Community Whatsapp Group Guidelines

Updated - August 2023

The ‘Life after cancer’ community Whatsapp group is a place for individuals (over the age of 18) who have finished cancer treatment to share, listen, collaborate and provide encouragement and support.

We do not provide or recommend medical treatment, nor meet medical needs. The focus of the group is on increasing the physical, mental, emotional and social wellbeing of our members and building social connections and resilience. If you have any medical questions, please ask your oncology team, regional clinic team and/or clinical nurse specialist.

The Whatsapp group is overseen by a community Administrator who is part of the Life after Cancer organisation.

Administrator role -

The job of the Administrator is to welcome individuals and regularly remind people of the rules that are in place for the community. Community members will take their cue from how the administrators behave themselves and model their behaviour.

The role of the Administrator is to -

Add individuals who wish to join the Whatsapp group.
Give members a safe space to post their thoughts.
Look out for harmful content that breaks the community guidelines and address the situation (either by directing the individual to the community guidelines or requesting privately that they edit or remove their post).
Offer support and guidance when needed.
Make sure the space remains supportive and everyone is included.
Identify people in need and refer them in a private message to the safeguarding resources if they require.

All Members of the Whatsapp group acknowledge and agree to the role of the Admin Team in managing and moderating the group activities.

Members also acknowledge and agree that the Admin Team have the right to verify and/or refuse admission to any Group and/or cancel membership at any time and for any reason and/or modify, delete or remove any content at their discretion.

The Admin Team will not accept any liability for any post, share, or other communication which breaches the rules. The email address for the Admin Team is - hello@life-aftercancer.co.uk

General -

These guidelines and any actions taken by Administrators are intended to make sure the Whatsapp group remains a welcoming environment for all those who need support.

The group is for individuals who have completed cancer treatment and have attended Life after Cancer services or coaching programmes.

The group will be used to promote and share details of Life after Cancer services and affiliate organisations.

By joining the Life after cancer Whatsapp group, you must agree to the terms of use set out below.

We kindly request that members of the group:

Are polite and respectful of each other.
Take personal responsibility for all posts and comments you make, and for following the content guidelines provided here.
Respect the different backgrounds, beliefs and personalities of others in the group.
Do not knowingly share misleading or false information, checking the source before sharing.
Do not make defamatory statements about a person, organisation or other.
Practice empathy, understanding and compassion towards the people who join seeking help and support.
Read and comply with the content guidelines.

Know that the group is not the right place to get help in a crisis. Please see the safeguarding guidelines.

Content guidelines -

The content policy outlined here is intended to ensure the groups remain friendly, supportive, reassuring environments for new and existing members alike, where interactions are positive and polite and where disagreements can be dealt with respectfully. In line with this, the following content is not allowed:

Negative or unhelpful comments.
Content that contains any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising and promotional materials, commercial or otherwise, including links to websites containing such materials. For purposes of this clause, “advertising and promotional materials'' includes but is not limited to surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, chain letters, junk e-mail, spamming or any duplicative or unsolicited messages.
Inflammatory posts or discussions.
Medical advice. We encourage group members to share their experiences of care and what worked for them but please don’t give medical advice. This is the difference between ‘I found this technique worked well’ and ‘You should try this particular medicine’. Everyone’s situation and medical history are different, and what you read in the groups should never replace the advice given to you by your GP and other medical professionals.
You may make recommendations for services, but these should be based on your genuine personal experiences with a service.
Personal contact details. If you wish to share these details with another member, please do so through private messaging.
Offensive or inappropriate posts. These posts will be removed immediately. Based on the Admin’s best judgement on the intention behind the post or comment, members may be removed or banned from the group.

Privacy -

Whatsapp is end to end encrypted. This means that only participants of the group can read or see what has been sent. Each message has a unique ‘lock and key’, this means that even the Whatsapp service is unable to see any of the content within the group.

Each participant has a responsibility to ensure that the device they use to access the group is secured i.e. password / pin protection and the group is not left open for others to see.

To preserve the privacy of the groups, members are never allowed to share images, posts or other content posted by others in the group outside of the group without the poster’s explicit, written consent. Members found to be breaching this policy will be removed and banned from the group. If you feel your privacy has been violated in this way, please report it to the group Administrator directly.

Complaints / grievances -

The complainant must not respond or engage in any discussion which they are offended by.

They will need to approach the Administrator of the group to ensure they are aware of the situation and the Administrator will then investigate further and take any action deemed reasonable and proportionate. This may include:

Reiterating the group rules to all participants
Informally discussing with relevant participants to ensure there isn’t a repeat of any inappropriate discussion
Removing relevant participants from the group (depending on the context of the situation)
Managing relevant participants of the group through the disciplinary process (depending on the context of the situation)

Safeguarding -

The Whatsapp group will not be monitored 24 hours a day, as such, it is not an appropriate place to get help in a crisis. See our full Safeguarding Policy for Life after Cancer's approach to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable adults.

If something in the WhatsApp group brings up a feeling or emotion that you’d like to talk through - I’d like to remind you that you are not alone and I encourage you to seek support and speak with friends, family, your GP, your oncology team and/or clinical nurse specialist.

If you are concerned about an individual within the Whatsapp group, please private message the Administrator or email hello@life-aftercancer.co.uk.

The list below explains what mental health crisis services are available. These helplines are staffed by trained people ready to listen. They won't judge you, and could help you make sense of what you're feeling.

Samaritans - 24 hours a day - 116 123
SANEline - 4.30pm - 10.30pm - 0300 304 7000
National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK - 6pm - 3.30am - 0800 689 5652
Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) - 5pm - midnight - 0800 58 58 58
Shout - Text support service - text SHOUT to 85258
Mind - Weekdays - 9am - 6pm - 0300 123 3393
Macmillan Cancer support - 8am - 8pm - 0808 239 1557

If you feel like you might attempt suicide, or may have seriously harm yourself, you need urgent medical help. Please:

Call 999 for an ambulance
Go straight to A&E, if you can
Call your local crisis team - if you don't already have their number, you can find an urgent mental health helpline on the NHS website

If you can't do this by yourself, ask someone to help you.

Mental health emergencies are serious. You're not wasting anyone's time.