Good luck to the pair of you and try not to overdo things.
As for chemo brain, it could have been worse Lisha - you could have forgotten your swimming costume!!!
Lisha, just don’t do what I did forty odd years ago - we saved time at the pool by travelling in our swimsuits with just a dresss on
top… guess who forgot her knickers to come home in… !!!
So yeah, hope it goes swimmingly!
lol hymil ,thats just what my sister said .I couldn’t tell her for laughing and she thought i had forgot my pants !!
Hope your day has gone well lorna45 .I enjoyed being back.The tearoom was busier than i expected but was ok .I only worked 9.30 till 2 but by 12.30 i was feeling tired lol.I didn’t expect that!!.Back again on wed so hopefully it will get better each time .XX
Well done Lisha and now it’s your turn to sit down, put your feet up and have a nice cuppa yourself. Mind you, I think that you certainly deserve something stronger!
Hi everyone,I was summoned to work two weeks ago to 'discuss my future’and as I tried to explain that I was still having my Rx I was very tired and felt worn out most of the time and also suffering from chemo brain that I didn’t think I would be able to go straight back to my old duties that I used to do before last May when this nightmare started, so perhaps they could find me an easier role to start with until I feel more myself again(not that I can remember that person). I was told they would try to sort something out for me so I left it at that. Two days later I got a letter from work saying that they could not find any lighter duties for me to do. So that was that now I am jobless and at 61 not much chance of finding employment elsewhere. I expected better than that after everything that has happened to me.Lots of Love to you all out there.XXX
hello lisha, just want to say good luck, I too work in a busy cafe, b4 BC i was mainly in the kitchen, but since being back I am out front just as much as in the kitchen… I went back at beg of sept just 3 weeks after chemo ended, but that was just for 3 hours as the boss had a wedding!, over the next few weeks I did 1 then 2 days a week,then it went to 3 leading up to xmas, and now due to someone else being on sick i’m doing 4 days,… although they could do with me doing more they are sooo good about what i can do. When I went back all staff knew what I could/couldnt do and have all helped me, even now.I found it best to be honest and just say, if your tired and need a break i’m sure they will let you and, and if your regular customers are like mine they will be more than happy to have you sit with them and share acup of tea!!!..just beware you will get fed up with saying “yes my hair is growing back”…x
hi 26pammy, so sorry thats happened to you thats awful. To be fair I thought you had rights and that they had to try to accommodate you .Not sure how you go about putting that into practice though maybe you should seek some advice .
I have been very lucky i don’t think my work knows how to handle it really as they haven’t had many people work for them with the big C. We are very short staffed and even though i only went back test someone suggested to the boss that she asks me to do extra shifts but the boss said no .How long they will be understanding for i don’t know but when you go back its very tiring .
I hope you manage to get something sorted .love Sharon xxx
Hi Charlotte sorry your post came through as mine did.Thanks for the good luck.I went back yesterday and felt quite tired after a few hours but i coped lol. Im back tom for another half a day. I am going to do two half days for about 3 to 4 weeks then go to three half days ,then try a full day.The end of the day is our worst time as all mopping sweeping act has to be done in mega quick time.
Everybody keeps telling me they love my hair and it suits me short(i hate it ) but yes this old man came in who hadn’t seen me for a while and said what on earth have u done at your hair i didn’t recognise you. When i said it was just growing back after treatment he shrunk!! Sure there will be more moments like that but i don’t let it worry me too much
It sounds as though your employers were very understanding ,i hope mine remain to be .Thanks for the advice and glad to hear you are going along ok .Love Sharon xxx
Hi 26Pammy,
After reading your post I have put for you below links to 2 of BCC’s publications regarding employment and BC. If you would like any further information regarding this, please do give the helpline here a ring, they’re here to support you through this.
The Employ Charter:
www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/financial-practical-support/employ-charter-bcc167
Info for employers:
www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/financial-practical-support/employ-charter-information-employers-bcc168
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Jo, Facilitator
Hi lorna45 just wondering how your first week went.I hope the energy i sent you worked xx
I finished treatment on Dec 31st - 6 x chemo and 25 a radiation. I went back to work on Feb 15th! I started at 3 hrs a day for 3 weeks and then increased to 4 hrs a day for a further 3 weeks. This week I have worked 6 hrs a day and to be honest I am absolutely knackered. When I came home at lunch time I was sorely tempted to curl up on the sofa and have a snooze.
If I was able I would have stayed off a little longer and I would have worked fewer hours for longer times, but my company has been very kind and paid me in full throughout, but to top it all my boss has now got bowel cancer and is off work going through chemo herself. There are only the two of us in our department, so I was required to go back, probably sooner than I was ready.
Take Care and look after yourself.
Hello
I finished treatment last July (mx and LD recon for DCIS with microinvasion) - although I have some more corrective surgery to come this summer. I was just starting to return to something resembling normality when I was forced to take another three months off for hip revision surgery and am only just mobile again.
I’ve gone back to work because I’m self employed and have no option. It’s been really tough as I’ve lost several retained clients since January. They won’t say it’s because of my absence, but it can’t have helped. I need to be ‘visible’ and not being able to drive to client appointments etc has hit my little business hard. I’m feeling really fed up about it all at the moment as although it’s great to be on the mend I do worry about my income. Is anyone out there in a similar situation regarding self employment? Mine’s been a ‘fazed’ rather than ‘phased’ return - although hearing some of the stories from fellow cancer patients, it seems some of you in employed posts don’t fare much better when it comes to job security or lack of it. I know I’m fortunate not to have undergone rads and chemo but can’t help reliving this time last year when I was first diagnosed. Part of me would like to dip into my small savings pot and put work on hold for a couple of motnhs but |I’m scared that if I do that the remaining clients will think I’m not up to the job and abandon me! Any advice much appreciated. Lou x