Returning to work

Hi Kath, when I complained about my fatigue to my oncologist his idea was to send me for a brain scan because in his opinion I had finished chemo and radiation and should be on the road to recovery by now and the Herceptin doesn't cause fatigue! Of course the MRI of my brain was normal. I've been doing the gym and exercise for 8 weeks now but I still have the fatigue. Constant pain also takes it out of me. I ended up asking to see a psychiatrist as I wanted to rule out depression. I saw one that specialises in breast cancer. I told her I was struggling with 15 hours a week and to my surprise she told me that even that was too much. She also told me I am not depressed but that I am drained of all my energy reserves just like a phone battery. She was the first doctor I have encountered who actually 'got it'. She told me to take time off, she'd even give me a letter for 6 months leave, which I would love to do but money is tight so I can't. Hubby and I are seriously thinking about redrawing on our home loan so we can have a break. He's exhausted too just in another way. The psychiatrist also made me think about the fact that there's a higher chance of HER2 positive coming back within the first 2 years and we need to be strong in case we are hit with it again otherwise it's going to be harder to cope with chemo the second time around. I am now thinking that if I take time off now I can always work a few months longer at the end of my career (can't wait until I hit preservation age at 60) to make up the difference. Also, I used to really love work, but because I am struggling so much I don't anymore. I don't want it to be that way, so maybe a break would help me regain my love for it. It's still hard to know what to do, but if I could wind back the clock to last October when I was diagnosed then I would definitely take a year off.

Hugs  :)  Nadine