I have recently been diagnosed with breast cancer ; have had wide local excision and sentinel nodes biopsy and now waiting for results and treatment to follow. Surgeon has given me 2 weeks off work initially and I am getting conflicting reports about whether I can work through this or not . If radiotherapy follows within time recommended , I could just be going back to work for 2 weeks before having to stop again.My husband tells me that , psychocologically, i would be better to be at work but , equally, I dread having to explain to people or simply don’t want to be looked on with pity. I don’t know if any of you ladies understands and what you can advise me /is it better to get though treatment etc… before even thinking of going back to work ? Would welcome any advice , thank you.
Hi froggy,
Everyone really is different and the best advice I can give you is, go with your own instincts and talk it over with your medical team. It depends on the demands of your job, how much support you have and how you feel in yourself.
I didn’t work through most of my treatment because I knew from the outset that I faced a year of tough treatment and I needed all my energy for my recovery. I had chemo/mast/rads and each treatment followed as soon as I had recovered enough from the last. I had no energy left for anything else. I had a very stressful job and psychologically I was better off at home where I could take walks in the fresh air when I felt strong enough. I met lots of my neighbours I had never had time to get to know before and in the end didn’t miss work at all.
Best of luck whatever you decide to do.
Jan xx
Froggy,
I had a WLE and SNB and went back to work a fortnight later. Luckily I only work 3 x 8 hour days a week as I did get tired and went to bed really early for a month or two.
When I went back I found everybody I knew seemed to know about it, but it wasn’t a problem at all. The bosses just said to take as much time off work as I needed, and one friend had a good peer and said she couldn’t see the difference, which was reassuring.
I planned to have Rads and warned my boss that I’d need time off later. However as that ended up being scheduled over 3 months later and not the 6 weeks the BC nurse had said, I chickened out by then and I’ve not had any rads.
It was good to be able to be busy and not think about BC.
cheers
Hi froggy it depends on where you work and what you do ,I have just gone back to work after 9 months off and didnt work throughout my treatment (wle, chemo and rads) because iam a nurse and work on an isolation ward so couldnt because of the infection risk with a supressed immune system however iam also lucky that i have been 6 months full pay and 3 months 1/2 pay so it also depends on circumstances ,but doing the job that i do and my emotional state i couldnt have taken the stress and concentrated fully on my job and was also fearfull of making mistakes so my oncologist said working through treatment for me was a definate no no x Julie
HI Froggy
I had lumpectomy and nodes plus 20 radiotherapy session. I didn’t work throughout treatment. It does depend on the type of work you do and financial restraints. Signed off sick on last day of the Summer term and had the 6 weeks holiday. Then went back full time. I now see that was a BIG mistake. I should have done a phased return with advice from Occupational Therapy about what I can and can’t do.
I’m paying for it now. I honestly think it’s a little too early to be deciding when you are going to go back. You need to concentrate on getting well and strong and giving yourself time.
I am in the fortunate position of getting 6 months full pay. But when I think back I was still getting an infected wound packed after 6 weeks on a daily basis.
Good luck whatever you decide.
Chinook
Just to give the opposite perspective - I had two weeks off after the mx, then each chemo day off plus two or three days the following week when I felt bad, and then one day off mid rads when I got very tired. As everyone says, it’s a personal decision and depends very much on what you do for work. Like your husbands says, for me it was important psychologically to continue with life as normally as possible. I think I would have got very depressed sitting brooding at home. Plus I wanted to keep life as normal as possible for my kids. If they could see their mum doing most of the usual things then I hoped it wouldn’t be so worrying for them
Hi Froggy,
As everyone says, it is quite individual and can depend on circumstances. If you have chemo, you do have to take the infection issue into consideration as Julie says.
I had WLE and SNB and then rads. I took the two weeks after surgery and then worked part time the next week. I worked throughout rads and managed to get appointments at the end of the day most days so that I could do a circuit of work-rads-home. I was quite tired by the end of rads and had another week off then. Six weeks later I had a planned holiday.
I didn’t really have a lot of choice as we were in a very busy patch and the whole contract would have been at risk if I had had much time off. Having said that, I was quite pleased to be in as much normal life as possible; like RoadRunner I found that important.
If possible you could try to keep it flexible and just see how tired you get.
Good luck,
Eliza xx
Hi Froggy and all, im in a similar situation I was diagnosed with grade 3 cancer HER positive had WLE and SNB with 1 node affected therefore had ANC and get results tommorow?? Im due to have chemo, Herceptin and rads (as far as I know)
I am a team manager supporting adults with Autism and learning difficulties, when I was initially diagnosed my GP signed me off for 4 weeks, im not sure what to do, I would like to think I could work in between chemo but im really not sure?
Donna xx
Hi Froggy, I suppose it depends on your circumstances (home and work) and what you do at work.I work almost full time and have 2 young children. Had my op mid Nov and took 3 weeks off work, then felt under financial pressure to go back as only get 4 weeks sick pay - I know it’s rubbish. The touble is, when back at work, I was expected to just get on as before the op. I work in the community and my work can be quite sressful and to be honest I struggled but kept going. (just a minute while I polish my halo)Started radiotherapy Jan and worked for the first 3 and then went off sick (month)I carnt tell you what a relief it is to finally acknowledge to myself that Im knackered and neeeed some real time to recover from the horrible disease. I will be having my last one tomorrow and plan to stay away from work till feel strong enough to return. My advise to you Froggy would be to be true to yourself and dont go back until you feel strong enough. Hope this helps, Love Caroline xx
Hello Froggy,
As everyone says in almost of the posts, it is a very individual thing, and there is no right or wrong way to do it.
I had two weeks off when I had WLE, went back to work throughout chemo with two days off each cycle and a couple at the very end when I was tired. I then had 6 weeks off for MX and recon, but was able to work throughout rads as they kindly gave me the earliest appointment every morning.
I was lucky that I felt relatively well, had very supportive line management and staff, and have an office job where I am sitting most of the time. My husband also did most of the housework other than laundry and cooking which was a great help.
This worked well for me as the only time that I got a little bit low about it all was during the time that I had to stay home and had little else to occupy my mind.
However, it wouldn’t work for everyone, as many people are just too tired and exhausted or are dealing with side effects of treatment.
Listen to you body and your heart and see how you feel. Be kind to yourself and don’t feel that you HAVE to make a decision right away.
Btw I never had to explain anything to anyone at work. No one asked questions until they were sure that I wanted to discuss and I never felt that anyone pitied me. Try not to worry to much about othere people’s reactions and do what is right for you.
Best wishes, Jacqui
Hi Froggy,
I just want to echo what everyone else is saying - we’re all different and it’s only you that can decide how you feel and if you can ‘front’ your colleagues.
I was signed off for 2 wks for my WLE & SNB but could honestly have gone back to work the day after. I felt perfectly fit & capable (mentally & physically) - in fact, as I’ve never had a day off work until this, I personally felt a bit of a fraud for being signed off. However, this whole issue seems to have affected my DH a bit more than me & he seems to need to look after me so I agreed to stay off till after my 10-day results. I unfortunately had to have a 2nd op (not quite clear enough margins) and this was scheduled for the Tue after my results, so I didn’t go back on the Monday afterall. The same as 1st time, I’m signed off for a month but intend to go back to work after my results this Friday (please, clear margins this time).
I’m hoping that I’m one of the lucky ones & work through Chemo (worse case scenario apart from a couple of days after treatment) but won’t force myself if I really feel poorly. I know that I’ll be off for the duration of my Radio because the ‘every-other-day’ schedule for treatment will mess my colleagues up too much just dipping in & out (especially if the radio tires me out as it does for some).
I really hope that you sail through this whole process but please, please don’t beat yourself up if you need time for yourself and your family. If you’re dreading your colleagues questions or pity then perhaps you should stay off for a bit longer - don’t let anything else mess with your head! I was totally up front about my dx to all my colleagues when we returned after Christmas and personally don’t feel any pity from them, just support - but that’s my gang [I’ll send them over if you like :-)].
Very best wishes and total support for your decision on YOUR way forward {{{{{{{ hugs }}}}}} xx Chris
I am confused at where I stand regarding job seeker’s allowance and that kind of thing. When diagnosed I was on JSA, and came off that the day before my first surgery because I knew I wouldn’t be able to apply for jobs or start work immediately (I think those are the main criteria) because I’d be in hospital, and was told to apply for ESA. So I did that, but would be perfectly happy to keep looking for work while going through treatment, even though from an employer’s perspective I’d be a liability while going through treatment, too much of an unknown quantity.
But if I have to turn up at the job centre once a fortnight, then turn up I will, and if I have to write letters of application to companies explaining that I’d love a job but I’m undergoing treatment for cancer and might not be able to attend interviews if they clash with hospital appointments, just how many interviews do you think I’d get?
It’s all so silly that we have to jump through all these hoops!
Hello
Firstly just like to agree with everyone that we are all different, their jobs are different, some part time, some full.
From diagnosis up until my operation I went to work as normal, but from the Op(wle)I stayed off work and didn’t go back until 2 weeks after rads(had chemo as well).
When I went for my first chemo I was a bit upset so the Sister on the ward took me to see a lady who was on her 4th or 5th and she went to work in London inbetween chemos and was fine. I believed that I would do the same but it wasn’t to be,I was pretty poorly. I worked fulltime, had to travel to work and I just couldn’t do it and I have no regrets I would do the same again. Only you can say how you feel, please don’t feel that you have to just because others are able. I would say that from the 3rd chemo I got more tired.
Your body will tell you when it needs a rest, just go with it
Best wishes
Hazel
Hi,
As everyone has said, everybody reacts in a different way. I would go mad if I didn’t go into work, as I live alone and I enjoy the social interaction of work.
I have just had my 3rd of 6 FEC following WLE, SNB and reconstruction. I didn’t work between the WLE and the recon (4 weeks), but started again 3 weeks after the recon. Fortunately work have been really good, and I can just put in the hours that I feel like, I only live 15 mins away so it is not too far to travel.
During chemo I have found the first week a write off, then the 2nd week I do reduced hours, but nothing formal, the 3rd week I am almost full time but interrupted with oncology appts and blood tests.
Not sure how radiotherapy will work yet, with it being an everyday thing, but the hospital is only 45 mins away from work, so hopefully I’ll be able to do half days.
Everyone at work has been really good, I have been very open with everyone, my view is that if one person starts checking regularly after hearing about me all the better. I think everyone at work is now a lot more genned up on cancer and treatment than they ever were before.
Hope you find out what is best for you
J
Hi everyone - it has been really good to read this thread as this is something that has been really worrying me too. I think for me I will be less stressed and feel more normal if I can continue to work through this even if only part time, although as I have been leading a large part of a project based in Brussels I am effectively losing my main responsibilities until this is over…for my employer there is too much at risk for me to be allowed to continue to lead this until I am fit again.
I am currently signed off work for the first time, following my second op to remove the remaining lymph nodes last friday, but thinking of joining some calls from home on Thursday (but will see how I feel - which is a big move in my approach to this!).
Main thing I think is to do what makes you feel best - love the idea of spending more time walking and talking to people - once I have enough strength back in my right arm to hold my lively springer spanial I will be taking the chance to get out there.
This is a time to be selfish if you can and do what’s best for you.
At my first WLE I only took one week off(including day of the surgery), and felt well enough to go back to work. However for the first few days I was only operating at half-speed but had a lot of support from manager and colleagues. Even to the extent they drove me to an appointment I didn’t want to cancel.(They wanted me too; I wanted to just get back to my normal life).
I needed a second wle to get clear margins and was no so heroic; I asked the surgeon for a “fit note” to cover me for few extra days than the 7 you can self-certify. She agreed I would need a bit longer as probably a bit more painful & as I have type 2 diabeties (found on pre-op tests for 1st op) could take a little longer to heal. She gave me a full 2 weeks off. I’ve never been off work for that long.
Before all this I hadn’t needed a doctor for over 17 years!
Again work was very supportive. I now need 3 weeks Rads (waiting for this to be arranged; should be early March). My manager has already arranged to give me some office help to manage my workload, and is also arranging for office based work for the duration as long as I feel up to it.
I wouldn’t hesitate to take time off if I find I’m too tired to do a proper days work. But also feel if I can I’ll be in the office.
LynneX
Blimey - just shows how different we all are! I had optimistically assumed that I’d have a mastectomy, thereby avoiding rads, and would be back at work as soon as I could drive again… maybe a fortnight…
Mastectomy was mid-november… and I’m still nowhere near back at work! There are several reasons for this: 1. The nature of my work. I have two part time jobs, both physically demanding, and I simply did not have the arm movement necessary to go straight back to work. 2. Node involvement and grade 3 tumour meant chemo was on the cards, and as one of my jobs is in a school, the infection risk was too great. 3. If I’m off, my work can arrange cover - if I’m dipping in and out, it’s far harder for them 4. Financially - insurance is covering credit card/loan, and ssp on top means actually I’m only £50 a month worse off… and that’s before factoring in petrol… so prob. no worse off. 5. I will now need rads too, as margin was not ‘clear enough’, so after chemo, that will be three more weeks where I cannot work ‘around’ the travel to nearest radiotherapy centre. 6. Chemo has wiped me out, more than I’d anticipated, and it’s more than I can do to look after four kids/house/oh/dogs… let alone work too.
So, my hope of being back in a fortnight, at jobs that I love, working with people that I really miss, is stretching into six months. But in all honesty - the most important thing is regaining my health and fitness as fast as possible, and if that means putting work on hold for a while, well, I’m worth it. 
I still go and see my friends in and outside of work, and am on the phone for any queries from my evening job, but for me, working the hours I was, and juggling it all with usual everyday life, would have been impossible.
My advice - if you feel up to it, and can work on an ad-hoc basis, then that’s wonderful - but if it’s going to cause more stress at work and home with any uncertainty about whether you can show up or not, then consider taking the time off, and concentrate on you.
Sophie xx
Dear all,
This is a very good forum! Just wanted add my bit. I completed my treatment over 7 months and went back to work after 9 months. I am a doctor and look after very sick patients. My job Has always been physically and mentally very demanding and it was not possible for me to return to work before I had at least partially recovered from effects of chemo which had left me very tired. I had a retun to full time work phased over 3 months and it worked for me. Above all, personally, this was life changing event for me and I just had to take it easy. However coming back to work has done it’s wonders. I feel a lot better now and back to normal.
If I had an office job which was not physically demanding, then I feel, I may have been able to work part time during my chemo. My advice will be to see how you feel when the treatment is underway and then decide.
Good luck and best wishes.xxxxx
Hello everyone. Yes we are all so different and what we expect isn’t what we always do. Like some others, I went back to work after chemo number 1, and followed the same pattern throuhout of having a week off after chemo then working through to the next one. I wanted to work as it kept my mind off it all and made me feel “normal”. I was lucky and had no infections and so was able to do it, and in fact the hospital were fantastic and let me have my bloods done and see the onc on the chemo day, which meant I did not have to keep having time off for hospital appointments. For rads i couldn’t always go in as I had to travel a long way, but I went back as normal straight after. Love, Mo