Hello lovely people,
I was wondering if anyone could help me please. I would normally ask my oncologist but Ive had my last meeting with her and shes impossible to reach.
I had my last chemotherapy treatment on the 13th September, due to have a lumpectomy on the 1st October. My sabbatical ends for work on the 3rd November.
Now my question is, how quickly did people return to work after finishing chemotherapy? I work with children so have been signed off work for the whole of my treatment. Ive been clutching on to the hope that i will return on the 3rd on a phased return. For my own mental health, i really need to return to work but i am now worrying that this timeline is unrealistic! It will be over a month and a half since finishing chemotherapy, ive had a pretty easy ride during chemotherapy with little side effects, im feeling well enough in myself to return now 
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Thank you everyone x
I’m interested in the answers to this thread too.
Im 54yrs and a TA in Early yrs and also off work for the duration. My last treatment ( I’ve done one of 6 EC-T ) is Dec 23rd and radiotherapy to follow. I’ll be going onto half pay in Dec and anxious to get back to work asap just from a financial aspect but also not sure how long I’ll need for immune system to rally and fatigue.
I had my lumpectomy first and thats a couple of weeks recovery
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I posted this on a couple of pages on FB and the general answer I got was people saying theyve had to take longer than they expected off work due to side effects (over a year!)
Ive read online that our immune systems should go back to normally between 22-29 days after treatment but this depends on age, health and any medication that you are taking. So what I am going to do is see how I feel, and if I feel up to it, I will return on a phased return to work. I also have financial worries and need to get back to work to support my household.
I’m a teacher. My chemo finishes in December but I have a masectomy and radiotherapy still to come. It’s hard as I’ve already had time off for 3 surgeries since I was diagnosed in December last year. I have tried so hard to maximise my sick pay by returning to work quickly after operations, as I knew I’d need months off for chemo. I would say that if you feel well after chemo and your lumpectomy goes smoothly (I recovered in 2 weeks) you should be ok in November to start phased return. However, make sure your team know that physically well is not the same as mentally well. I expect you may find it exhausting and overwhelming, so take it easy at first and make the phased return work for you. Congratulations on finishing treatment! Good luck with your return to work. X
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Thank you very much!
I am going to try and go back in November, doing 3 mornings a week. Ive kind of come to the decision that I cant hide away forever and if work is happy to have me back, id rather go back and try to get back into the swing of it. Im lucky that I plan my sessions with the young people, so if i am feeling ill i can always plan something easy. We will just have to see. Good luck for the rest of your treatment x
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Hi @glitteryrainbow
I was a HLTA for over 19 years and took redundancy on 31 August. I found my lump in April 2023 and diagnosed on 15 May 2023, I was going to work until my treatment started but my headteacher said no, you need time to process everything. And I did, I haven’t gone back to work and was signed off until this August. I had surgery, chemo/Herceptin, radiotherapy , continue with Herceptin, Letrozole and Zolendronic acid. I had full pay for 6 months, then 6 months half pay and when my statutory sick pay finished I applied for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) and the sick notes covered this. I also applied for Personal Independence Payment(PIP) as I was now disabled under the Equality Act 2010 and there were many things I couldn’t do during my treatment.
As far as working in school, you will know it’s full of germs and bugs, my school had scarlet fever, slapped cheek, covid and measles during my time off and all of which would have floored me being immune suppressed. I continued with Herceptin which also weakens your immune system after chemotherapy stopped so school was not a safe place for me to be. You will also know that within a school, if your in your in 100% there is very little flexibility.After 5 days of radiotherapy I was knackered, the Zolendronic acid gives me flu like symptoms for several days, the Herceptin the same. The Letrozole also has debilitating side effects. The main reason I decided school work was no longer for me was that my brain didn’t work the same after chemo (chemo brain continued after chemo stopped) and the menopausal symptoms with Letrozole causing brain fog, mixed up words, wrong words etc. I couldn’t teach with that, I’d previously had this before my diagnosis and was on HRT that improved that but that all had to stop. As far as your immune system improving, I’ve been told 6-12 weeks not days, it could be longer for me as I’ve had treatment for a year.
As already mentioned you may have to deal with your emotions once you’ve had your surgery and reflex on all that has happens to you. You may want to do the Moving Forward course or need counselling.
https://breastcancernow.org/support-for-you/moving-forward/
I have had two ‘lots’ of counselling and also attended the course. I’m getting there but have only just finished my last Herceptin after a year of treatment and next month I need my Zolendronic acid infusion.
I wouldn’t plan anything now and if your school ask, say you don’t know. See what happens when you have had your surgery 
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Thank you for this. I really appreciate it. I am lucky in a sense that I dont work in a school but on a 1:1 basis with children who are not accessing school at the moment. So i think in terms of risk, i will be okay. I can plan my sessions to be outside (depending on the weather) or plan to do something that doesnt involve close contact. I think looking at it from both angles, I am going to try and return on the 3rd, on a phased return and see how i go. I can only try. I will discuss with work and make it very clear that I am still in treatment, so some days may be more difficult than others. I love what i do and miss it a lot. So i just feel like for my own mental health, i need to get back into it.
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It looks like you’ve thought this through. I wishing you well in your treatment