Is Anyone Still Working Full Time?

No@vulpes I retired 5 years ago on ill health grounds ( not cancer)

I'm currently on Pazopanib after a 3.5 year treatment break.

My oncologist told me there were several meds I could have if Pazopanib didn't work for me,3 oral n one immunotherapy. Fortunately it has - everything's shrunk since Oct 2019.

Hopefully this is the same for your husband as Sunitinib is in the same "family"

Best wishes,

Sue

I'm self-employed. After a complicated year since diagnosis and treatment, I'm just beginning to get back in to it. But it's hard. Trying to do a couple of hours a day. I need the mental stimulation as much as anything else. 

Louise

I had ten weeks off work, then returned, after one month back at work I started working 12 hour night shifts again. Im on my 9 12 hour night shift in a row without a break, got a few more to do, then back to days again.

I worked right upto the day before my operation to remove the left kidney and 125mm tumour, three weeks after leaving hospital I ran a christmas party for the camping and caravanning club. I just try to keep everything as normal as possible, though I have been told i may have secondary lung cancer.

Life is for living, just trying to keep going.

Thanks buttercup 01 and irishrambling for the responses, we have to pay for meds here (NZ) ourselves and its this catch 22 situation, to be able to afford the meds (over 500 UK pounds for a packet of 28 sunitinib tablets) my husband has to work full time, but for him to be able to have a high enough dose to be effective, the side effects become increasingly difficult to manage.

I was just wondering how difficult others found managing the side effects while still working, how hard did they manage to push it until it was untenable on the meds.

Ollie22, my husband too worked right up until his radical nephrectomy and was by necessity back at work within 5 weeks. It’s the medication for his now metastatic cancer that effects him. What meds are you on?

At the moment I’m not on any meds at all, but that may change, I have a ct scan on 28th to see if I have secondary lung cancer, they found lesions on my lung.

Hi @vulpesa and, I'm on Pazopanib 600mg/ day. When I first started on the meds in 2013 I did work full time but then reduced my hours to 30/ day - due to having had a minor stroke.  not due to the cancer. I was on" watch and wait" re lung nodules and only went on Pazopanib after I'd had a brain met treated by Cyberknife.

@irishramblng is I believe on an immunotheraphy combo. is also self employed and on Pazopanib. She's recently reduced her hours out of choice.

Hope that helps,

Sue

Good luck re yourCT scan on 28th

Hi Vulpes

Like Ollie22 and you husband I went back to work full time about 5 weeks after my op. I started on Pazopanib in November 2016 and worked full time for about 18 months. BUT - and it's a big but - as Sue says, I'm self employed - so my hours were done when I felt well enough to do them. That often meant not working in the morning when I was really tired - then working later into the evening. 

I'm now working part time, doing about 16 hours a week, initially that was out of choice, though I have had times where it would have been out of necessity and I would have struggled to do any more. In fact I regularly did less for a while.

I have found that enforced breaks are helping me to find a better balance - though I'm on an unexpected one now - but the breaks allow the toxicity levels to drop and the side effects to really settle. If I have a two week break the benefits far outlast two weeks - I can feel better for a couple of months. I had started a new regime of 3 months treatment 2 week break and feeling so much better as a result.

Is that worth a try or not?