End of chemo – and working though it
I finished chemo last Thursday, May Day, twelve years to the day after my first breast cancer diagnosis. I am out of the dark treatment tunnel, rebuilding my energy and looking forward to getting back to the good ‘new normal’ life that I built after my first breast cancer experience. I thought it might be useful to share how I found the experience of working through chemo.
I was lucky in that I experienced less severe side effects than many people, I have a very supportive manager and work team, and my job involves research and policy analysis which I could do partly from home. I went back to work full-time two weeks after starting chemo in January and worked through the rest of three cycles of three-weekly FEC and then eight cycles of weekly Taxol, taking only treatment days off plus a handful of part-days for fatigue, port insertion, Look Good Feel Better workshop or other appointments.
Overall I found it easier to work through the three-weekly FEC than through the weekly Taxol treatments. I think this was partly because the cumulative effects, particularly fatigue, started to really kick in when I was on Taxol, but also because the weekly cycle gave me so few days when I felt OK and could get anything done apart from work and chemo. There was no time for treats and weekends away that I used to break up the three-weekly FEC cycle. No energy for friends or fun, or dragon boating, or posting on this site. Even getting routine household tasks done was challenging, let alone dealing with minor crises like the fridge breaking down. Thank goodness for the Easter and Anzac Day holidays that came towards the end of my treatment: they enabled me to get through.
If I had my time again, I think I would try to work only half-time, particularly though a weekly cycle. But I did make it through and even managed to complete a challenging new project at work. I took this week off as a holiday to recover and have spent it being kind to myself and celebrating what feels like the end of the marathon. Not quite the end though. Next step is back to the oncologist to decide between Tamoxifen or an Aromatase Inhibitor. Then back to the Plastic Surgeon to get my right breast reduced and lifted to match my perky new TRAM flap reconstructed left breast.
And hopefully, very soon, I will be back in the dragon boat and enjoying a well-rounded life again. Onwards and upwards!
Viv
