Finding Balance
Getting Back to Work after Cancer
Once your cancer treatment is complete or nearing completion and you’ve been cleared to return to work, at least part time, more challenges await. Here are some suggestions for smoothing the transition from “person with cancer” back to valued employee.
Cancer and Fertility – Young Women Speak Up
Many more adolescents and young adults are surviving their disease, resulting in a substantial and growing number of female cancer survivors of reproductive age. Young cancer survivors are less likely to have biological children than non-cancer survivors, mainly due to the effects of cancer treatments on future fertility.
Healthy for the Holidays – 10 Tips for Cancer Survivors
Surviving the holidays with one’s waistline, bank account and sanity intact can be challenging for everyone, but the season affords specific pitfalls – and opportunities – for cancer survivors who are mindful of staying healthy throughout the season and beyond.
Surviving the Holidays while Surviving Cancer
by Melissa Minkley, MSW
It was a week before Christmas and I was visiting with my sister who had completed her last radiation treatment for breast cancer earlier that day. As she pointed to a stack of plastic bins filled with Christmas decorations, she sighed and said, “I feel so bad, I’m not up to putting them out this year.”
ASCO Booklet Helps Cancer Survivors Transition to Life after Treatment
With more patients surviving cancer than ever before, the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) released a new publication to help patients adjust to life after active cancer treatment. The free booklet, based on oncologist-approved content from ASCO’s patient information website, Cancer.Net, helps people understand what to expect as treatment is completed, explains common challenges faced by survivors, and offers suggestions for next steps following treatment.
Delivering Hope
by Pamela MacPhee
My cousin, Henry, and his wife, Lauren, are lucky. Diagnosed with cancer at 29, Lauren found a skilled oncologist who not only prescribed surgery and radiation treatment that saved her life, but also suggested she submit to an egg-retrieval procedure before treatment to preserve her fertility options.
Making the Transition
by Patrice Rancour, MS, RN, PMHCNS-BC
You have just finished your last chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Your doctor has given you the “all clear” signal. You are now ready for take-off, back into the mainstream of life. Then why do you feel so unprepared? Haven’t you been waiting for this day for months? So where did all this glumness come from?
Cancer and Your Career
Whether or not you’ve taken time off from work, you’ll want things to quickly return to normal once your treatments are finished. Your bosses and coworkers will expect the same from you, as well. But cancer has a profound, life-altering effect on many people, which can create a “new normal.” As you get acquainted with your “new normal” on the job, consider the following suggestions.
