What to tell my boss

Hi Gretchy! First of all big hugs. I had my BMX in January - Straight to implants and I remember having a lot of anxiety about work and my bosses reaction. I took 6 weeks to stay in bed and fully rest. After about two weeks I did check a few emails and have a few conference calls but that was it. In the long run I had to go back after my disability went to a certain less % of pay because I couldn't afford to take less pay BUT- I went back very slowly as I was starting radiation and would be going everyday. What I did was work from home a few days a week and then on in office days, left by 3pm. This conserved my energy and let me be at radiation and then head home after. My boss was so-so about this and not at all 100% supportive but I didn't care and just powered through. I hated this job and ended up finding a better one shortly after my radiation stopped. I hope your boss and situation are better than mine were and you can have everything you need to heal and take the best care of you.

I guess in the long run if you have a good relationship with your boss, just be upfront. You're in process, will know more later and will share then. But typically 6 weeks at the VERY least is standard healing time.

Unfortunately you won't know your final diagnosis until after the pathology report is in from your MX surgery. And that means that you won't know how much work you will need to miss for quite some time yet.

The LCIS on it's own is a high risk condition, not cancer. The microinvasion is the tiniest of Stage I breast cancers, not usually requiring any treatment other than removal. If this remains your final diagnosis, and because you are having the BMX, you will likely not require any treatment other than the surgery. However the finding of LCIS together with the microinvasion could mean that something more is lurking. If a larger invasive cancer is found in the surgical pathology, and if the tumor is aggressive (HER2+, or triple negative, or a high Oncotype score if ER+), then chemo might be recommended. Your preliminary diagnosis is as favorable as it gets, but if this changes with the final pathology, you might need additional treatments which could impact your time on the job.

As for the surgery, everyone is different so here too it's impossible to know how long you will need to be out of work. With the BMX, you will have limitations and restrictions on arm movement for 4-6 weeks, which could impact your ability to drive and do physical activities. But other than that, you might feel ready to get back to work within a couple of weeks. You might want to get back. On the other hand, if you have complications from the surgery (with healing, for example) or if you have pain from the reconstruction, or if you are someone who gets really hit by the anaesthesia, you might not feel up to working for 4-6 weeks, or possibly even longer. It's such an individual experience; how your body reacts to the surgery and how quickly you feel strong physically and mentally will be unique to you. While everyone who's gone through it can share their experiences and help you know what to expect, your experience might end up being very different than what you think it will be.

My advice for talking to your boss is to explain the uncertainty, both with regard to your recovery from surgery and whether any other treatments might be necessary. Then you can hopefully work out a plan that incorporates that uncertainty, either planning to be out longer and maybe having the option to come back sooner if you feel up to it, or planning to be out for less time but having the option to extend your time away.

Until you see the surgeon, you don't even know how quickly you will be in surgery, especially since the breast surgeon will have to coordinate with the plastic surgeon, and you haven't yet seen the PS surgeon. So you will get a bit more information from the 9/13 appointment, but you still will have a lot of uncertainty. Based on that, only you can know if it's better to start the discussion with your boss now, or wait 2 weeks, when you might know an approximate timeline for the surgery, but probably not much more.

My PS had me out 8 weeks. I was glad for the extra time, although 6 may be reasonable.

I'm doing chemo now and working through it. I telework the week of treatment, and go into the office after that.

Good luck!!!