As Editorial Assistants at Macmillan, one of the highlights of our day is chatting to reviewers. Whether we’re talking about cancer treatment, the best way to improve our information or even weighing up the pros and cons of Zumba, working with such a lovely group of people is guaranteed to put a smile on our faces.
Every single one of our publications gets reviewed by relevant medical experts and by several volunteer reviewers. This could be you!
Our aim is to provide the best possible cancer information for everyone’s needs. And in order to make sure it’s all accurate and up-to-date, we update every publication every two and a half years. Part of this process involves sending it to reviewers.
See below for how to sign up as a reviewer!
As a reviewer, you can help us to make sure that our content is relevant and helpful to people affected by cancer. Your comments enable us to understand what people need or would like to find in a publication.
You might have or have had cancer, or be a carer, friend or relative of someone who’s had cancer. You don’t need to have any specific knowledge of a cancer type or treatment to review for us. Even if the information is about something you aren’t familiar with, your comments are always valuable.
It’s important to us that we reach everyone affected by cancer, wherever they live. Our goal is for our information to be relevant to you. So whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, we want you to have your say about our information by becoming a reviewer.
Reviewers read our information before it’s published and send us feedback to help us improve the content. We look at all the comments from reviewers and take them into account when writing the booklets.
If we’re in need of a reviewer, we’ll contact you directly. If you’re available, we’ll send you the publication with some guidelines and a form to fill out your review. We usually ask that you return your comments within three weeks. They are then passed onto the Nurse and Editor working on the publication.
The great thing about reviewing for us is that it can be done in the comfort of your own home on a flexible basis, as and when you have any spare time. We’ll always try to fit things around you, because your support is invaluable.
You can register your interest in reviewing online by filling out a short form. That form comes straight to us, and we’ll then get in touch with you directly. Alternatively, you can get in touch with us at reviewing@macmillan.org.uk or on 0207 840 4736.
Sometimes, we post adverts on our Opportunities Exchange asking for reviewers for specific topics/booklets. If you sign up for an account with the Opportunities Exchange, you can keep your eye out for these and apply for them as and when you’re interested.
Our reviewers are at the heart of our work. They are able to spot the improvements we need to make so that our information is the best it can be for people affected by cancer. They are a huge help and we consider ourselves very lucky to work with such inspiring people every day.
