Just diagnosed and overwhelmed

Don't worry too much about short term disability, depending on what you do for a living. I worked through treatment, and needed to take only 7 sick days. I did my radiation treatments during my lunch hour. Everything depends on your treatment plan. You are at the most difficult point right now. Once treatment is decided, you'll feel more in control. This thing is not going to kill you yet, the 5 year survival rate for BC is something like 97 or 98 percent. That's what I said to my kids when i told them: "I'm not going to die from this for a long time." This will likely be just a small bump in the road of life for you

Kdetwiller, Big hugs to you and so thankful that you have a support system in place. Telling your family members is always so difficult. I told my husband first, then my two grown children as soon as I had my wits about me and could be calm and reassuring. The term I used was "I'm not falling off a cliff...in fact your father and I are going out to dinner tonight....just as we always do!" I promised my children that I would keep them informed and as it turned out, my daughter's network of friends were extremely supportive to both her and me. Good advice given and it made my DD feel like she was helping. My treatment lasted about a year. I was able to work from home when necessary. My surgery was easy....lumpectomy on Washington's birthday which was a company holiday and then I worked from home the next week. The recovery was easy. I had a lot of follow up appointments for genetic counseling and additional imaging before the surgery. I just scheduled time off work for those, easy. When chemo was on the table, I had to make some adjustments. I missed 6 days, 1 day each for the treatments (but I wouldn't have needed a full day to do that if the infusion center was more organized). I had a Neulasta shot the day after chemo and I scheduled that during my lunch break. Chemo side effects vary. My oncologist knew I wanted to work during chemo and supported that by helping me manage the side effects. You may not require chemo depending on the biology of your tumor but if you do, you will want to have support with the household duties should you decide to work. I was lucky as my husband took care of everything but I was capable to do a lot of things and most days, I felt fully capable to keep a normal schedule. Radiation was easy for me. I had my treatment early in the morning on the way to work. I even scheduled a trip to see my grandson's 1st birthday the last week of radiation and I did fine. As soon as you get your bearings, start investigating all the ways that cancer patients can get financial assistance with co-pays, housecleaning, transportation, wigs, hats/scarves, etc.

And take some deep breaths....You aren't falling off a cliff and if you feel like you are slipping, we are going to hold you up!
Love and hugs, MsP