Work
 

Has anyone here had to find a job after surviving breast cancer. Anyone over 50 and BC survivor had to find a job? My organization is moving in one direction, and I am moving in another. Nobody's fault. Don't know if I will be leaving yet, but the thought of being a 56 year old breast cancer survivor looking for work is so frightening I'm nauseous.

I am struggling with the option of looking for other employment. I just went back to work and am finding it hard to balance everything going on in my life, plus while I was gone my job duties have changed a lot. This company was so wonderful to me while going through chemo I feel obligated to stay but am very unhappy right now. I am thinking about interviewing for other jobs and know I do not have to disclose my diagonsis or even that I am currently recieving treatment, but I feel if I don't disclose I would be entering into the job under false info. Wouldn't an employer look down on me for not disclosing info? I am proud of being a survivor but I understand what that looks like to others too. I am not in my 50's but do understand your questions and concerns. (esp. with my less than stellar pathology)

Be your own best advocate
 

As a 56-year-old who survived the loss of a job by working two jobs for a while as a way to get real perspective on making the change, I don't feel any obligation to disclose health concerns to a potential employer any more than I do to a potential client. (I am now self-employed.)

Most people on the planet have some kind of problems that make them less than ideal candidates for a job or contract work. I think we all would be amazed if we knew how many of the people we deal with actually have significant health problems of one kind or another -- some even have multiple health problems that a potential employer might want to avoid -- but I don't think people with health problems should take on that burden in behalf of the better interest of employers.

The ideal is to find something you really do like to do, and then find a way to make money doing it. (Advice I once was given and it still makes good sense to me!) Do what you can to OPEN as many doors to possibilities, even the strangest ones, and then try what you think suits you.

AlaskaAngel

Last week sure was challenging. Fortunately I was able to talk honestly with my boss. I'm not going anywhere for now, but she will help me find a job if I feel I can't work within the direction my organization is going.

I am concerned because last week I lost my sense of perspective and panicked. WHile I was being treated for cancer, I learned some valuable lessons. The importance of each day. Keeping things in perspective. My health and well being came first, etc. As a survivor, I am going back to my old habits and I don't like it. In my support group is a woman who just endured a Whipple operation for pancreatic cancer and 6 weeks of chemo/radiation. She finished last week and is talking about going back to work becuase she's afraid her company will eliminate her job if she stays out too long. I have a relative with glioblastoma brain cancer (that's another story). He is starting radiation and chemo, but is talking about going back to work as soon as possible. I don't know why some of us panic about work. As a single person, I do worry about not being able to take care of myself. The lady with pancreatic cancer is also single and she has voiced her worry about being poor and helpless. Perhaps we don't have a sense of a safety net in this country. We figure if we don't work we don't eat. But I know that life is more than that and I am more than that.

For those who wish to work!!
 

Everyone responds differently to treatment and therefore working during chemo is not always possible. Teaching can also be quite exhausting and there are times it is next to impossible to leave the classroom to go to the bathroom. However, for me teaching has helped me to focus beyond my cancer and keep me occupied with other thoughts and interests. Yes, there have been days on cold dark winter mornings when it is difficult to get out of bed at 5:45, but in the end it has been worth it for me.

Every employer is different about how they treat cancer patients. My school hired a teacher who had just finished treatment for colon cancer. That was ten years ago and she remains very productive and is currently NED. If you feel you can be productive in a new job and have a lot to offer to a new organization, I would consider applying for a new job if you feel the fit is right. Nevertheless, I think it is impossible to find a job where everything is the way we want it to be. If you feel that your illness will not affect your job, you should not have to report it.

Best wishes and good luck with your decisions.

Barbara H.