Chemo and Working

I was retired by the time I had to have chemotherapy for my type of blood cancer.

There is a real risk of infection when going through and between cycles of chemo so care needs to be taken to control infection contacts.

Generally it takes about 2-3 days for the body to break down and/or get rid of most chemo drugs. But the effects of the chemo on growth areas and your general immune system will last for weeks so it us important to remember that you may well be more open to infections at about days 7-14 as this tends to be the window when our immune system is at its lowest……. then the body recovers in time for your next cycle….. but the more chemo you have the longer the recovery can take so by the end of treatment it could take a few months this to recover completely.

I guess it will depend on the type of chemotherapy that you have and how your body reacts. I had weekly chemotherapy and was able to work, but when I had a 3 weekly cycle I was too poorly to work for a week after each of the 4 sessions. . 

I’m on a 3 weekly cycle and I’m completely wiped out for a week after each session. I’m usually off for that week.

It's very individual how you will react and does.depend on your chemo regime. I had three weekly cycle 4 ec and 3 docetaxel. I was fortunately well enough to work throughout for the majority on reduced hours and only from home. My oncologist encouraged me to work but only from home due to infection risk.