Forum Discussion
Going through treatment and working
Hi Everyone,
I am 44 and was diagnosed in August 2017 with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (3.3cm). My surgeon recommended lumpectomy which I did but we did find during surgery that it was positive in the lymph nodes so had to take a heap out for testing. Thank fully it had only got into the first node and had not progressed much further which was a relief. I am oestrogen & progesterone positive. My treatment plan is 4 cycles of AC Chemo and then go to Taxol for 12 weeks and then radiation after that.
I am currently on my 3 cycle of Chemo and except for my first 2 days after chemo I have managed to keep working. Work has been fantastic and I have been able to work from home and as I don't have kids (just Hubby and I) it keeps me busy. But I am looking to hear from people that are doing Taxol and if they were still able to work or did they find it to hard to continue?
I know everyone is different but would be interested to hear how people went with Taxol and trying to continue to work.
Thanks and Appreciate all advice.
I am 44 and was diagnosed in August 2017 with Invasive Ductal Carcinoma (3.3cm). My surgeon recommended lumpectomy which I did but we did find during surgery that it was positive in the lymph nodes so had to take a heap out for testing. Thank fully it had only got into the first node and had not progressed much further which was a relief. I am oestrogen & progesterone positive. My treatment plan is 4 cycles of AC Chemo and then go to Taxol for 12 weeks and then radiation after that.
I am currently on my 3 cycle of Chemo and except for my first 2 days after chemo I have managed to keep working. Work has been fantastic and I have been able to work from home and as I don't have kids (just Hubby and I) it keeps me busy. But I am looking to hear from people that are doing Taxol and if they were still able to work or did they find it to hard to continue?
I know everyone is different but would be interested to hear how people went with Taxol and trying to continue to work.
Thanks and Appreciate all advice.
29 Replies
- Well done @Gizmo!! Sounds like you are really looking after yourself. Big hugs xx
- ah Gizmo nice to hear you are bouncing along with Chemo ....
- Thanks Everyone for their feedback it has been greatly appreciated. I have completed my A/C treatment and have just had my 3rd Taxol yesterday and it has gone better then I thought. When possible I have started up walking in the mornings which has helped to clear my mind and get the body moving. Taxol has been interesting as there are some nights that I bounce off the walls and the buzzing in the hands and feet that take a day or two to settle down but that hasn't stopped me from working. I cut my hours back to half days to take some of the pressure off and am glad I did. I found day 3 and 4 (thankfully fall on the weekend) were the days I got extremely tired and if I could find the drivers of the trucks that parked on my eyelids on those days and tell them to park somewhere else that would be a bonus. LOL. I don't drive to and from the treatments and I am lucky that the hospital has a foundation car service that picks us up and drops us up for $5 one way or $10 return. Which is fantastic as if I did a cab it would be $60 each time. It takes a lot of stress off on the day. Thanks again to everyone.xxx
- I worked right thru... Chemo in the morning then work in the arvo.
I was lucky not to suffer any other side effect than hair loss.
I even managed a 5km run each Saturday at parkrun.. - HI @Gizmo,
I had exactly the same treament plan as you. AC and I did not like each other at all after round 2. I found the taxol much easier to handle apart from a weird skin rash and being super sensitive to the sun. I worked the whole way through with the taxol and radiation and managed to drive myself to and from treatments with no problems. I could not have driven with the AC. All the best.
XOXO - I had the same treatment as you. I am a high school teacher and continued to work 2 days a week throughout treatment including 6weeks of radiation. I could have worked more but had oncologist appointments on Mondays and chemo Tuesday so just easier to do just the 2
- I think that all of us who 'normally' run at a good pace find we have to slow down - and whilst it is hard to do we do it (AFTER ALL WE ARE WOMEN !!).
Summer :) - Thank you everyone for your feedback it has been greatly appreciated. At least I know it is doable just probably not at the pace that I am used to running at. Where as I used to multi task 5 or 6 things I am finding now that I can only focus one or two max. So that is a new experience for me. All the best to everyone :)
- @Joannie my oncologist told me not to drive. In retrospect it would have been more responsible to have someone drive me, but I was fine. Catching the tram was a good idea @Afraser.
Great to hear that you took time for yourself during chemo @Joannie . I agree, it would depend on the type of work you do. I was teaching, but they were adults so it wasn’t that demanding.
