Today, one of our Community Champions Lindsay (Irishgirl16) is sharing her experience of working when living with cancer and going through treatment.
Lindsay was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2021, aged 51. Active treatment took almost 12 months involving chemotherapy, surgery, and radiotherapy. Ongoing preventative treatment will continue for many years. Lindsay lives in Devon, though her job is based in Germany so she and her husband, and the dog, travel frequently between the two countries. She has a grown-up daughter who lives outside London.
When my oncologist told me she’d sign me off work for 6 months at the start of my chemo, I was filled with an immediate sense of despair. Not only is my career important to me, but I’m a busy person and the thought of filling endless days at home was terrifying. Much to the relief of my husband, knowing I’d be even more of a nightmare to live with if I had nothing to do all day, I politely declined her offer and declared that I’d continue working.
Working through treatment was, for me, the best thing I could do. It kept me focussed, busy and filled my brain with thoughts that were not related to cancer. I am confident this mental distraction on a daily basis was instrumental in my recovery as I simply had no time to think about anything else.
“Working through treatment was, for me, the best thing I could do. It kept me focussed, busy and filled my brain with thoughts that were not related to cancer.”
Looking back, there were a number of factors that helped me to be able to work throughout my treatment and it’s interesting to reflect on those now, 2 years on.
Firstly, I was comfortable being open about my diagnosis and treatment with my colleagues and this was met with a huge level of support and understanding. Everyone was willing to step in for meetings when I was not available and a positive benefit that I hadn’t anticipated was it allowed my team members to have more autonomy and to step up to more responsibility.
“I was comfortable being open about my diagnosis and treatment with my colleagues and this was met with a huge level of support and understanding.”
I am also very lucky that my job is pretty flexible. We were still in lockdown when I was diagnosed so I was working from home and I have the ability to control my own schedule to quite a large extent. For example, for the few days following chemo treatment each cycle, I made sure I had no calls prior to 11am, so I knew I could sleep as long as I needed. Working from home also meant dealing with the practical impact of side effects (like the need to be continuously close to a bathroom) was much easier.
“Working from home also meant dealing with the practical impact of side effects (like the need to be continuously close to a bathroom) was much easier.”
My oncologist was hugely supportive of my attitude, and I know that was also a success factor for me. As lockdown lifted, she indulged my multitude of questions and provided invaluable advice about managing side effects and the risks of travel.
Undoubtedly there were days during chemotherapy when I felt pretty grim. I remember one in particular, it was around 10 am and I was still in bed feeling sorry for myself and a WhatsApp message came through from a colleague wanting to know if I was free to speak. I reluctantly called him and as he began to describe a problem, he needed help with, I could feel my energy return and I was quickly up and at it again.
I completed active treatment a year ago and since then I’ve changed jobs within my company and have a role that involves being based in Germany with a lot of international travel. I take daily oestrogen blockers, have 6 monthly zoledronic acid infusions, and have annual mammogram check ups. I am lucky with the side effects to the letrozole as I suffer some aches and pains if I don’t manage 10,000 steps a day, but I don’t have the fatigue that many talk of, though I do have some breast lymphoedema which is uncomfortable but still manageable.
“The challenge for me now is other people, who have no idea that treatment continues and are always surprised when I have to schedule time in the UK for bloods and bone infusions. Explaining this, time and time again, makes me realise that there is a real lack of education and awareness around post cancer treatment in the workplace.”
The challenge for me now is other people, who have no idea that treatment continues and are always surprised when I have to schedule time in the UK for bloods and bone infusions. Explaining this, time and time again, makes me realise that there is a real lack of education and awareness around post cancer treatment in the workplace. It’s a topic I believe we need to talk more openly about as only with better understanding can people receive the support that they need.
As I said, keeping active keeps the aches and pains at bay but I need to build this into my work schedule. That can mean early starts to get some exercise or standing and stretching during long meetings and it takes some planning when I’m travelling. I’m often seen stomping up and down in an airport rather than relaxing in the lounge. It’s also made me more creative about work, so we’ve developed “walking calls” where I identify 1-2 calls a week that don’t require me to be fixed at a screen and I pop in my headphones and go for a walk whilst listening in to the discussion.
“Working through treatment isn’t practical for everyone, but it really worked for me. My team were fantastic, and my organisation have been as supportive as possible.”
Working through treatment isn’t practical for everyone, but it really worked for me. My team were fantastic, and my organisation have been as supportive as possible, so I feel really lucky to be in this environment that’s allowed me to manage my cancer treatment and my role since diagnosis right up to today.
We’d like to thank Lindsay for sharing her personal experience with us and we hope that you have found it helpful to read how she managed work, alongside having treatment. If you need some guidance about:
Please get in touch with Macmillan’s Work Support Team. You can post questions to the Work Support team in the Ask an Expert section of the Online Community, or call the Macmillan Support Line on 0808 808 00 00 between the hours of 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. There’s also the option to send an email or use live webchat during the team’s opening hours.
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