Working during radiation

ameryan7 said:

Thank you for your responses!

Thank you for your responses!  I work at a faith based social service agency and they have been AMAZINGLY supportive.  I have prepared for things getting bad, it is just difficult to explain to anyone other the individuals on this board.  No one wants to hear about rectal cancer!  They see me plugging along and want to schedule additional assignments and I just like keep trying to explain without explaining!  I may just have to be a bit blunt!  That would probably prevent other questions!

I was not employed at the time of my treatment, but I would not have been able to have worked through the last half of my treatment.  I was terribly fatigued and had horrible diarrhea.  I agree with Marynb--do not let anyone put more on your plate at work and make it known to your supervisor that you may have to cut back your hours or take a few weeks off.  I hope you can work it out so that your body can rest and recover.

I think you should expect it to get worse and then hope that it doesn't.  I was already on medical leave when my treatment started but I know that there would have been no way for me to work past the 2nd week of treatment.  Fatigue and pain and then the burns just got worse and worse.  Seems to me that all you have to do is explain you're getting cancer treatment and ask for accomodation. Take sick leave or go out on disability.  Take care of yourself.

So sorry to hear you are going through treatment now.  I was able to work through radiation treatments but did miss one shift as I was in the hospital when my white cell count went below one after the 2nd round of chemo.  The last 3 weeks were miserable, and painful, and it was tricky rigging up some sort of dressings for my radiation burns that would keep everything from rubbing together when I walked and sat down, and at the same time not falling off and coming out of my pant legs when I was seeing patients.  My burns were open and weeping alot so I had to use a lot of maxipads so I wouldn't soak through to my scrubs, and towards the end my doc gave my some mepilex pads that would stick to the open areas and the foam on them would absorb a lot of the liquid that was leaking out.  I could rinse them out with water, let them dry and reuse them a couple times.  These really helped with the rubbing problem since I could cut them to fit the areas I needed to cover.  It was very difficult, but it was doable.  I have a high pain tolerance, and Ibuprofen seemed to help a lot for me when I was working.  Good luck with the rest of your treatments. 

bill

sueb57 said:

Working during Anal Cancer treatments

My doctor advised me that by week 2 of radiation it would be a bad idea. I had surgery first, then that recovery period before the chemo and radiation started, so was on medical short term disability already when the treatments started. I am really thankful that I have the disability available as every day is different and I travel a far distance (100 miles)by train to my job, and it can be stressful keeping up with my schedule when I am well, let alone when not. I could not have done it!! The 4 days of constant chemo the first week were debilitating because of chest pain, and the diarreah was not enjoyable, nor was constipation. At week 3, am finding that I once again need to be within close distance to a bathroom as from the surgery and having to take public transportation once the train pulls in would not be a good thng in case of an accident. I would have gotten nothing done at work, let alone having to wear work appropriate clothes as this is now impossible. I am a tough broad they tell me, but really a whimp at feeling not my self. My radiation schedule won't let me do much anyway, so better off to destress, stay home and take care of ones body first if you can. I still check in on my projects, but have passed them on to others to handle day to day. Best wishes for your recovery and treatments, hope you can take the time off.

I see you have just joined this group--welcome, but sorry you have a reason to be here.  If I am reading your post correctly, you are currently in chemo/rad treatment post-surgery.  Week 3 is definitely when things started going downhill for me.  I was not employed at the time of treatment, so working was a non-issue.  However, for those who must continue with their jobs, I can only imagine the challenges, having had quite a rough time through treatment myself.  I'm glad you have taken a leave and can focus on getting through treatment and back on your feet again.  I hear you about the diarrhea issues--that was my longest lasting side effect.  I hope the remainder of your treatment will go well and that your recovery period will be brief so you can get back on the job.  Take care.