Working through chemo?

Everyone reacts to chemo differently and the effects are cumulative which means how you're feeling early in the treatment process may not be how you're feeling later in the treatment process.

I worked throughout my 6 month chemo treatment but I'm a senior lawyer which means my work days are quite flexible, I can work from home some days and, of course, it's not physically demanding.

I worked as a waitress throughout school and I know it can be very physically grinding!

I couldn't have worked as a waitress during my treatment with the shifts you're describing. During the last 6 weeks of my treatment, I struggled to mow my lawn .

Erento, that's an excellent point. I avoided groups of people during treatment as much as possible because I didn't want to catch anything.

Not sure about the other regimens, but the Taxotere chemo SE's are cumulative. You may be okay with the first one or two infusions as long as you are careful about germs, etc. In that setting, I would have second thoughts about working at all, but that's just me. I work from home and spent several days in the recliner, but most days I felt good enough to babysit grandkids, go for short walks, do normal every day things, shop, etc. I hope you do well whatever you decide.

I would plan on not working at all the first couple of rounds, to see how it affects you. My job is far less physically demanding, and I am doing two days a week, some of that time from home. I was a waitress quite a few years, and there is no way I'd be able to do that at all now. That said, there are elementary school teachers who work full time through chemo! I was very careful about returning to work, because I didn't want to take too much on and fail. The whole process is discouraging enough on its own, without feeling you've let people down.

And of course, the germ thing.....that's big.

I second illimae on the activity piece. During chemo, I've made my daily walks a priority and it really helps. I have worked throughout chemo, but have a job that is decently flexible and allowed me to work from home as needed. Generally, I was in the office for 6 hours or so, and would then work from home for a couple hours (with a nap in the afternoons). I have been pretty committed to getting in a daily nap and good sleep each night, which has also helped a lot!

I found that the first coupe weeks, I played around with my schedule and then I fell into a nice rhythm that was predictable for both me and my colleagues.