Hi Jules, i’m so sorry to hear of your husbands diagnosis. You’re on the right place here for support. The Macmillan nurse that we see is absolutely wonderful and very knowledgeable. The advice she’s given me, as has a colleague who’s husband also has cancer, is perhaps to get signed off by the Doctor. I really don’t like to play that card, as it leaves my colleagues to pick up the slack, but as has been pointed out to me, and will be more challenging in your case, is that working full time, looking after the household duties/finances and of course the visits to and from the hospital will take more out of you than you think. I did it when David was initially diagnosed in acute kidney failure and i was mentally and physically drained. Add into the mix the phone calls and texts to keep everyone informed, this whole process is a full time job in itself. I ended up off work for a couple of weeks and was prescribed medication to help lighten the load. Things were quite stable for me until we heard this week that SCT was a month away, and news, although brilliant for David, sent me towards a panic attack with all sorts of worries rattling around my head. You’ve got to look after yourself and your health..you need to be well enough to deal with all that’s ahead. While i would never advocate sick leave from work, I think that in this case, it will probably be the road I will take, and learn not to worry about work and what others think. Fingers crossed that you get things sorted out 🙂 x
