Is there anyone that has not been able to stay working after treatments are done?

Tethys41 said:

Stress
I can't tell you what would be best for you. Stress is one of the essential things that you must manage in your life as a cancer survivor. In hindsight, I can see how my job stress contributed to cancer becoming a part of my life. You are trapped between a rock and a hard place. Working in your current environment is not healthy for you, there's no debating that. Yet, not being able to pay your bills will also cause you stress. Is there any way that you can address the stressful conditions at your work with your boss and perhaps modify things to make them less stressful? I completed chemo in March of last year and just recently returned to work relatively full time. I am focusing on making sure I do not get stressed out at my job. I take a few hours off here and there if I need it. I hope you can find a way to manage your situation.

Being trapped between a rock
Being trapped between a rock and a hard place is so true. Unfortunately, there is not a way to reduce the stress at this company. They did a change in the whole system and it is taking a physical toll on everyone nationwide. Many of my co-workers make the comment that they honestly don't know how I'm able to do it because they are feeling the physical effects of it all and they aren't battling an illness like me. And we have heard from other companies that have done this same change that even after 3 years, though they've come a long way, the stress levels are still higher than before this system went into place. I'm a pretty laid back kind of person and usually stress does not get to me too much. But, this has been just unreal.

When my oncologist first suggested I find another source of employment that wouldn't take such a toll on me physically I told him I had two options. I could either find a job with less stress but still met my financial needs or I could find a well to do bachelor to marry so I could be a kept woman. And I'm not so sure which one would be harder to find. :-)

carolenk said:

I don't know if this is
I don't know if this is appropriate or not. Stress is in the "eye of the beholder." if you can change the way you think, you might be able to stay at the job. It takes a conscious effort to shift your attitude but you might be able to do it. Studies have shown that people experience more stress when they feel a loss of control over the stressful situation.

I am suggesting this because I think it is possible to "accept that which cannot be changed."

Carolen

I do totally agree with that
I do totally agree with that thinking. But, the changes that took place within the company in February have really taken a hard physical toll on everyone. I have worked in a variety of jobs and situations so I'm quite adaptable, but this just is so intense. I actually worked through the majority of the six months of chemo last year and that wasn't anywhere near as draining on me as it is currently.

People at work laugh at me a lot because I try to be very positive about some of the features of this whole system. I'll say "hey...look, this is kind of cool" and they just grin at me like I'm crazy. :-) I do have to say that the one thing I absolutely love about my job is my co-workers. They have been such a blessing to me through all of this.

I guess what really is the challenge is we deal a lot with the public in an industry where there are a lot of very angry people. So, it's a daily thing to be verbally attacked by customers. And with the new system we are limited as to how we can help them on the local level so the anger is greater. I have had a couple co-workers have threats on their lives.

tngirl said:

I too worked full time
I too worked full time during my chemo. I have been NED for 1 1/2 years which is a blessing. The stress level at work is very high - after putting in an 8 hour day, I bring home two more hours of work home with me and that doesn't include the weekend. The office has downsized a little which puts more work/responsibility on everyone else. I now have arthritis in most of my joints, especially my hands, ankles and hips and I still have some difficulty with multi-tasking and energy level. I don't sleep well or eat well due the heavy workload and stress level. I have to think that I may never have the energy that I had before my dx and chemo. I constantly struggle with "this is going to be my last year", but due to financial reasons and today's economy I feel "stuck". I know how you feel and I wish I had an answer for you. I pray every day to just give me the strength to make it through one more day. That seems to help me get through the rough spots. I guess that is all we can do is go day to day and thank God for that day. I will keep you in my prayers and know that I am not alone out there in this stressful world! I heard that COBRA is very expensive - can you not take a short-term disability and still keep your insurance?

Boy tngirl, as I read your
Boy tngirl, as I read your post I was thinking I could write the very same thing. :-) The part of being able to multi-task and the energy level is so very true with me as well. In fact, I can be working on something at my desk and then turn to answer the phone and then hours later I'll find that one thing I was doing prior to the phone call that I totally forgot I was doing! That kind of startles me because I have always been such a thorough and detailed person. This is a job that you have a whole bunch of things coming at you from all different directions and it is such a challenge for me now. I'm hoping it will get better.

I had considered taking a short term disability just to help. I would qualify for 8 weeks as of now. But, I have also decided I'm going to hang in there and see how my appointment in October goes. Or, it might be sooner. The oncologist called me yesterday and is having me go to the hospital tomorrow to have some x-rays done in the abdominal area to see if they can see any reasons why I have been in so much pain and bloated since last Wednesday. They don't want to do a scan yet due to I just had one in June.

So, anyway....I will use my times of stress at my job to remind me to be praying for others like you who are going through the same kind of struggles.

Barneygirl said:

Once I had my first
Once I had my first recurrence, I quit working completely, and went on short-term disability followed by long-term disability through my employer. Do you have these programs through your employer? They continue to pay for my health insurance too and it has been 5 years. I also get Social Security Disabilty and I have Medicare. I found not working to be the best for me and I think it helped keep me stress-free. I now have a 2nd recurrence and am glad I have these programs in place.

Hmmmm....I'll have to look
Hmmmm....I'll have to look into that. I only have 2 months of short term right now and then I would have to do 16 weeks of 50% pay before the long term would kick in. When I was off on short term last year I tried to see if I could get some sort of assistance so I could stay off longer at the 50% pay but none of the agencies would help me because I had a job. So, I had to go back to work way before I really should have.