[chrisy]

I'm...lets see...3+ years out from stage IV diagnosis. Lori, I too had/have liver mets.

I'll share my experience. I had 6 months of chemo (TCH), and I "worked" throughout most of that time. My employer has been unbelievably supportive. In fact the first day I was off, my boss called in my entire staff and told them "this meeting is not about getting the work getting done, you are a great team and I know that will happen. This meeting is about how can we show Chris how much we love her."

My doctor ordered me to take a month off but I was going totally crazy so ended up going back to work after about 3 weeks. The owner of the company told me I could come back to work, even if all I did was filing or sit in my office. I did go back to work pretty much full time (partly from home especially during flu petri-dish season) and gave it my best shot. Although I admit to sitting in some meetings zoning out like a head on a post! (At least I had an excuse!).

I've been working full time (40+ hours/week) ever since then and have been treated very fairly in terms of my salary - and have been allowed much flexibility in my schedule to accomodate my various treatment adventures.

I, too, feel the "pressure" of expectations to continue to contribute at work, but it sort of takes the form of they want and expect me to be there for a long time doing what I'm good at - and I'm determined to go along with that!

I know I'm very blessed, and that not everyone has the good fortune to not only be treated fairly, but to find true love in the workplace.