12 hour shifts and Radiation treatment

I did not return to work until about six weeks after I completed radiation. I had been off since the commencement of my treatment.

Radiation was inconvenient as you had to go in every day for a month but they could not tell you what time your appointment would be until the week before. You could make requests and they tried to accommodate as much as possible. Some days I also needed to see the nurse or radiation oncologist. Again this added time to the visit. It would be difficult to fit this in around a 12 hour work day.

Yes I got tired and would randomly fall asleep in the afternoon if I sat down. If I tried to do too much my feet would get tangled up and I would fall over. I had a number of falls when I went back to work after completing my treatment from exhaustion.

The radiation keeps burning for two weeks after it has finished. My skin split at the two week after mark and I had raw open wounds that took about a month to heal. I found it difficult to dress the wounds properly due to the sheer size of the effected area and found clothing made it worse.

I couldn’t have worked through radiation without causing myself significant distress. You may be able to but you won’t know until you try. If you have been off work for the rest of your treatments it would not be advisable to go back to full on work. If you could negotiate shorter hours to start back you could try and see how you feel but personally I would wait.

I recieved RADs to both sides & both axillas. The fatigue never materialized. I work 12 hour shifts. I worked both weekend nights & one other night. The RADs center was within the hospital & the techs knew I had been up all night, so they got me in first. If you can coordinate with the techs, it might be possible to pull this off on a 1/2 hr lunch break. But if you can work the weekend, it will only be a problem 1 day week. I ran every day during RADs. I didn't notice any fatigue. My skin didn't fair so well.But I found working & keeping busy kept my mind off the blistering, redness,itching,soreness(I'm sure I'm leaving something out). So, you might be able to pull this off. Hoping your skin tolerates it better than mine.

Are you enclosed in a machine for rads? I don"t understand the specific process of radiation treatment. Would you explain it please?

jo6359 - there is quite a bit of info on radiation therapy on the main BCO site (as well as some others such as the American Cancer Society and Komen).

I will check Komen's site. Thanks. I haven't been told I need radiation yet but based on my incomplete path report it seems likely.

Hi Sammi, I also work in healthcare. I did start start back working during radiation, but only part-time and my job was not as demanding as a floor RN. There is no way I would have been able to do that. I just did not have the stamina. I think the big issue is where you are starting from. Radiation is injury, and injury causes all those cytokines to race around making you feel tired and puny. How bad the burns are on the skin varies, but what doesn't vary is that you're frying internal tissues too so it's not all visible. If you are in general feeling pretty good right now and have some cushion to be a little more fatigued but nevertheless still be able to work, that's different than if you're still struggling to get back to speed. If you walked in today could you work a 12? Could you work an extra hour or two if someone called in sick? If you don't have that kind of reserve yet, you may be pushing it.

I’m concerned about the degree of fatigue I’m having, as well as a bit of nausea. I had 2 lumpectomies in November and December, then radiation in January. My last treatment was a week ago. Radiation is not supposed to cause nausea, so why do I have it? I usually work 12 hour day shifts in intensive care, but I just can’t....so exhausted that I have to rest after a shower, again after getting dressed and brushing teeth. I only had 20 days of radiation, and the doc said this much fatigue should not happen from that so he checked blood work (CBC, basic metabolic, thyroid panel) but its all good. Hinting about depression/anxiety. I had just returned to work, part shifts at first, after collapsing at the desk. Full work up, 4 days inpatient, neurologist diagnosed stress induced silent migraine (neuro symptoms without the headache), so I was off the month of December for physical therapy. Seeing a psychotherapist for stress, but she thinks I have a good handle on it and doesn’t know what else to do with me. (I did have a bout of clinical depression a decade ago with a divorce, and I don’t feel depressed now, just frustrated; anxious to get my life back.). I’m not malingering, I really want to function, so any input would be helpful

Hi Carrie, I most definitely had nausea from radiation. The radiation staff denied it was possible, said I had the flu (for 6 weeks with no other symptoms yeah right), saw my medical oncologist who said it can absolutely cause nausea, said she hears it a lot.

I can't remember how long it took to go away after radiation finished, but it eventually did. Hang in there!!