By posting in the most relevant category and clearly labelling your post it will enable other members of the community to find, read and respond to your posts. It will also allow greater choice over what people wish to read. For example, some people who have just been diagnosed may not wish to read posts relating to end of life. Similarly, those who are going through a hard time themselves may find it harrowing to read about someone else’s experience. The forum categories are also there to assist in this choice.

Tip: If you’re posting a new discussion, try to make the title clear, so that people will know what the post is about when they see it in the list of latest posts.

Some examples of labelling posts;
a.    If you want information on something specific or you want to chat with someone who has the same cancer type as you, try and include this in the title. For example:  a post titled ‘Hi I’m new’ is less likely to attract people to read it, whereas titles such as  ‘Newly diagnosed with breast cancer’ or ‘I’m worried about starting chemo’ will enable other members to find your post and respond to it more quickly
b.    If you are posting good news please include what it is about, such as receiving an all clear.
c.    If you are posting an update which might be upsetting to others, especially if they are new to the forum, please be sensitive in your post title.
d.    If you are feeling low and want some support then put ‘feeling low’, or ‘bad day at today’ in the title.

Tip: If you think your post is in the wrong place or has the wrong title, Don’t panic! You can contact a moderator for help

These are just a few tips to help you get the most out of the forum and also to help those who are visiting for the first time. It can be quite overwhelming when you first join a community like Cancer Chat, so following these simple guidelines will really help people to find conversations that they can join in with.