Time off work - Cancer

[BananaChipmiffin]

I've name changed and I'm not going to say my role in this issue, I just want opinions, because there have been various responses in my workplace.

If a colleague was diagnosed with cancer (treatable, good prognosis and they're not actively physically unwell) would you expect them to go off sick immediately and return after treatment/recovery or take a few days/a week to come to terms with the diagnosis, tell family etc. and then return to work until treatment starts? With paid time off for appointments as needed.

If treatment is in several phases, would you expect them (if well enough) to return to work in between or to stay off until it's all done?

Tbh, I’d expect them to be off the whole time.

I'd expect them to take the time they needed. In some cases that might be the whole time. In other (most?) cases it wouldn't be. Personally I wouldn't want to stop work entirely in those circumstances. On the other hand, my work would probably want to arrange cover for me anyway incase I found working harder than I expected.

I think that people have to do what is right for them - whether that be being off sick or working as much as possible. There is no right answer.

There is no right to paid time off for appointments unless the employer agrees to that. Many will not unless it is a standard contractual term. But that is entirely up to the employer.

I just had time off for chemo and usually the day after depending how I felt. I was tired but had the best anti emetic meds. But everybody is different....

Having just been through treatment for breast cancer (similar presentation to the OP's example re prognosis, physical fitness etc) I would say that it is down to the individual. There are HUGE mental impacts of a cancer diagnosis, and even if your prognosis is good it's never 100% certain that treatment is going to work. After my diagnosis every time I thought my daughter might have to grow up without her mother I burst into tears, which is not very compatible with working.

I depends a lot on the person and the role.

I've have colleagues who worked through and those who simply couldn't. Don't under estimate the emotional toll of being told you have such a scary illness. Some will find it impossible to apply themselves to work, others will welcome the distraction.

My sister was actually asked to take the time off sick, when she had been trying to work as much as possible, believing she was doing the right thing . The employer preferred her to take the time to look after herself and found it easier to cover her position fully than have her dipping in and out.

I happened to have a week’s a/l booked for just after I was diagnosed, so didn’t take time off for emotional reasons.
I took 2 weeks off after my lumpectomy. Radiotherapy I played it by ear but once the fatigue kicked in I often called in sick each day.
If I felt physically well I came in.

I would think they would make that decision with their doctor, and the employer would be supportive. It will surely vary hugely depending on the physical demands of the treatment as well as the person's mental state. No right or wrong.

My Dp was 6 weeks from first gp appt to stage 2 diagnosis to surgery to one massive dose of chemo, only had 12 days off but was able to wfh at a quiet time of his work calendar, and his was 'one of the better cancers' to have, according to his oncologist.

A colleague had months off after a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis, was physically unwell for a lot of that time but emotionally she was a wreck.

Don't judge unless you've been in their shoes op. You really never can tell how serious a diagnosis is, or how they will feel.

I had a colleague who came to work throughout treatment for breast cancer bar a few odd days and three weeks when she had to be in hospital.

Some years later I also had breast cancer. I was retired by then but there would have been times when I could work but mostly I couldn't.
Firstly I wasn't remotely unwell for the six weeks from diagnosis to surgery. I was then off my feet for about three weeks.
Then I had chemo. People will say they work through chemo. I had chemo every week for 12 weeks and it was grueling, I was on my knees from it. I could not have worked for those 12 weeks and a month after.
Then radiotherapy. That was every day for three weeks at a hospital an hour from home. It would have been logistically difficult to fit around work but I wasn't unwell.

I had stage 3 breast cancer a few years ago. When I was told, I was told to get a sicknote for at least 9 months. I didnt want to as had just been promoted.
I had 4 surgeries, 6 cycles of two types of chemo and then radio therapy.
I went to work the next day and had a mixture of around 4 months sick alongside some special leave, reduced hours and working from home. I was told by oncologist they preferred I not be in the office on the weeks my immune system was at its lowest.
My colleagues and manager were incredibly supportive and flexible. If I had been in a different type of role, ive no doubt I would have had to have had the whole time sick. My chemo was brutal, I lost my hair, I ended up having mastectomy so was uneven etc. I was very young with young children so it had a huge impact

The mental impact is huge and not to be underestimated. I had to have counselling in the year following and was terrified of it coming back.

As it stands it has and I now have incurable cancer and have had to take medical retirement. In hindsight, I dont kbow why I was so concerned about trying to work during my first cancer treatment.

Everyone is different and responds to treatment differently. Im not sure why any colleagues should have an opinion or be discussing it.

If its you, I wish you the very best

Same as others. I was a manager in this situation when 2 of my team got a very similar breast cancer diagnosis within weeks of each other. One was off sick from day 1, the other back in work day after and for a significant period of her treatment. Both courses were right for the individuals and no judgement was made by anyone on either choice.

It's very dependant on what the person wants to do and can do. One of my friends worked all the way through, she's had a lumpectomy, had initial radiation and chemo, then they discovered it had spread to her bones and she pjs now having indefinite weekly chemo to hold it back. Had about 30 chemo treatments so far and has had less than 2 weeks off sick total. Her story is her story, it won't be the same for anyone else.

I don’t think there’s a one size fits all standard response.

We have had three people with cancer- one needed the whole time off and was extremely upset, stressed. Made a full recovery.
The other wanted to come in to work in between treatments, they used their own annual leave. They were calm, at least on the surface.

The third worked for years, had alot of time off and sadly succumbed to their illness eventually as the cancer resurfaced and grew elsewhere.

It’s a devastating diagnosis and each of them were fully supported in whatever they wanted to do.

I would expect someone to do whatever was right for them . I imagine just hearing that you've got cancer , whether it's curable or not, would be enough to , understandably, floor some people.

Everyone & every treatment is different. bodies react differently.

there's no 'expected'. It just HAS to be what's right for that person & secondly what's right for their employer. Some jobs are able to be flexible others it's far better to have the employee take the time off and have a full time cover.

there shouldn't be ANY judgement or comparisons made between people.

Earlier this year I went off the week before surgery, 3-4 weeks to recover from that, then 6 weeks of chemo/radiotherapy which took 8 weeks to recover from, so I was off just under 5 months in total. Some days I couldn't get out of bed, but some days I could have worked - felt pretty well by the last 2 weeks, but my employer preferred to know that I was off, not popping back in at random times, and I think mentally it put me in a better place. I will likely need some more surgery and 2-3 weeks off again (hopefully this year) but the recovery from that seems a bit more linear than the other treatments, so a bit easier to predict.

I wouldn't expect anything of anyone.
Everybody copes with such a secateurs diagnosis differently.

It would be very difficult to generalise, type and extent of cancer, type and duration of treatment would have a big impact. No matter how fit and well someone appears at the start it to hard to predict how their treatment will affect them. Also if the role is critical then the workplace may prefer to have “reliable” cover rather than someone who may feel well enough to work some days but not others, also the type of role has a huge bearing admin type job sitting behind a desk is going to be way more manageable than a physical type job. Also financial pressures may come into play if the employer does not offer decent sick pay then someone may be forced back into work for financial reasons.

I've been treated for breast cancer. I would say it depends entirely on the person and equally depends on the type of treatment they are going to receive (i.e. some types of chemotherapy are just brutal in my experience). You cannot know how you are going to react to treatment. And I would echo what a previous poster said about the massive impact on mental health which going through cancer and treatment can have on you.
I haven't read the whole thread but if anyone at my work professed to know better than I did whilst I was having treatment for cancer as to whether I should be working or not working during treatment I would have been pretty angry.

I had the whole time off sick. I was chemo Monday and radiotherapy Monday to Friday.

As soon as I was diagnosed I was told to stay at home by my work. We have strict policies regarding medication and mental fitness to do our job though, so I wouldn't have been allowed to work if I wanted to.

I’d want the whole time off. That fucking disease hits just about everyone in my family, and nobody has recovered - they’ve all died from it. If I am ever diagnosed I want to give myself the best chance of recovery with no distractions. I have a slightly extortionate critical illness policy in place to cover me financially should this happen.

Absolutely that. Every cancer is different, every treatment is different, and people's bodies react differently. And that's without considering the type of job those concerned might do.

I know people for whom working was impossible, and others who managed to work for a lot of the time. The outcome of their illness didn't have a lot to do with it, but the effects of their treatment did.

Completely depends on the individual. Also what job. If it’s a physical job that might be very different from a desk role

My boss has recently had cancer. Apart from time off for chemo and radiotherapy (and literally only a few hours on the relevant days), she had a week max following her surgery. She is amazing. I’m sure I’d be off far more.