Online Communities
Online communities provide an opportunity for people living with cancer to talk and exchange ideas. They allow people to set personal profiles and share information about themselves for others to view. Many give an option for choosing a photo of themselves. The benefits of an online group are that:
- It makes it easier to stay in touch with others
- It allows you to connect with people with similar experiences
- It can help with finding appropriate support
However, it is important to be sure what information you want to share and who you want to share it with. Remember, only health professionals directly involved in your care can give you the best advice and your experiences are likely to be different to others.
Macmillan runs online discussion groups with over 80,000 members and is open 24h hours a day, 7 days a week. They can be found at: community.macmillan.org.uk. These groups are focused on specific types of cancer or cancer experiences. There is an online discussion site for emotional issues. Other online discussion sites include Cancer Chat, run by Cancer Research UK.
