It’s quite worrying that our posts can be googled and read by anyone.
I wish there was a part where we could post where you had to be a member and not just anyone could see the posts.
Hi SGL
That’s a brilliant idea. There have been quite a few posts on here where people have said that they didn’t want to say too much in case family saw their posts.
The idea of this forum is that we all support each other because we understand what the BC thing is like. We should all be able to post without having to worry about friends and family reading things which they may not like. Mind you on the other hand I suppose they could become members themselves!!!
It’s a difficult one but I know what you mean and I do agree if a way could be found. So that’s a vote from me.
I hope you’re feeling well today.
Love J xxx
Well maybe they could have a section just for people with cancer themselves. There are other groups online, that ask you to fill in a form about your cancer, just things that only cancer people would know, type, grade, status etc.
I totally agree with your comments Stargazerlily.
I also agree we should be more private. I must admit I hadn’t given this much thought. But I certainly wouldn’t want any of my friends or family reading this forum.
Perhaps if we get enough people to voice their opinion on here something can be done.
Hi Star,
I discovered some time ago that it is fairly easy to google and get posts from BBC. Whenever I send something I don’t want accessed, except by the person I am PMing it to, I ask them to delete the message when they have read it. Obviously I don’t want my email or phone number available to just anyone.
It’s really sad that you can’t say what you want to without fear of discovery. If it is very important to you to get it off your chest, why don’t you PM a couple of people you trust and ask them to delete after reading.
I suggest that you phone the helpline on Monday and see what they can do.
Try not to be upset. P m me if you need to.
Hugs,
E
i whole heartly agree. we are given privacy medically and choose to share when we feel we can, but we are all visable to all and sundry in here. i know of ladies that would like to open up about personal stuff via the forum, but feel that they have an unwanted audience. what a shame.
Thank you emmbee, its ok, there is a closed group of ladies on facebook that nobody else can read, and I have posted on there and am feeling much better and calmer now.
I think BCC should think of giving us this place to speak Elttiks. Just a place for people with actual cancer, who need the privacy to talk about feelings, treatments etc. Ofcourse keep the main open bit for family, friends, etc to use too. But a private part just for suffers too who feel they cant open up.
xxx
just a little corner for us inflicted with this horror would be great. something that doesn’t show up via google, and gives us that little bit if respite.
there is another website which does exactly that-just pm me if you want to know about it 
Hi all
I’ll pass your feelings/comments on to Mike on this subject
Did you know we run ‘live chat’ sessions every Thursday evening whereby you can chat to others in real time and it’s a closed session so no one else could access this unless they were registered on the forums, you can read more here:
breastcancercare.org.uk/community/live-chat/
Best wishes
Lucy
thank you lucy. we just need a little privacy sometimes. pm is great, but often ladies want to discuss issues that can be quite personal.
Hi stargazerlily
I just wanted to add my support to your suggestion. When I first logged on to this site, I never thought for a minute that friends would want to ‘dip in’ to my BC life - but I found one or two did. This was probably my own fault as i told them about the forum and how useful it was for me.
Like others have already stated - other sites request ‘proof’ that you have BC before making you a member- maybe consideration needs to be given to this idea.
Linda
Agh! Had never thought about friends and family dipping in and out. Have changed my photo picture but will think twice about writing anything too personal from now on…
This issue was flagged up many years ago…especially by some of us stage 4 women who thought it would be beneficial to have our own private place.
If someone knows your username they can read all the posts you have ever written just by using advanced search…you don’t even have to be logged in to read them, they are open to all. I post here less often than I used to partly because although I’m stage 4 I’ve moved on and also because it feels (to me) too open.
To be honest it is one of the reasons I don’t have my picture on here and I actually don’t use my real name. That sounds terrible, but I can say that on here I do feel that I am jaynek and am entirely honest and open on here. Privacy/confidentiality is really important to us all. However to make it entirely private might be very difficult to do. Take care. J.
It isn’t difficult at all to make it completely private. That is what we do on bcpals. But I think that bcc have a very different role. I think it has a very wide membership because it is open and easy to find. When people are first diagnosed with bc they are desperate to find others they can talk to, to find information. When they start searching bcc is very easy to find on almost anything you search relating to the subject. If it were to go completely private I think many would miss out on the help they offer. I think though it is good to remind ourselves through posts like this, that the site is open to all. Sometimes I think we forget and once the posts are out there in the big wide world for all to find it is too late!
It would be interesting to see how a section of the forum would work if it could be made private. I think with the software being used her it would be possible.
Dawn
xx
I have no objection to a private area, but I’m not worried if there isn’t one, because I would never post anything I didn’t want others to know about.
If there was a members only area, I doubt I would post in it, because I find posting on an open site puts me in contact with a broader range of experience and knowledge, than I would have if the site was closed.
Guess it’s horses for courses.
post deleted
I would post in open parts of the forum, particularly when new members are looking for support, but I would also welcome closed areas. I have had a couple of other issues in my life that I would like to ask for advice about from those who have befriended me on the BCC site, but because some of those problems have involved members of my family, I haven’t discussed them on here. I made the suggestion to BCC several months ago, but nothing specific in response.
Here’s an example of the sort of stuff that WOULD be appropriate for a “members only” section. I have had some difficulties with a very close member of my family, but I know that at least one person in my loose circle of friends “browses” on BCC, despite not having breast cancer and not supporting anyone with it, so I am reluctant to mention anything about my own difficulties. Which is a shame as I know that my friends on here would be able to put a view on things that only someone who’s done the cancer rubbish would be able to understand.
I have found that friends I have made on this site I’ve ended up being in contact with in other ways, either via email or facebook or other groups, but I feel great allegiance to BCC and all it has given me, particularly access to others who KNOW what I’m going through. But I do feel that while I’m happy being open about (some of) my problems, there are other things I KNOW I would value views on that I just can’t discuss on here, in case family members or people who have their own motives are spying on me. I know it’s completely pathetic to think that people might even consider spying, and anyone who DOES spy on a BC patient without actually offering any support deserves nothing but contempt, but I know it happens - I have been contacted by a relative about a post I put on BCC - so that makes me a lot more reticent about posting.
Perhaps when the “new” BCC site it launched, a “members only” section could be considered. (PLEA TO BCC BODS, WE DO LOVE YOU REALLY!)
Enough, I’m going to see if I can get a bit more than the 3 hours of very broken sleep I had yesterday, and have self-administered several pints of my drug of choice this evening.