Hi @bluesatsuma
Firstly so sorry to hear that a person who hasn’t got cancer has said this to you!
Im a HLTA and I’ve not been in the classroom for a year as I’m still on Herceptin that can weaken my immune system. I had 12 weekly Paclitaxel and there was no way in hell that I would have been able to get up and go to work, let alone deal with 30 children from different households (imagine how many germs and infections can come from this)and the planning and preparation that is required to teach.
Everyone within my cancer centre rolls their eyes when you say I work in a school as it’s full of germs and infections. I know people encouraged better hygiene during and after Covid but by the time I was diagnosed last May, children ‘forgot’ to wash their hands after the loo and we’re merrily picking their noses and wiping it everywhere! Not to mention while I’ve been off there has been chicken pox, scarlet fever and measles all would floor you during chemotherapy. My school recently sent out a local health board letter offering all school staff the MMR as measles is so high.
I’ve decided to take redundancy and decide later down the line what I want to do. Herceptin finishes in September and I would like to do some nice things without worrying about appointments and catching infections.
As has already been said, my blood is boiling that someone dare say to you they knew someone who worked through their chemo. Was their friend also a teacher? I was on a monthly chemo starters group ( link below for June, it was great to be with people on the same journey) and some people did work a bit and their bosses were very flexible but they all worked from home, and known were full time.
You need to get through your treatment, take all the medication to stop sickness, diarrhoea etc, rest, eat when and what you can. I found that some medication made me so wired that I couldn’t sleep and then I felt so rough. Chemo can sometimes cause ‘Chemo Brain’ which means that you can become muddled, forget things, say totally the wrong thing, not something that can happen in a classroom.
You need to put yourself first, school and your job second. Do you have a union rep you could talk to? I would suggest that the suggestion that you can work through chemo is bullying and under the Equality Act 2010 you are now classed as disabled and it could be seen as discriminatory behaviour.
My oncology team were happy to sign me off work until my Herceptin finishes at the end of September and 6 weeks extra to allow my immune system to recover. I’m sure yours will too.
Again I’m so sorry 