I have been trying to figure out whether or not I was going to have to take time off work during my radiation treatments. (While rad is tough enough, I've had no surgeries to contend with, and I'm not going thru chemo.) I've now waited long enough to post this that I've answered my own question.

Yes.

I went on medical sickleave yesterday because I needed to receive an IV fluid hydration. Once that started, work was out of the question for me. Since I work at a newspaper, and 9:30 is right smack in the middle of our deadline, I wasn't able to be of much use at work, so I told my boss I'd need some time off. (I had forwarned her a week prior that it was a possibility.)

It wasn't an easy decision, because 1) I've only been working there for nine months and had all of 24 hours of sickleave built up, and 2) I'm a single person with only a single income, and 3) I really don't have a heck of a lot of money in savings.

But now that I've made the choice to take the next 4 weeks off, I am so very relieved. Now I can spend all my time focusing on the business of getting well.

I'm curious how other people have dealt with the work situation?

I don't to discourage you and always bear in mind that we all respond differently to treatment but the general rule is one month of recovery for each week of radiation treatment.

I was pretty much disabled for over a year but many others have made much faster recoveries.

Joy,

It would help us to know when you started, etc.

That being said, as you can see, I also did not have surgery but I'm not sure that would have made too much of a difference in how the chemorad Tx affected me. I mean I can't imagine it could have been much worse. I took about 6 weeks off full time and then when I started back I would work for a while, say 1/2 day, and then go home. I slowly built myself back up to full time but remember you not only have to deal with the physical recovery but the mental recovery part is just as tough. Each of us is different so if you recover quicker, great, but if you take longer, so be it.

I am ending week 3 of Radiation\Chemo, after bilateral neck dissection April 12. I am continuing to work full time at this point. I work from home between 6:30 and 8:30 in the morning, then go into the office until 1:30, when I have to go to the CCC for treatment, and spend a couple of hours late afternoon\early evening working.

For me, it keeps my mind occupied and makes the time pass more quickly. I get to bed early, and try to keep my nutrition\hydration up. Just a week at a time thing at this point.

My husband also worked full time until the end of his 3rd week of chemo and rads. Then he hit a wall. Whick is exactly what the Drs. told us. But ... he didn't think it would happen to him. He tried to push himself but just couldn't do it. Keep your nutrition up and keep hydrated I can't stress that enough. That was our downfall through this whole ordeal. He fought the feeding tube so long that he didn't have a choice around wk 4-5. It really helped him alot.
stay strong!

My husband has worked everyday except for the day that he had the PEG placed. He does come home earlier but, only because I insisted. He completes his 5th week tomorrow. He is still eating all of his meals and gained a lb. this week.

He does use the mouthwash at bedtime. MO gave him the Magic mouthwash (Maalox, lidocaine and Benadryl). The RX ran out so when he was seen by the RO, he asked for it again and he gave him the Miracle Mouthwash which is Nystatin, Dexamethasone and Benadryl. Wayne thought the first one was called Miracle Mouthwash so that's what he asked for.

He doesn't have Thrush and just wants it for the pain at the base of his tongue. It doesn't hurt all of the time, but comes and goes.

My question is do they both work well for the pain?

Pam

If I hadn't had the chemo which made me so sick, I think I could have worked through week 3 of rad. If that is, work was somehting different than talking in a classroom--which is what it was for me at the time. My mouth was pretty sore by the end of the second week. I did end up keeping the one class I was teaching online and got through the grading --just barely--for that during treatments (the class ended during week 6 of treatments as I recall). I certainly wasn't the most responsive online prof that semester though and I was grading on pain meds at the end....

I might mention that I made it all the way thru Week Four before taking medical leave. I could have gone longer, perhaps, without the scheduling issues created by the need for hydration (a three hour process), but now that I'm OFF work, I'm so relieved. I can focus on sleep and the things I need to do to get better. THAT is enough of a "job" for now!!! And the most important one!!