The holiday season can be difficult for people who have experienced a major change or loss in their life. Although a traditional period of social celebration, feelings of loneliness, isolation and sadness may also be common at this time. Young people affected by cancer in particular experience challenges navigating this time of year. This forum will provide an opportunity for the YAC community to share experiences and discuss options with each other and our guest speakers: Date: Monday 13 December Time: 6:00pm – 7:30pm EST Location: www.cancerconnections.com.au Guest Speakers: - Ms Danielle Tindle – Cancer survivor & Senior Project Officer in Adolescent & Young Adult Services with Queensland Health (QLD) - Ms Maxine Rosenfield: Counsellor & Psychotherapist in private practice (NSW) Topics: Setting realistic expectations Expressing your needs Being gentle with yourself Planning activities Creating new rituals Seeking support If you would like to register for this event, please click HERE If you are not able to join us, a downloadable summary of the forum will be available soon after the event. Looking forward to seeing you there! ... View more

Hi All, It is with sadness that I need to let you know about the death of one of our community members, Vinouche. Vinouche was a member of one of our online groups, “Ongoing”, as well as a frequent contributor to both forums and blogs on this site. From my contact with Vinouche, I know that she appreciated the warmth and support that was extended to her from this community a great deal, particularly during times when she was feeling alone. This support helped her feel more connected, allowing her to explore her thoughts, experiences and feelings with people who understood. I also know that Vinouche supported and encouraged many of you along the way. It can be confronting when someone you know who has cancer dies. If you feel you would like greater support at this time, we would encourage you to make use of the Cancer Council Helpline, 13 11 20 (within Australia). I would also welcome you to share your thoughts, feelings & memories with each other here on Cancer Connections. I am sorry to be sharing such sad news with you all. I know that Vinouche felt well supported by the people in this community. She will be indeed missed. Warm Regards, Kate Wakelin Program Manager, Telephone & Internet Support Groups, Cancer Council Victoria & Cancer Connections Administration Team Member ... View more

Hi There, It's been wonderful witnessing the conversations that have been evolving on this site over the past few months! Thank you all, for being couragous enough to "put it out there" - and also to the many who have provided support and empathy in response. I thought I might just let some of our newer members know about one of our groups, which you might find helpful - the expressive writing group. This is a space for people who find it helpful to "process" their cancer experience, using expressive writing (eg poetry, stories etc). Of course these types of entries are very welcome in the general blogs - but sometimes people find it useful to be able to develop some of these thoughts in a little more depth, and the group is a very supportive place to do this. If you're interested in joining this group, you can just navigate to the groups page (http://www.cancerconnections.com.au/og) and click on the "request membership" link beside the expressive writing group (it's about half way down the page). Or feel free to send me a private message if you'd like to know more about the group. Cheers, Kate (Telephone & Internet Support Group Coordinator, Cancer Council Victoria) ... View more

Hi All, Just letting you know I'll be away for the next couple of weeks (taking a little break and attending a conference in Perth) If anyone has any concerns about any aspect of the site (eg spam, or inappropriate posts), please feel free to contact EmmaG. If there are any problems regarding the online support groups, you're welcome to contact Amanda S (our face to face support group coordinator here in Victoria) who will be able to help. Take Care, Kate ... View more