I have been back at work now for 4 weeks after having an open surgery to remove a 1 and a half kilo tumour on my kidney. They have been supportive but I'm in denial that I had Cancer and want to get
n with my life and carry on doing things I use to at work. I'm getting stressed about trivial things and upsetting my colleagues who feel they are helping but I don't want to be treated like I'm not capable. I have spoke to my manager who has said it's for my own wellbeing. I know I'm lucky that they have removed my tumour without needing further treatment.
How can I handle this I try to speak to my team about it but just get upset.
Hi Donna 72 ….. from my long experience talking with and supporting folks who were post treatment your question “Did I return to work to soon?”…… often results in the answer yes.
My Consultant told me that going through treatments like these was like doing a boxing match and a marathon every day over the months of treatments and this was done without any training.
Think doing the London Marathon without any training and you had to finish it as your life depended on it……. this is the journey you have been on so it most likely will take much longer than you would think to get back to some normality
You may find it helpful to make a cuppa and have a look at this great paper After Treatment Finishes - Then What? by Dr Peter Harvey as it highlights the post treatment milestones.
As far as what to do?……
I know a good number of people who have actually printed out the paper and given it to their employers and indeed their work colleagues as it explains the journey you are n very well.
You may need to ‘talk’ this through with someone as this would help you unpack the situation so you may want to check to see if you have any Local Macmillan Support in your area, do also check for a local Maggie's Centre as these folks are amazing.
Macmillan have also teamed up with Bupa to offer up to 6 free counselling sessions for people struggling emotionally because they are living with cancer. Clicking on the link will give you more information about this.
