Having chemo & working

[Chubby42]

Hi again guys I will be having hormone treatment with Chemo soon i know everyone is diifferent but will I still be able to work have most people worked during this treatment ?

Cheers

Gary

[Hidden]

Gary,

I'm doing Taxotere, now on cycle 2. I am still working, but self employed and have quite a bit of flexibility on my work schedule. I have been kind of taking it easy for week 1 after chemo infusion, but I work at home so it's ideal for me. I work as much as I can, take a break and go back at it when I feel better. For me the first 4 days I'm more or less confined to light activity. I spend a lot of that time in a comfortable chair in my living room. Days 5-6 are significantly better, but strenuous things still need to be avoided. Day seven is pretty much completely back to normal as well as the remaining 2 weeks. For those working and doing chemo, I would suggest getting chemo on Thursday if possible. Plan for a lighter day on Friday and probably Monday at least. Make sure you get plenty of sleep, drink lots of water, proper nutrition and whatever exercise you tolerate. Good luck and let us all know how it goes.

[ctarleton]

I met a doctor with advanced prostate cancer in another cancer support group who worked long hours as a Pediatrician all through 6 cycles of Docetaxel. He was around 60 years old, but in outstanding shape and physical fitness beforehand, and had PSAs that were still in the relatively lower range. He just powered through. He did have fatigue approx. 3-7 days after each infusion, and hair loss - so he just buzz cut his hair. I believe he also timed his treatments so that his likely tough chemo days coincided with his off work days, when possible. Unfortunately, the chemo treatment did not do much for him, and he soon afterwards started Xtandi, which also seems to be having a short time of efficacy for him, too. He may soon go to the Mayo Clinic to consult with Dr. Kwon about better diagnostic tools and treatment options than he has been getting from his original hometown oncologist.

Taking your time and browsing through the first 25 or so "hits" of this Google search for "Working while on Chemo" might also provide some food for thought, from multiple perspectives.

google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=wo...

Interestingly enough, I also met the doctor's wife, who was scared to death of his prognosis, was not so much on the same page with his tendencies toward being a workaholic with a calling, and was very concerned about a lot of other important, practical things that - from her point of view - were not being addressed for her and the family, considering the possibly limited amount of time he might have, depending upon the progression of his disease and his responses to multiple treatments.

Work can be important and necessary, and a major part of one's self-identity, but, work is not everything, and, eventually, there will be a transition away from active work, whether slowly or suddenly, planned of unplanned, easy or difficult. Denial of such changes may be difficult, and take time to work out in one's mind and heart. There may also be a sense of Loss about that part of one's former self, requiring some time to live and Grieve with it for a while. Advancing disease can take away one's sense of Control over such things, and that can engender Anger and Depression. I think all of these things are implicit when anyone asks, "Will I be able to work during this treatment?", and just asking the question is an Opportunity to consider and reconcile such things in one's own mind and sense of values, and be better prepared to Change what we Can and to Accept and find Peace and Comfort in ourselves and those around us for whatever else may come - whether working, or not working in this world of ours.

(Sorry, Gary. I could have stopped at "He just powered through it." But, I got on a roll, as the pedantic irksome know-it-all that I realize I can come across as all too often. It's just me.)

Charles

[PaulC2]

I don't think we know enough to give useful advice.

What kind of chemotherapy? When I was on my combination of targeted therapies, I continued to work. I had very bad acne and skin rashes, fatigue, some nausea, and changes in my hair. The worst side effect was depression as a result of feeling sorry for myself.

At first, when I didn't know what to expect, I arranged to take the morning off from work on the days I had infusions. Eventually it became routine and I just drove myself to work a few minutes after finishing the infusion.

But that was not typical -- a treatment that was never approved for prostate cancer.

My second time on chemo was even milder. But it wasn't infusions; it was pills. No problem working at all.

"Hormone therapy" can mean a few different things, too. Except for sexual side effects, Casodex and Avodart caused me no significant problems. Lupron was terrible for me, throwing me into a severe clinical depression that caused me to take a leave from work and, eventually, to lose my job.

So, in sum -- there are lots of different kinds of "chemo" and lots of different kinds of "hormone therapy", and different men will react in different ways to each.

[Scruffybut1]

I had 10 cycles no problems.

[Nicnatno]

Gary, I've completed 2 rounds of chemotherapy and 1 shot of lupron and so far so good. The main side effect is fatigue. I walk and do light stretches and I am able to overcome it. Eat the right foods while on the treatment and your body will adjust well. I just go about my business as i am functional and coherent and have not missed work, well only when I am having treatment every 21 days. I am able to work the day after each chemo so far. After the second round, it only took three days to get back to normal and gaining my appetite. My oncologist said I can eat whatever I want but I stick to the Mediterranean diet which I suggest you do the same. Hopefully you can duplicate me. When is your first treatment? Keep us updated- Nick

[paulofaus]

Hey Gary, the others have given very good advice here and I don't have much to add. I've had 3 rounds of Docetaxel/taxotere and I have continued to work full time. I do have a full day off each 21 days when I have the infusions, but I'm back at work the next day. I have my infusion on a Wednesday and I usually start feeling rough by Friday afternoon. The weekend following the infusion is the worst for me in terms of fatigue, so I try not to do too much, but I'm back at work on the Monday and I'm usually feeling much better by then. I work because I'm 50 years old with a family to support and I'm the main bread winner, but part of me likes to keep working as it is stimulating and keeps my mind occupied so I don't spend time thinking about prostate cancer.

Cheers

Paul

[Dan59 in reply to paulofaus]

Paul, When I was dxed, a nurse told me how important it was to live your life as you had before cancer, For Me that is what got me through, to continue working and help yourself to keep your mind off Cancer was important. I am retired now however. In 3 weeks I will fly to Lisbon, and and begin my trip to Santiago de Compestela.

[paulofaus in reply to Dan59]

Thanks Dan. I look forward to hearing about Portugal, somewhere I haven't yet been. I have English relatives who go and love it.

[eggraj8]

Depends on what you do. I finished 7 rounds of chemo + ADT and feel better than when I started the chemo. That said, I am much weaker than when the cancer spread suddenly to my organs. I can work at the computer and do things around the house but since I am retired I don't need to do much more than that. If your work requires a lot of running around like a truck driver, letter carrier, or physical labor like a mechanic, then you can't work. If you are an accountant or lawyer and can do most of your work at a nearby office, you probably can work. I do not advise any work which requires a lot of driving or manual labor. You should consider yourself not being able to drive, climb a lot of stairs, or lift anything more than a gallon of milk in determining whether you can work. If think you can work, make sure you have easy transportation to work.

[Hidden in reply to eggraj8]

I agree with you that being able to work depends a lot on what kind of work you are doing and of course on the individual too. I think it's unrealistic if you expect to be able to do strenuous activity of any kind for at least the first 4 days. I'm sure there are some people who can manage it, but I wouldn't expect it. I sure can't. Chemo can also get more difficult as the cycles wear on, so that's also a factor. I tried to push myself a bit more than I should have on the first cycle, thinking it was just a matter of will, but my body said NO. I ended learning my limits. I'm not trying to discourage anyone from working while on chemo, making money is unfortunately still a necessity for some of us who are not able to retire yet. But don't push yourself too hard for the first 4 or 5 days.

[JamesAtlanta]

As said earlier, all good points and advice from the other posts.

I had 6 rounds of docetaxel while on Lupron. This was about 1 1/2 years ago. If you are in good health aside from the PCa, the chemo is not that bad. I like the suggestion of having chemo on Thursdays and then recovering. You go back in on Fridays to have a shot to boost your white blood cells (Nulasta). And then tend to feel like a mild flu for a few days. Then it goes away. I only took the day of treatment off and the next day and then back to work. Taking walks is important. Takes the edge off the side effects. Since then I've worked full time and only modified my work hours to make sure I have time to exercise every day. But I'm thinking of retiring soon to focus on me and my family

I even used a treatment called a Polar Cap so I could keep my hair. (You can google it, if interested. Works like a charm.) My wife is a breast cancer survivor and said the hardest thing to her was 'looking sick' due to hair loss because she felt like people treated her differently. So she suggested I try it and I literally never lost a hair on my head

But someone earlier had the most important advice. While work can be important (I know many have to work), it is not everything. The one gift of this disease gives us is that it lets you assess what's important to you. Whatever that is, do it!

Hope this and the other posts are helpful!

[eggraj8 in reply to JamesAtlanta]

My oncologist only gave me Nulasta when i was going to my son's wedding but he normally does not prescribes it routinely. He recommends that I be cautious with what i eat and make sure I stay away from sick people. I keep a mask at hand when I go out. I am not sure what are the positives and negatives of using Nulasta after Chemo every time I have Chemo. BTY at MSKCC and I assume others you can get the Nulasta shot on Saturday so you don't need to take off on Friday. Also Nulasta can be given between 24 and 72 hours after Chemo so there is more possibleties for the Chemo day.

[Dan59 in reply to JamesAtlanta]

How true about the hair loss in Chemo, For 10 plus years I walked around with high grade metastatic APC, and everyone said,"But you look great", after one cycle of chemo, I felt the same, but hair fell out , no one said you look great, in fact you can see them whispering the word cancer, and asking relatives if it is cancer he has? That is apparently the image people have of cancer. Wear it like a badge of courage for all you have been through. I would try the polar cap given a second chance.

[Chubby42]

Thanks so much for the advise and help guys after a bone scan next week a couple of weeks later i should be on my treatment, I normally drive 30mins to work each day and no public transport option so I hope I can still drive, not sure which drugs but will find out soon

Im 56 and want to keep working to keep me sane and my mind off the cancer.

Thanks again for your replies.

Gary

[Hidden in reply to Chubby42]

Still being able to work is helping me keep my quality of life. I find that if you are able to do whatever things are "normal" for you, the things you did before you got cancer, you are a lot less likely to get depressed. When I first got into this mess, my biggest fear was the pain, which no doubt can be really debilitating. I found the pain was a more manageable problem for me than was the inability to do the things I normally do and like to do, work included. That was getting me down more. Once I was able to have basically the same life I had before, I got a lot better mentally. Just throwing my 2 cents in. Hope your treatments go well, and keep us posted. I'm also going through it right now so I can definitely relate.