Chemo fears

what state do you live in? California has long term disability that is pretty good. Also you ca. Go on social security disability for a period of time. Talk to you cancer center, I'm sure they can point you in the right direction to get disability while you are recovering from this

I have worked through out chemo .. 4 AC's and 10 Taxols...2 left... I took off the day of chemo and the day after on AC and I only take half a day for my Taxol days. Don't panic!!! If you have to do chemo, you CAN! It sucks to work through it but YOU CAN! Most days I feel pretty good.... Take it one day at a time. Can your hubby cut his work hours a little to help out at home? Reach out to friends and neighbors.... I know it's hard to ask people, but most are willing to help any way they can.

Firstly, I am sorry that you have had to join our group, but the terror you are feeling is normal.  Working through chemo is totally doable, many women including myself have done it.  Keeping people healthy is doable as well - you and your family just need to be vigilant about hand washing and keeping away from sick people (avoid crowds, stay in as much as possible). You should be able to keep up with your toddlers, but you may need to talk with your husband about how he can help.  Do you have friends that would be willing to help you? 

There are many resources available to cancer patients from help with co-payments to free house cleaning.  Take a look at some of these websites:

http://www.touchedbycancer.org/cancer-resources/financial-assistance/

http://thepinkfund.org/the_pink_fund_state_resources.php

http://www.lbbc.org/Recommended-Resources/Recommended-Links/Financial-Concerns

If your hospital has a Patient Navigator, seek out their assistance as well.

Thanks ml!

Very good advice. I appreciate it.

I think this being in limbo is really scary and messing with me. All my tests will be finished by mid-next week so I'm hoping that I'll have a better sense of what I'm dealing with then.

I'm supposed to take a business trip labor day week (tuesday - friday) and we are supposed to go on a week-long family vacation starting on September 27th. I suspect that I won't be able to take the vacation.

I haven't told my work what I'm dealing with yet (until I know what I'm dealing with) and so until then I guess I'm going on the work trip.

I just have no idea how soon something will start to happen (surgery or treatment).

cajunqueen, I'm so sorry you have this stress. I am single and self-employed. I worked when I needed to without a problem...I even babysat grandkids on occasion, while doing chemo. It wasn't a walk in the park, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Your feelings are normal. Take it one day at a time. You'll get through it. I have just now paid off of my high insurance deductibles that spanned 2 yrs. You may want to contact your hospital and see what help they may offer, if you need it. I was able to go through the Co-pay Relief Foundation and they gave me a grant for some of my chemo. Also, try your American Cancer Society. They offer rides, house-keeping, free wigs, etc. We are fortunate to have a Breast Cancer Resource Center here also. Best wishes moving forward.

Hi cajunqueen15- I hear ya, I'm more afraid of the chemo than the cancer. Luckily my son is 17 and mostly self-sufficient, but I don't have anyone to take me to appointments or help me during the day if I need it. No family here either, and my husband is having to work extra hours to keep our financial situation afloat, since we had just spent a big chunk of our savings on several large unavoidable purchases, not anticipating the dx (also accumulated more debt than usual in the process). Some of the treatments I want to have won't be covered by insurance. I have to work though chemo because I run the administrative side of our family business and no one can do it but me, but I do at least have complete flexibility of schedule, and there are always things that can be put off off for awhile if necessary. My mom said she would come but we don't have enough room for her to stay comfortably for more than a short visit. Plus we drive each other a little crazy and I don't know how that would work out.

I really feel for those of you out there with small children.

cajunqueen I have an 8yo and a 3yo and work full time with a husband who works crazy hours. So have been there. Take a deep breath. You can worth through chemo. I work a modified schedule now of four 9 hour days, so my treatment only takes up 4 hours of pto. It makes you pto stretch. Maybe you can get creative with your hours. Talk to your HR rep.

And the kids? You do the best you can. My kids watched 4 hours of tv this morning. My husband was working and I was coming off steroids. They did great and it's not a big deal. You do what you have to. Sometimes they skip tub, or eat chicken nuggets for dinner. It's ashort span of your life in the grand scheme of things.

Hugs

I agree wholeheartedly with the other posters who have encouraged the Oncotype test. If your invasive component (IDC) and node status (three or less are found to be involved) remain early stage, the Oncotype will help determine the efficacy of chemo for your specific cancer. Some small cancers - even with node involvement - may not benefit from chemo, whereas others would benefit greatly. If you look around these boards you'll see others with one or two positive nodes, even some who are Stage II, where the risks of chemo outweighed the benefits, and therefore they did not do chemo.

So having invasion and/or positive nodes doesn't always mean chemo. I hope your tests come back negative for further invasion. If not, the Oncotype test is a valuable resource in treatment planning. And even without invasion, Oncotype is used with DCIS to determine radiation benefits.

Good luck!

I didn't have chemotherapy but I can speak to the surgery part. I had a double mastectomy last year and took 4 weeks off. I had a month to prepare so I made sure all my ducks were in a row and my duties were covered at work. Between state disability and 10 days of sick pay, I only used a handful of vacation days. If I had to, I could have returned to work after 3 weeks. I would have been sleepy, though. For my exchange and fat grafting surgeries, I took a week and a half off each time.

I have a new lump I'm getting checked out so I did a little reading about working during chemotherapy just in case it's a recurrence. It sounds like many are able to just take chemo day off and are able to work the other days. I'm sure it depends on the type of chemo and your response to it. As the others have said, request the oncotype dx test. My onc said I needed to do chemo due to my age but changed her mind after the test.

Coming across your thread tonight and read through it. Praying for you right now, for peace and calm to reign this night so that you are able to sleep. Praying for your family and for your medical team. Hang in there sweet dear child.