Exhaustion

I don't want to make you feel any worse, but I still feel exhausted 2.5 years after main treatment, though I am on hormone blockers, which are known to cause fatigue.

I still work from home full time, I wouldn't have the energy for a commute and being in the office all day, I am more productive at home with more eneergy.

I cope by pacing myself. In a way, it has been quite liberating as I concentrate on things that make me happy and ditch the things I don't really want to do. A spring clean of your life!

Having an operation is a tiring experience, physically from the surgery and anaesthetic, and mentally from the whole experience. 

What you feel is normal for you, people recover at different speeds, if you feel you need a bit more time then of course you should ask for a longer phased return. 

I have my last radiotherapy session (of 15) today, and over the last 5 have felt increasingly tired, I let myself sleep whenever my body tells me it needs to. Quite often I don’t have a choice, I sit down to do something and fall asleep whether I want to or not. Other times i’ll feel too tired to do anything so I just sit down in a comfy chair with music on and relax for a while. 

I’m really lucky that I’ve got a lovely husband who is happy that I do as much around the house as I feel I can, (which some days is nothing), and just gets on with doing everything I don’t.

Thank you,  its just reassuring to know what I am feeling is normal. 

Hi I read this when you posted at 5am but was too tired to reply, I am still tired finished radiotherapy January I'm on letrozole tablets as well. You have to pace yourself your very brave going back to work so soon. After radiotherapy you will feel tired, speak to your Macmillan nurse for advice you might need more time to heal and feel like your self. Please take care of you, speak to your HR department or GP . Sending you hugs x

Hiya, sorry you are having such a rough time, read up on cancer related fatigue, it is real and normal unfortunately.  Discuss extending your phased ret

Hiya, sorry you are having such a rough time, read up on cancer related fatigue, it is real and normal unfortunately.  Discuss extending your phased return with the employer and tweaking it to suit your rest requirements, eg less hours per day.  Remember you are classed as having a disability for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 so you have protections and rights in place that you may not be fully aware of which can inform the conversation with the employer.  Did you apply for Personal Independence Payment?  It can help with any additional expenses incurred due to the illness and can take away some of the financial pressures around returning to work too early.  Hope you feel better soon and stay hydrated!

Thank you to everyone for all of your replies. You have all been so helpful. 

Rang the macmillan support line this morning, it was just amazing to speak to someone who understands what you are going through. 

Sorry to interrupt on someone else's thread but did you say you can claim pip for having cancer? 

Hi, I am in receipt of PIP as the breast cancer surgery and treatment has affected my life, it all depends on how much you have been affected, take a look at the info on gov.uk, it is worth making the application if you feel that you need additional resources (eg help with cooking, cleaning, chores, transport, showering/bathing etc) due to limited mobility/fatigue/nausea/weakness etc.  Ask CAB or Macmillan to help with the application as it is tricky.

It is not the diagnosis of cancer, it is how your life has been affected by the health condition and treatment and if you need help with things that you can no longer do independently