Jury Duty ... really?

LorettaMarshall said:

Wedgeworth~Seems your doc lacks compassion~shame on him

Dear Wedgeworth ~

Knowing what it is like to have a hysterectomy, debulking surgery, and having just finished my 4^th cycle of chemotherapy, I know exactly how you feel.  Each time I finish a cycle, I am weaker than I was before.  I never regain my “full energy” back.  And with a Stage IV Ovarian cancer diagnosis, I am not worrying about a “recurrence” because my cancer is never completely wiped out.  With God’s help, I’ve been “coping” with this cancer since November of 2012.  I’m glad to be alive, but only another cancer patient can fully “appreciate” it when you say, “I’m tired.”

So first, have you already asked your doctor to sign a waiver for you?  If not, you should ask for that now.  It would be unthinkable that he would refuse to help you in that regard!  If this is your oncologist, all the more reason he should understand.  Let him trade places for you and then he would understand how you feel. 

I’m sure you have a GP in addition to your oncologist so why not ask him to write a letter for you?  My GP certainly would, but my oncologist is so caring, he would take care of that for me—no questions asked!

You don’t need this added aggravation!  Your health comes first—serving on a jury comes second!  And that’s that!

Love Loretta

Peritoneal Carcinomatosis/Ovarian Cancer Stage IV & “TIRED ALL THE TIME!”

1.     https://thelawdictionary.org/article/best-way-to-write-a-jury-duty-excuse-letter/

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2.     http://www.pwcgov.org/government/courts/circuit/Pages/Exemptions-and-Excusals-from-Jury-Duty.aspx

My note:  I live in Virginia.  I suggest you look up your state requirements on the web.  I like the letter you wrote to us.  Why not write something similar to the proper court, and attach a copy of your medical records, if your doctor is not cooperative?  Another thought—is your surgeon close by?  If your oncologist is that “insensitive”, I would certainly tell the surgeon that your oncologist refused to sign a letter for you requesting a waiver. 

But there is a “time” element involved so you have to act now. 

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Thank you for your links and reply, Loretta. My state doesn't have too many specifics about the medical excuse. I mentioned in my reply to NoTimeForCancer that I can't get through to talk to a live person regarding jury duty. And they ignore my emails. I am still watiing for my oncologist to respond to my request for a letter. My PCP has said she would be glad to write a letter. I am now trying to figure out where exactly she should send it. Like you suggested, I could try to attach her letter to an email to the court, along with my own documentation. I have gone to some online sites and forums for cancer patients in my state and have seen a mixed response as to whether one can, or even should try, to get out of jury duty. Like you said, with stage four, you often are never cancer free to begin with, and the fatigue following chemo seems to linger. If I were retired or not working, I could probably handle jury duty as long as I was not in the middle of some kind of treatment with wonky side effects. But I  cannot do jury duty and then figure out how to do my job in my "spare time" (nights and weekends) to make up for the lost time. So that's the part I can't fathom doing. I will keep you posted. I hope you are having a good day.