Work

Tootsie 22 days ago

3 replies
35 subscribers
93 views

I've been diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer and the wait to find out what treatment I will be getting is giving me huge anxiety!x Work have been great, but fo be honest I keep thinking I can work each day, but then I log on and I can't seem to focus, in a meeting the other day I was so zoned out.

I feel like I need the distraction of work, but I am struggling with actually being productive. I also wanted to save sick leave for when I might need it.

What have other people done work wise whilst waiting for a treatment plan?

Mmum 22 days ago

I kept going in. I found it a welcome distraction from the cancer. I would be at work, then suddenly remember I was waiting for blah, and note I hadn't thought about the C for 2 hours. That helped. 7 months after diagnosis, and 5 months after treatment started, I planned in collaboration with my manager, to have some time off. Then I found I was thinking about the cancer all the time at home! After 10-12 weeks I went back 3 days a week, then made those days permanent. It took me 9 months to settle in to the idea that I had cancer.

I never told anyone, apart from 3 managers I trusted, and who became my line managers. There was a lot of attrition and business changes at that time. That was the right decision for me. I couldn;t bear the thought of being C with Cancer and everyone asking me about it continually. It made me laugh that one colleague really wanted to know and probed my manager about it!

Have you thought about a temporary adjustment, like half days, or do 2 hours, then a break and another 2 hours,if your work could accommodate it?

Bungle1 22 days ago

Hi Tootsie

Sorry about your diagnosis. My cancer was different to yours. I carried on working up and till I started treatment, I did find myself distracted and zoned out at times and probably not that productive but keeping things as normal as possible was good plus I only get SSP in my job so didn't want to add the Financial worries to everything before I had to. Ultimately you have to do what's right for you physically and mentally. Sending hugs.xx

latchbrook 21 days ago

Hi Tootsie and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community and, although I was already retired when I was diagnosed with a different type of cancer, I can understand your wish to find out how others have coped.

The online community is divided into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you join the lung cancer group where you'll connect directly with others who have the same type of cancer ask questions, share experiences and get support.

To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.

It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.

"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"