Using the network -- connecting with others
Welcome to everyone who has joined in the last week or so, we now have 1174 members.
So, today's tip is to help you find others you might have similar interests with:
Connecting with others in the network
One of the good things about connecting to others (besides the fact you'll have more people to talk to! 
, is that all of the blog posts of your contacts show up on your 'My Home' page in a reading list. So if you haven't visited the site in a few days, you'll still see what everyone is up to!
Finding other members to add to your list of contacts is easy! Just click on one of the 'find members' links on your 'My Home' page:
You can then search by gender, age-range, breast cancer experience, location etc.
When you find someone you'd like to connect to, just click on their username (it will be a pink link). That will take you to that member's profile page and on the left side of the screen you'll see a link labelled "add as contact". Click on that link and follow the instructions.
You can find more detail on how to connect with others in our simple user guide which is downloadable on the Help page.
You can also check out the weekly 'Get Connected' posts in the Getting Started group to find others you might have something in common with.
Important note
Remember to check your own privacy settings on your "edit" page. There's no need to reveal anything personal or private, but if you want others to connect to you, you should make some of your My Profile settings "public" so others can find out a bit about you (eg. 'my story', 'about' me' and 'breast cancer experience').
If you're not sure what to do, you might like to read this post on how to change your privacy settings.
Di
Comments
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Hi Everyone,
I'm a survivor of 12 years now and aged 41.It's only taken me all this time to get involved online and it's time for me to help others in their journey.
i had non Hodgkins lymphoma at 17, and Breast cancer at 29. I had DCIS 3 years ago and have since had a bilateral prophalactic mastectomy with reconstruction.i love life and have just applied to be a Community liason person.0 -
Welcome to the network -- hope you enjoy yourself here, and just ask if you need anything.
-di0 -
hi new kid on the block from another NKOTBlock. Are you going to melbourne for training, Im trying to get in contact with others who are going. Im from country NSW, its a big trip for the oldgirl (47). 6 months post treatment, read more on my profile, still tired.
But some days are great. 0 -
Welcome mitch! Enjoy the network.
-Di0 -
Hi
I recently joined and was really looking forward to this forum, but this morning received the following spam message below, which now means I will have to remove my details and not participate in this online resource anymore. I realise it is difficult to control who legitimately joins.
Posted by [link removed]
Hello, Dear one complement of the season,glad to meet you today,i am Sandra Ahijo,a kind responsible and humble sweet girl from Africa,i saw your profile here in bcna org.au i will be glad for full introduction of my self,and to see whether i can relocate. to exchange foreign language. i will be very grateful if you shall endeavor to write me with this e-mail address below Please ,i will be very glad if you can write me ,if you really wish, write me with this e-mail address here (email link removed) Sandra Ahijo
note: edited to remove active links0 -
Hi ChristineL -- thanks for letting us know about the message you received, that user no longer has access to the network. You're correct that spammers are a challenge in all social networks and we have measures in place to block their access once an inappropriate use has been reported (here's a link to a post about using the 'report as inappropriate' link if you'd like to know more), so every report helps.
At the same time, we do want genuine users to be able to enjoy the network without having to jump through too many hoops to participate, so it's a fine balance.
I can reassure you that other network members don't have access to any of your private information in order to send a personal message (and you definitely should never give out personal information to anyone you don't know), it's only the alert that comes to your email address. If you have the setting on your profile information 'private' then it's not visible to other users.
I hope that's helpful.
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Hi, I too am pretty new here having just become a liason officer for BCNA. It is great to hear your doing so well it gives us all inspiration to fight the "nasty's" all the way, you truly are a survivor. Thanks for giving back we all know how you feel, once helped by others a lot of us like to help those unfortunate following in our steps. Congratulations and well done. Nice to make your acquantence.
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Hi Christine, so sorry this has happened to you. BCNA are quick to shut down these "fleas" but unfortunatly some get through. I havent had any problems but you did the right thing by reporting a.s.a.p. I hope you dont leave as it;s a great network for all members. so much info and help hang in there and hopefully it was a once of. Good luck and hope to see you here again soon, Kaz
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Hello everyone, I hope I am in the right place to post.
I am new here, new to breast cancer - looking forward (not) to my mastectomy on Monday morning and can't wait to get out of hospital, find a prosthesis and get back to a near normal life. Don't even know if I will require chemo/other treatment.
Am a little afraid of the wait to find out the prognosis from the lymph glands. Everyone tells me not to worry, and wait until I come to that bridge. However the waiting is so nerve wrecking.
I am sooo grateful for this network and a place I can blog to my heart's content about my journey. I NEVER thought this would happen to me and was in denial. I am still in a somewhat post shock state and just want all this to be over.
However, I want to spread the news to other women to PLEASE GO AND HAVE A FREE BREAST SCAN. When ever I found a lump in my breast, it never cost me anything. I am now 52 and went because my doctor nagged me into it. I don't know how to thank her. Without her nagging, I would have left it until perhaps it was too late.
Thank you for being here - BCNA.
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Hi Sandy and welcome! I'm glad you found us.
You can post anywhere you find something you'd like to comment on -- everyone is very chatty here, so you'll fit right in.This is a fairly old post, though, so other members might not see it. Best thing to do if you want to talk with others is to make a post in your own blog and it will show up on the All Posts page where everyone can find it (there's a link to the 'all posts' page on the help page if you lose it).
Take a look at the Help and Q&A pages if you haven't already -- you'll find some info there about connecting with others -- and always feel free to ask if you have any questions.
~Di
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Hi
I have recently been diagnosed with stage 1 and have had a lumpectomy. I am now making decisions as to (any) further treatment.. When I expressed my desire not to have any further treatment (at this stage) other than 6 monthly check ups, the doctor didn't disagree. However, I feel that I should be "actively doing something" to try to prevent recurrence but the long term side effects of further treatment seem to (maybe) outweigh the possible short term benefit.. I am 58 and post menopausal.
Is there anyone else who has experience with lumpectomy only?
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I think whether you have a lumpectomy or mastectomy the decision as to have further treatment should lie in what your doctor says about this treatment.
For me (Mastectomy was the only option) my oncologist sat me and my partner down and began...
"If we do nothing...there is x% change the cancer will return...if you have hormone therapy...we can cut that % down by x%...if you have chemotherapy as well we can cut it down further by x%...so by the end of your treatment you have less chance of a recurrence.
He also went on to say if I only have the chemo...I only cut it down this amount...
Of course I was devastated to learn that I would need chemo - by his advisement. Though he gave me the option of not having it. Also by havin one treatment of it he said One is better than none, though four is better than one. So I opted for the four and the hormone therapy. For me - my mastectomy was a life saving operation. I wasn't going to stop further treatment just because I didn't like the idea of chemotherapy.
I wizzed through the first cycle like a dream - it was so easy and virtually no side effects. The second cycle was the opposite. I was sick all the long weekend and the following weekend was spent in hospital when I "caught" some bug that was going around even though the hospital couldn't find the source of my infection from my blood/urine samples.
I am still going to continue cos I still believe it is all contributing to a life saver and I will have less chance of a recurrence.
What it all boils down to is "The more you are informed - the better your decision is made" Ask your doctor for statistics, for suggestions, for reasons for those suggestions. Don't be afraid to ask silly questions. The only way you can make a better decision is to be more informed.
Good luck with your treatment.
PS I am 52 and pre-menopausal. There are some great anti-nausea meds if that is what you are worried about. Everyone reacts differently - being positive always helps. You are not alone in your journey. Hope this helps
Sandy
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Thanks for your post ! You are awesome .
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