Blogging can be a great way to journal your experiences and share with others. Why not create your own cancer journey blog, or have a read of other blogs created by our members?
Unsure how to get started? Take a look at our help pages on blogs.
I have been away from the Online Community for a little while (albeit checking in from time to time). I think it is a natural result as day-to-day life becomes a little busier than when we were dealing with the grind of treatment or the immediate aftermath and recovery. I have seen some upsetting stories in recent days and my thoughts inevitably turn to those who I am in contact with on here and whose narrative I have seen as they fight a recurrence of the illness.
So, as an update, where am I and...
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...
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...
Having cancer imposes a tough challenge on us and raises at least one big question. Can we take control of the situation and get on with our lives? That depends on many things, not the least of which is the severity of the illness of course. I can only speak from my experience, which is currently responding well to immunotherapy treatment for malignant melanoma after eight rounds of single drug treatment with Nivolumab.
As time goes by I consider myself to be very lucky and to have had very good...
So having just completed 4 very short weeks back at work, it seems the right time to reflect on how I have handled that and what has stuck with me the most. The title of this post gives the main answer. It is good to be back! That is probably the sentence I have uttered the most to colleagues too. What I actually mean is it is good to be well enough to be back. During treatment you wonder whether you will ever feel normal again. I do!
I worked 2 short days in week 1 then followed this up on the Saturday...
May I first start with some bad news. My Mum, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year, unfortunately died. She had been very poorly for the past 3 months. Her cremation, in Yorkshire, was a lovely opportunity to celebrate her life and the weather didn’t let us down. My brother and I intend to take her ashes to Whitby where she had some happy times with my late father.
Can I also say a huge thank you to everyone who has added likes and comments to my last blog post. It is such a lift...
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...
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...
Stomach cancer metastasis in peritoneum. I have something called peritoneal carcinomatosis. I was told on 4th July that my cancer is incurable. The only treatment they can offer me is more of the FLOT chemotherapy. I will continue to have chemo cocktails every two weeks until the tumour stops responding or my body can no longer tolerate it. I have been on an emotional rollercoaster these last few weeks and have been feeling very down. I feel like I'm just marking time between treatments which isn...
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...
