Well I find myself in a new community of people by circumstances I guess none of us would rather be dealing with. I choose to engage so as to in some small way deal with "The Beastie".
For me that is a non-sentient invasive little physical representation that embodies an awful lot of potential for fear and worry. In my case, this takes the form of an eye melanoma. That fear and worry potential though is a thinking health matter which is why I choose to engage. It will likely mess my body up some, but as best as I can, I can at least try and stop it dominating my thoughts.
Without wishing to sound overly positive as this new uncertainty becomes front and center, today I am walking and breathing with a life that can still be lived. The Beastie will certainly change matters for me, but having been fortunate to get this identified comparatively early, I try and hope these will be minimised, and I can equally try and minimise its impact to my nearest and dearest. I recognise there are many curve balls yet to come though.
Take care out there to you all, including our support networks who care for us.
Hi Simply Derek and a very warm welcome to the Macmillan Community but I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis.
Navigating a cancer journey can be such a stressful and challenging time…… I have been on my incurable Lymphoma journey for over 25 years…… (you can see my story through the link at the very bottom) and the one thing that my family and I aimed for was to not let my cancer define us as a family……. but our aim was and always will be to define how we live with this uninvited squatter.
This New to Community area is like our reception desk where we look to try and direct you to the best part of the Community for you to get support. The Community is actually divided into dedicated Support Groups (Discussion Rooms)……. but you have found and put up a post in our dedicated Eye cancer support group…… This group is a safe place to talk to others with a similar diagnosis, treatment experience, to ask questions and get support.
The Macmillan Support Line is open between 8am-8pm (timings may differ across services) 7 days a week on 0808 808 00 00…… this service provides cancer information, practical information, emotional support, benefits/financial guidance or just a listening ear.
Talking to people ‘face to face’ can be very helpful so do check to see if you have any Local Macmillan Support in your area, do also check for a local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing.
Do get back to me if you need further help navigating the community but in the meantime all the very best.
Hi Simply Derek and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
You are right that being given a cancer diagnosis does have a big impact on our lives.
The online community is divided into different support forums and I can see that you've already found and posted in the eye cancer forum which is a great place to ask questions and share experiences with others who have a similar diagnosis.
It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and treatment to date into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
