working through coronavirus?

two survivors
two survivors Member Posts: 2
in Breast Cancer #1

Hi. I'm new here. I'm a survivor of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, and my wife has survived two bouts of breast cancer, nine years apart. Her most recent cancer was Stage III-C, which engendered a dual mastectomy and removal of 22 lymph nodes (15 positive), followed by 10 cycles of AC-T chemotherapy and 32 sessions of radiology. Treatment ended in Feb. '19, and she's been blissfully cancer-free since. She takes Femara and will be for the foreseeable future.

She is also a 60-year-old asthmatic whose job as a field RN care manager requires her to attend patient appointments in doctor's offices and clinics daily. Long stints in crowded waiting rooms were alway unpleasant, but now they may also be unhealthy. We live just north of the Broward County line in South Florida. Broward has already produced four Covid-19 cases. She is understandably concerned about sitting in a crowded room among scores of coughing and sneezing patients, and is even more so since Florida declared a state of emergency. While she is not in active treatment at the moment, she has never felt fully recovered from her treatment. (Lymphadema in both arms and one leg doesn't help.)

I've been advising her to notify her employer that she doesn't feel safe working in those settings, given her medical history. She's afraid she'll lose her job. So while she's canceling all her own medical appointments out of infection fears, she attends other people's appointments and sits in the same waiting rooms. Something's wrong here.

I'm not looking for legal advice, but have any of you ever needed to request a change in your job description to better accommodate life after cancer? Any advice on how she can approach it?

Much appreciated!

Comments

  • Elaine_wi
    Elaine_wi Member Posts: 124 Member
    edited March 2020 #2
    Aging and Disability Resource Center

    The only thing I can think of is contacting the Aging and Disability Resource Center. Here is Broward county: Broward County ADRC helpline 945-745-9779

     

  • bonbondidit
    bonbondidit Member Posts: 116
    edited April 2020 #3
    She needs to ask her

    She needs to ask her oncologist for a doctors recommendation for acomidation due to her being a safety risk due to her immune system. Like assisting in tele- appointments/ virtual appointments.  My doctor wont even let me come to the office as a patient. I am in remission 5 years. Stage 3a. Good luck!! She didn't come this far for that risk :)

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