Mid Jan this year I had a lumpectomy because of grade 3 stage 2 breast cancer. I then had 6 rounds of chemo 3 weekly, 20 bouts of radiotherapy, am now on Tamoxifen for 5 years. All this has left me fatigued, aching; probably effected my fibromyalgia, nerve damage, inability to get a proper nights sleep. Believe it or not I am OK with all this; better than the alternative, but I feel no where ready to go back to work in any capacity. My boss is trying to make me go on to nightshifts, something I didn’t have to do before! I am still on long term sick but am beginning to feel that others think I should be thinking about going back soon. Why? How do I convey in a way that makes people understand this is not possible and may not be possible for a long long time; going by documented side effects and issues. My boss even said " I’ll cut to the chase, when are you back?" I wanted to swear at him. I’ve told the union if and when I go back I want a new job; I work for the local council and believe there must be a job out there that will fit in with my new needs I.e. reduced hours and no shift work. I’m wondering if anyone else has been in this position and what happened? How long were you off?
Hi LisaC,
I also work for my local council and i returned to work on a phased return agreed by HR and their doctor. I then used up my outstanding annual leave. So I have spent the last 6 months as part time. Have a chat to HR and see what they can offer.
Good luck, Kat x
Hi Lisac
You will need to be assessed by occupational health because you have been off sick for a long time and they will almost certainly recommend a phased return. Has anyone apart from your boss been involved in discussions about your return? If not then you should talk to HR. It doesn’t sound right that your boss is talking about a change in your work patterns at this stage.
The only other think I can think of is that there will be a limit to how much sick pay you are entitled to and you need to know if you are in danger of hitting that limit.
Your employer should have all this information set out, ask for a copy.
Take care
Mary
hi lisac, I returned to work but was phased in I took annual leave them came back to work on reduced hours , still feel very tired after 6 hours work … don’t be pressured if you can afford to stay off, I couldn’t but my boss has been very sympathetic since I was diagnosed a year ago … good luck
After being diagnosed Jun 2013, then had mx in July, chemo (6x FEC/TAX) from beg Sept then RT (x15) in Feb 2014, and developed an infection at surgery site, I have only actually just returned to work nearly 16mths after it all began. I knew it was going to be difficult initially as I still have big fatigue issues and have been led to believe this may take time to lessen, but I needed to get back to work for some sense of normality. I know lots of my friends have dealt with their Occ Health team in their return to work, all of them going on to do this on a phased return. You should not have to deal with your manager putting pressure on you and only return when you feel able. So long as you keep the lines of communication open, hopefully you will be able to arrange something to suit you when you are ready. I think a lot of people are unable to understand just how much the effects of our treatments will linger and for some, the fact you want to return to work means, in their eyes, that you are fully fit again. All you can do is let them know where you are in terms of fitness and with any luck your OH team will be more understanding than your boss. Good luck with your return, when you’re ready x
Hi there, I’m in total agreement with this being up to each individual. Nobody should feel under pressure to go back to work before they feel ready. It’s a difficult one though, as once you start to feel better it’s tempting to think about getting back into those routines we had before treatment started. I think it’s really important to consider that feeling okay going about life day to day can be a million miles from feeling okay doing a day’s work in an office/school etc, particularly if you cannot take breaks whenever you feel the need.
I was diagnosed with TNBC in Feb this year, started chemo in March, 3xFEC then 3xTax, surgery in August, then 15xrads which finished on 14th Oct. I’m planning to go back to work in January on a phased return. However, I have said to my HT (I’m a primary school teacher) that should I get to the end of the year and feel that I’m not ready, I’ll be extending my sick leave. I’m going in next week to discuss phased return and start to get my head round everything again. I’ve also heard that my council have what’s called ‘keep in touch days’ which are paid days when people who’ve been off for a while can go into work and spend some time becoming familiar with the workplace again - for me, probably getting computer access set up again, looking at new developments etc. - so I’m going to ask about that and see whether I can use a couple before Christmas to help me get the feel of it all again. Maybe worth finding out if other
employers also offer these 'keep in touch days?
good luck to all xx