This post has been an interesting one-showing there is no right or wrong answer and it is all personal.
Firstly I’m glad your work place have been supportive - I have also been lucky in this department and felt it made a huge difference and it took a lot of pressure off!
I was diagnosed last March and started IVF and then chemo straight after - I had a lot of appointments and tried to continue work but as my job was fast paced and contained a lot of appointments with clients etc it just wasn’t feasible. The aim was a lumpectomy after chemo and then hopefully back to work Nov time. I ended up needing a mastectomy & had immediate diep reconstruction, I then needed further surgery to remove all the lymph nodes (as the cancer had spread further than they had thought) and 15 x radiation which finished in March. I’m still being kept under close observation with scans and will have immunotherapy until August.
My work have put no pressure on going back and I am working with a cancer nurse (through my income protection policy through work) who have advised me to aim for mid July however if I am not ready then this will be extended - I’ll also be on a phased return to work when I do go back.
I’ve also been advised that when things slow down can be the mentally hard part and to not rush back (I have also realised like a lot of other in this post that work is just work and your health is no1). For me my radiotherapy side affects were also worse around 3 weeks post surgery which I wasn’t expecting.
I guess I’m just saying to make sure you have some you time to rest and recuperate properly and enjoy life post cancer! You’ve had your time off to to do everything to get rid of it, now enjoy some time before heading back to grind
Really interesting reading all these responses. I had a lumpectomy last July, node clearance in Aug, chemo Sept-Feb, then 15 sessions of radiotherapy in March. So I finished all of that treatment 7 weeks ago and I’ve no intentions of going back to work just yet. I’ll be on Tamoxifen for 10 years. Side effects aren’t too bad so far. Physically I’m doing pretty well. A little tightness at the shoulder, but I’m back to gentle running and managing to get out and about plenty and do housework and baking etc. Mentally I’m definitely not back to normal. I don’t know if it’s chemo brain (which might improve??) or if it’s the menopausal effects of treatment (which could last for 10 years??), but my short term memory is terrible. That’s the part which concerns me for returning to work. That and the fact that I work in a hospice and I’m not sure how being surrounded by cancer every day will affect me. So I’m currently signed off til the end of June and might consider starting a phased return in July. Then again, I have a 7 year old, and maybe I should just take the summer off when I have the chance? Last summer was a bit of a write off with the two surgeries so it’d be nice to do lots of fun family things. We’re heading off on hols next weekend so we’ll see how I feel after that and maybe make a decision in a month’s time or so.
Hello
I am three weeks into a phased return after six months of chemo and then lumpectomy. I have radiotherapy and more immunotherapy to go.
I was really worried about my energy levels as I had been very ill at the end of chemo which sepsis, pneumonia and chickenpox (I had it all ) but now having gone back my energy levels have risen dramatically and I’m really enjoying being back.
I am too taking a different approach to work and doing the best I can in my hours and no more.
Be sure to speak to Occupational Health to make sure you are looked after. Your colleagues will easily see you and think all is back to normal but you will know that this is not the case.
This really is an interesting thread.
Such a good point @rach8 about how a slow down in treatment can be when the emotions and mental processing catches up. That’s exactly my experience. And it’s just as important to take time out to look after yourself through that part of the process as well as the physical effects.
I have also taken @loobyloo1 's approach. I do my best at work as I have always done. It’s just that my best work does not encroach on family time and I take time out to look after myself when I need to. I’m much more about having a go and doing the best I can rather than perfection.
) but now having gone back my energy levels have risen dramatically and I’m really enjoying being back.