Well yesterday I spent 1 1/2 hrs in school chatting to the kids so they wouldn’t be too shocked when I return in Sept. It went well even though I had to wear the dreaded wig. (I have a new, second hand one off ebay) that is red and quite long, I wear it with a scalf and I think this looks quite natural, wish I had discovered the scalf thing sooner.
Anyway, only one comment heard about my hair and that was a kid asking if I had dyed my hair! I pretended not to hear as didn’t want to discuss the touchy subject!
Hoping my hair will be long enough to go commando in 2 mths time.
Well when I got home I was exhausted and hadn’t had any responsiblity at all so I am hoping I can cope in Sept. I have 2 more visits next wk then going back on a very part-time basis, 1 morn and 1 aft for first 3 wks then 2 full days with prep time at home.
The mad thing is, my technician who is brill and would have been a great support on my return won’t be there as she had her mastectomy and recon yesterday. I hope I can continue to support her as she did me through this year.
There are too many of us out there with this crappy illness, why? I may start a discussion on this later.
Any teachers out there with tips on coping on return would be welcome.
I read your post with interest and was just wondering how long you will have been off work for when you return in Sept? (Sorry if that seems nosey!). I haven’t worked since I was diagnosed in Mar and am not anticipating returning until I have at least finished rads.
Going back to work after such a long time away worries me a little and I’m curious to see how others like yourself feel about it. I am a ‘teacher’ too but not in quite the same sense as you. I am in the RAF you see and am what they call a ‘trade training instructor’. I teach the sudents once they have completed basic training. Its very classroom based and I absolutley love it!
Anyway, I’ll be intersted to see what responses you get,
I like the idea of the wig with the scarf, how do you style that ? I am going to order my wig today, but think you are right, it would look more natural with a sarf.
I don’t wear mine v.often as I find it quite hot but when I do wear it I always wear it with an alice band type thing that I got from Claire’s Accesories. Its a black plastic hair band, hopefully you can picture what I mean? Makes the wig look a lot more ‘realistic’ and less wiggy and is also good as it secures it in place nicely.
Went to Sainsbury’s yesterday and the woman on the checkout actually commented on how lovely my hair band was and how nice my hair looked!! I couldn’t believe it. Quite happily and proudly went on to tell her that it was actually a wig. She was amazed and I was well chuffed!
I have been off work since my diagnosis on oct 4th 2006! I was freaked out and totally unable to think straight. I had 2 1/2 wks to kill before surgery so had a wk in crete when they had the worst weather on record and 3 people were killed being washed into the sea. But felt I needed a distraction. I cried a lot during that wk and kept saying to poor OH ‘I don’t want to die yet I’m too young!’
I then went on to have a mastectomy, second op for axillary clearance, chemo then rads and am waiting for hormone treatment. When I return I will have been off for 11 months! Hard to believe I thought I would be back in the Jan, 2 mths after diagnosis, little did I know what chemo would do to me. Also, I was advised that working with children, I was at a higher risk of infection while having chemo so was given little choice on the matter. Then came rads. Travelling daily and using hosp transport meant that some days I was out of the house for 5 hrs, that is best part of the day. Plus I was very tired too. Now I am recovering from all treatment and regaining my strength. My arms were like soft limp fish while on chemo!
The wig. I bought one before chemo the same colour as my own hair. I never liked it as it was itchy and too thick and unforgiving in style, just like a wig infact! Recently I bought my red one off ebay it was £4.99 and very arty farty in appearance! The prob was it had a very obviously false parting where you could see the stitching! Aaarrrhhh! Then I had a brain wave, hide the parting with a scalf. I bought a nice shortish narrow silk scalf for £3. I wear it like an Alice band to hide the parting. It is a softer wig than my first one and more natural and layered. So I pull bits forward in front of the scalf by my ears and it looks very natural. One down side, it does flatten the hair close to your head so you don’t have that height you get with your own hair minus scalf.
Hope that helps. I’m off to a family picnic and camping session tomorrow (plus wellies and waterproofs!). There will be a couple of people there who haven’t seen me baldy and my own hair is growing but still very thin so I have a shiney head! But weather permitting, I will be going commando, no wig, no hat and I don’t care anymore!
Well I’m off to enjoy my dry martini which has just been made for me, oh how decadent!
I’m a teacher too but a different kind. These days I’m nearly retired but just teach a couple of evenings a week in my own home. I teach EFL to small groups of young adults, most of whom come to the UK to work as au pairs and to learn English.
I was diagnosed and had surgery just before Christmas so it happened after we had stopped lessons for the Christmas break. I had a couple of weeks to get over the worst effects of the surgery before we started lessons again in January. I had to tell the students about my BC because I was starting chemo the following week and I had to ask them not to come if they had colds etc.
I managed to carry on with my lessons all the way through chemo. The fact that I teach at home is a bonus. The students have been great all the way through - they were visibly upset when I told them of my diagnosis, have shown great concern all the way through and were very careful not to come to lessons if they had a cold. They are used to seeing me in wigs and scarves now. My hot flushes have been embarrassing a few times - I have really major ones when I literally drip with sweat and my face turns bright scarlet but the students got used to those too !
Sometimes I felt very tired and was relieved when the end of the lesson came, but on the whole being able to carry on teaching was a great help to me. I love doing it and also it keeps my brain active and so helped to fight off the dreaded chemo brain.
Irene I’m sorry to hear about your technician, but it sounds as if your return is being nicely phased in. I do hope it goes well and yours too Kelly when you start back.
Another teacher here - amazing how many teachers and nurses are on the BC sites. I teach at Uni and in a primary school - primary maths specialist (ITT) at uni and class teacher (Year 5) in school. I have managed a few days in university but have stayed away from school (other than one visit) due to the various coughs, colds and viral infections that exist in primary classrooms. My job-share teacher had told the children that I had cancer - I had left it to her to say what she felt appropriate as a teaching assistant died last year and I was aware of the sensitivity. It was great to see the children and some asked if I was going to die…I explained that I felt I was not. However, I am mid-way through chemo now and don’t think I will be back until after Christmas…On the uni side, I am hoping to go back after chemo and prior to surgery - although I am aware that it won’t be continuous service. Both my employers have been fantastic and there is no pressure. In fact I often offer to mark at home when I am in my good period and they always say no…
Wigs and scarves - I always wear something with the wig - I think it takes away the wigginess…I feel the give away with a wig is the little bald bit just in front of the ears - and that is what I try to hide. According to the mums at my sons’ school, wig has taken 10 years off me (and cheaper than a face lift!!). I also went to the Headstrong place in Purley and got some good ideas with the scarves. I have a wig halo - basically a fringe and sidebits - which a hairdresser trimmed up for me and I wear this under the scarves - gives you a fringe and some popping out hair…and is much cooler than wearing the wig. My children do not want to see me without hair so I have to wear something all the time (even in bed)…a little pink turban. I keep telling the children that my head is lovely and like a baby’s bottom so when I threatened to go to the school without cover, my younger one thought that would be very rude!
sounds like we’re all in the same boat work wise really. To be honest Irene, I think it’ll prob be almost a year from diagnosis by the time I go back to work. I really thought I’d be back a couple of weeks after my mastectomy!! Everyone at work kept telling me to take it easy and not rush back, well I think its safe to say I’ve taken them at their word!! I had no idea what an effect chemo would have on me to be honest, some days I have trouble remembering even the most basic of things so I’m quite sure I couldn’t teach a class at the mo!! I still see my colleagues frequently and they’re forever sla**ing off work so it sounds like I’m well out of it at the mo!
Well, I hope your dry martini went down well Irene! I guess you’ll be on your camping do da right about now. I hope you’re having an awesome time and the weather is as good for you as it is here in Shropshire. Good on 'ya for going commando, its v.liberating I imagine,