Teaching through Radiation

I teach at a university. I will be teaching intensive summer classes for two weeks during early radiation. I'll be having a friend teach from my lesson plan the day I get my chemo port removed, and I'll have my radiation sim and first few treatments during the classes. After that I'm only doing online work through the end of the month.

My plan is to work on my fall syllabi and lessons more intensively during early radiation, then less intensively at the end (if necessary). Depending on what you teach, you might want to think about whether guests or orienting video early in the term could work. For example, if I were still teaching grammar, I might start with some Grammar Rock video the first week, with an online, self-scoring assignment on Blackboard or Moodle to see if the students got the basics of parts of speech. Or if I were still teaching academic readiness, a guest to talk about how to read a syllabus and note-taking strategies, with a worksheet on my syllabus. I might also have students work in groups on an assignment for which I gave a stimulus, then either report back to the large group, or post responses online for each other, or do a follow-up writing assignment.

If it's not a bad idea, I'd encourage you to talk with your department chair. You might not want or need a reduced load, but you might be able to trade some colleagues to guest-teach the first couple of weeks, and trade them back the favor in the following term.

Also: Teach mostly sitting down. That's what I did during chemo. No students were harmed by me not standing.

I hope any of that's helpful.

As you said, everyone reacts to radiation differently. I finished radiation on a Thursday and started the new school year the following Monday (I was teaching middle school special education, a very demanding, on the move, full time job). I didn't have any problems (I had done chemo first and actually felt my energy returning during radiation). A friend of mine, a high school foreign language teacher, did her radiation appointments early in the morning and got to school in time for the entire day without problems. Another friend who is a college professor did her radiation appointments during her noon hour, she also had no problems. Some other elementary teachers I know have worked part time during radiation. No one I know has had to take off work entirely. I would see how it goes, as long as you have a flexible schedule and can slack off in other areas of your life (let the housework, cooking, volunteer activities....whatever....go as needed), then I think you should be fine. Also, be sure to get a little light exercise (walk etc.), it actually helps to combat fatigue. Best of luck!

 I would recommend scheduling your radiation sessions after your work is done - not before and not in between lectures/classes - so that you go home and rest without having to worry about anything else.

Radiation was very exhausting to me mentally, not physically.

39andhip,

Yes, definitely request a grader. My department was cool with finding two TAs for me. I ended up picking an early due date for their research papers so I could grade them more slowly.

RE: telling the students..... When I taught in the Fall 2014, I wore my wig and told my students that I had health problems which might require the TA to step in to teach from time to time. (It didn't prove necessary.) When I taught in Spring 2015, my hair was growing back and it was becoming more difficult to hide my real hair under my wig. (Plus, it was itchy.) So, one day, I just came to class without the wig. The students were startled (the wig was shoulder length and my new hair was very short) and some didn't recognize me. ("I thought we were having a substitute!" one student remarked.) I told them I was through with my "cancer wig" and it was time to go back to my "real hair." And, that was that.

By the way, even though I was not particularly energetic during these semesters, I got good teaching evaluations anyways.

Yes, I told my students that I was probably going to schedule surgery during winter and that this wouldn't affect their requirements or timely grades. After surgery, when I knew I'd be doing chemo, I told my undergraduates very generally what was going on, and was a little more detailed with my graduate students and TAs. I did tell them it was bilateral breast cancer, because I want to model matter-of-fact talk about breasts. About halfway into chem, my assistant director asked me to send an update because the undergrads were hearing rumors that were worse than reality ("Ksusan has a brain tumor and is dying!"), so I wrote to them and the grad students, with an offer that I'd talk with anyone individually if they wanted. This got me several visits from male students whose mothers or grandmothers had had breast cancer. I was teaching online, but went in to teach several extra credit activities so students could see me. I showed them my hair and made jokes about it. This got me several female students walking with me after class and disclosing their health issues.

I'm teaching two in-person classes starting at the end of this week. I plan to say nothing about radiation or otherwise unless someone asks me. I will miss one session to have my port removed; I'm just going to say I have a procedure that can't be moved.

Four faculty in my college and two students, at the least, have had breast cancer in the last two years. Since there's no threat of losing my job, I see no reason to conceal what's going on. I wouldn't hide a broken leg or back surgery.

Hi, Janetanned. I went to college three stations to the east of you on the Media Local (now, I think, Media/Elwyn?).