How long from the end of tx until you went back to work?

It is different for everyone.  Depends on what you do.  Some were able to work online during treatment.  I was a K teacher.  The first time I finished treatment mid October, was feeling great at Thanksgiving but glad I didn't return until after the holidays.  I took a yoga mat and pillow to school, layed down during lunch recess.  Didn't have much energy left, worked, returned home ate dinner and went to bed.  I needed to rest on the weekend.  Second go around I was able to return after Thanksgiving but knew I had the holidays to rest.  Still used the yoga mat to rest at lunch.

I went back to work exactly 2 months after treatments ended.  I was tired but so happy to get back to my normal life.  My energy levels were low but got stronger day by day.  I never crashed but I did rest after work and on the week-ends.  If you are going to return to work, I recommend that you don't over do it on your time off.  Take your time away from work to eat healthy and rest.

some during treatment, but mostly from home.  I only work part time, but am full time in the summer.  (summer camp!)  I was fortunate enough to do my registrar and accounts receivable for camp from home.  I tried to go in some days, but only could stay a couple of hours.  After rads ended, I was back at work (just a few hours a day on the computer) about a week or two later and that was WAY too early!  It wore me flat out!

It depends upon what job you do. Probably a desk job you might go back sooner than, say, a builder. Although you STILL get TIRED, no matter what your job is!

I am a psychiatric nurse. My job is great, but high energy. You *MUST* be alert, or you can't keep yourself, your colleagues, or patients SAFE.

My treatment finished mid-March, and I went back to work late June.

However, I was lucky. In the NHS you get a "phased" return.

Week 1: 2 shifts

Week 2: 2 shifts

Week 3: 3 shifts

Week 4: 4 shifts

Week 5: 5 shifts (full time, 37.5 hours a week).

I have also spent 3 months on a "quieter" ward where there is no requirement to 'restrain' patients. Patients are not violent.

I am doing my yearly "physical interventions" update this week. Then I have a week off. Then on 28 Sept I return to my normal ward (where we do sometimes have to use physical retraint), for a month of nights. But I like nights, they are generally not so 'lively' (!)

I was very, very lucky to be working for a public body (which is why we are all fighting tooth and nail against the Tory Party over here. They are privatising by stealth our precious NHS!)

I was off work, in total, 4th December to 28 June.

Everyone is so differant as well as what was done to them. You had RAD and Chemo but no surgery. Also other health factors. I returned to work in 10 weeks after surgery. Had a full laryngrctomy and neck dissection both sides and 86 glands removed, no chemo or Rads. Had to learn how to swallow, eat, and speak all over. I am a neck breather so I had to be at a point I could go back and not have to do suction on my treach, and beable to talk on the phone. I run the shipping dept on my shift and talking is a big part of my job. Went back on a full 40 hr week. 

I also have other health issues; I worked for five months and my doctors took me off work with no returning ever, due to other health issues.

It will depend what was done and are you back to 100%? Do not rush it too fast as you will pay for it in the long run. It will also depend on the work you do. The amount of walking, lifting and weight you lift, how long you can set at a time. When you feel you can go back and do everything you did do, take an extra week or two. You are still recovering from the Tx and will not be at 100% for around a year or longer. That doesn't mean you can't go back to work, you just need to know it will take time to get back to where you were if you can at all. It's called the "New Normal". It isn't like getting over the flue or a broken leg, you've changed and Rad will effect you for years, but you will be fine.

There's many factors...

The main is what work you plan on doing..., and how you feel at the time.

I worked pretty much continual, through sixteen weeks of chemo that included seven weeks of concurrent chemo and rads. I went back into the office about 6 - 8 weeks post Tx.

But I do mainly all computer related work, connecting to my work computers online.

John

Hi JC

We have our own business so my husband who finished treatments the same day as you has been going in  for the last few weeks  2-4 hours most days he  then brings work home and does calculations at his leisure  does get pretty tired afterwards though.. job is mainly on the road measuring  so not extremely physical but not sitting at a desk either.... i think the importaant thing is to rest when needed as much as possible.

I lasted half way through- after my second chemo treatment I was done- I was out about 6 weeks total. Then when I came back I was in and out for a few months as the fatigue was bad - it should be noted like many said, it depends what you do. I am a construction manager and put in many hours in very stressful situations. It took me almost a year to get back to the new normal - I have come to accept things will never again be as they were. This is not a negative. I actually have learned not stress as much as I learned to take a rest when my body tells me to rest. I think the important thing like many aspects of this recovery is to keep testing yourself and never give up. But you have to listen to your body. Sometimes I get into situations where I just work too much - to many hours in a week and then will feel like crap for a while until I am rested. I am a believer in the nutra bullet- I have done it every day since I could start swallowing again and it makes me feel great. When I first started because of the weight loss I would juice with the ensure - I no Longer use the ensure - I will take some berries,kale,a banana and whey protein with coconut water and that usually keeps me until lunch - in December it will be 2 years since my last treatment. For me it was a real struggle for about 6 months after my last treatment.