe another year has passed so quickly! Volunteering for Macmillan has been in sharp focus this year and yet again, it has been wonderful, scary at times and so very worthwhile. I started volunteering for Macmillan in 2011, as soon as I was able to return to some sort of ‘normal’ after surgery and chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. My inspiration to do this was my Macmillan nurse who introduced me to sitting in front of the camera for a film to promote Macmillan's Coffee Morning and I haven’t looked back since. You can…

Former Member
Mouth Cancer Action Month

November was a rather busy month for awareness days, weeks and months, and whilst it’s a couple of days late, the following blog recognizes Mouth Cancer Action Month. Here’s one of our Ask An Expert dentists, Judith and Lynsey, to share with you some information and tips on coping with mouth cancer. Mouth problems are a common side effect of head and neck cancer and its treatment. Getting support from a dental professional early in the process can really help to minimise discomfort and improve your quality of life. Before treatment – get a specialist assessment: If you’ve been diagnosed with head and neck cancer, you will likely be referred to a specialist clinic for a full dental assessment before treatment starts. This clinic will likely continue seeing you during and after treatment…

Former Member
World Hello Day

Today, November 21 st , is World Hello Day – a day to promote peace, bridge barriers and make a difference to someone’s day through a simple ‘hello’. To recognise the World Hello Day, I thought it’d be a great idea to put a Macmillan spin on the day by sharing a couple of soundbites and pieces of feedback for the Community that illustrate how a simple greeting and the friendliness of one user to another – someone they’ve never met before, can have a huge impact on someones life and really help them with whatever difficulties they might be facing. So sit back, take a pew and enjoy – and if you’ve had any similar experiences on the Community, go ahead and share them in the comments below. “I am so proud of how far we have all come. It was difficult to see the light at the beginning but we…

Former Member
World Vegan Month - Alice's Vegan Pumpkin Spiced smoothie recipe

November is World Vegan Month - a time to celebrate how far veganism's come in recent years, and a time to share vegan tips and recipes with those interested in the movements potential benefits. Our Online Community's resident dietitian, Alice, has taken the time to write about why veganism's grown so rapidly in popularity, its benefits, and she's also shared a rather tasty 'Vegan Pumpkin Spice' smoothie (trust me, I made it myself over the weekend). Enjoy! Veganism is a diet that excludes all animal products including meat, dairy and eggs. It has become an increasingly popular and mainstream lifestyle over the past 10 years. Its growing popularity seems to be due to two main factors: Desire to protect the environment and reduce harmful farming practices. Desire to live a healthier…

Former Member
Top tips for self care

This week’s Self Care Week, a week that focuses on embedding support for self-care across all walks of life. To recognise the week, our fantastic Social Media team have tweeting their top tips on looking after yourself. We’d love to hear yours too, so go ahead and share them in the comments below. If you're finding things tough, it can help to take things one day at a time and not look too far ahead. You may find that things get easier to cope with as time passes. Doing even the smallest tasks may help you feel better. If you can, get up and dressed every day Try to eat well every day. If you have eating problems or a poor appetite, talk to your doctor or nurse. Try to exercise regularly. Keep to a regular sleeping pattern if you can. Stay in contact with your family and friends…

Former Member
Silver Linings - Nicky's story

A couple of weeks ago I received a lovely letter from a lady called Nicky, who'd included in this letter a short story called 'Silver Linings'. I found the story such a positive and optimistic read that I had to share it with the Online Community. Nicky shares with us her story from an initial diagnosis, to present day where she's 3 years on from surgery. What struck me was how Nicky was able stay so positive both during and after treatment, and keep living and enjoying life. I hope you all like the story as much as I did. "It may be rubbish or it might help one other lady see beyond her treatment. To see the 'Silver Linings' during and afterwards. To keep her going." (Nicky) "No" she shouted in her head, as Chris, the Macmillan nurse went through everything the surgeon had told her. Like…

Former Member
Movember - "I think it was being able to tell her how I was feeling ... that gave me great comfort."

It’s November, which also means it’s Movember – that time of the year when gents all over the world commit to growing luxurious and stylish upper lip ‘jackets’ (or ‘moustaches’) to raise awareness and funds for various men’s health issues. We’re lucky enough this month to have Rob, one of our wonderful Online Community members, share his experience with prostate cancer, and how he’s approached and dealt with the emotional impact of the diagnosis. Unfortunately, there’s often a stigma when it comes to gents opening up about their emotions and mental wellbeing – Rob’s story’s a great example of how opening up helped him cope, and also brought him and his wife, Sue, closer together. I do believe, now having been through chemotherapy for advanced prostate cancer, that the emotional side of…

Former Member

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