Returning To Work After Cancer Treatment can be stressful: 5 tips to help survivors calibrate their return to the workplace

Cancer:  

It is a disease in which there is an abnormal division of cells that cannot be controlled, which leads to the destruction of the body tissues.   

 Common types of cancer:  

• Breast Cancer  

The tumor forms in the cells of the breast which leads to breast cancer  

• Skin Cancer 

Skin cancer is the most severe type of cancer.  

• Lung Cancer 

This cancer begins in the lungs; people who smoke tobacco suffer from this type of cancer.  

• Leukaemia 

Cancer due to the blood cell formation often seen in the blood or the bone marrow. 

Cancer treatment:  

There are many kinds of cancer treatments, and they depend on the type of cancer you have and the stage at which it is diagnosed. Due to the discovery of the disease in the late stages, some people will have only one type of cancer treatment, whereas, if the cancer is discovered earlier, there are multiple cancer treatments available.   

1. Surgery  

Surgery, when used as a cancer treatment, is a procedure in which a cancer specialist surgeon removes cancer from your body. Surgeons are cancer doctors with specialized training in medicine. Anaesthesia keeps you from feeling pain during surgery.  

       2. Radiation therapy  

Radiation therapy is a type of cancer treatment where the cancer patient is given a high dosage of radiation that is assumed to kill cancer-producing cells. 

       3. Chemotherapy  

Chemotherapy is a  common type of cancer treatment where the patient consumes high amounts of drugs to treat cancer.  

       4. Targeted Therapy

Targeted Therapy forms the foundation for precision medicine, and it is a type of cancer treatment which targets the cancer-producing cells.

       5. Hormone Therapy

Hormone Therapy is a treatment used for slowing down the rate of growth of cancer in the breasts and prostates diseases that use hormones for them to grow.

Oncology:  

A branch of science which deals with cancer treatment, cancer prevention, and cancer diagnosis is termed as oncology. A medical specialist who practices oncology is an oncologist.  

Medical Oncologist in Delhi 

• Dr. Manish Singhal:  

He is a Cancer Specialist in Delhi, providing treatment for cancer for over 20 years. Dr. Manish Singhal offers a specialization in cancer treatment for-Breast Cancer, Lung Cancer, GI, and GU Cancer. Working at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals. Dr. Manish Singhal is the Joint Secretary of NCR Oncology Forum 

• Dr. Syed Azim Razvi –  

He is a Cancer Specialist in Delhi specialized in surgical oncology with ten years in this profile and working at the Indraprastha Apollo hospital Sarita Vihar, New Delhi.  

• Dr. K M Parthasarathy: –  

He is an oncologist in Delhi with 16 years of experience in this profile and working at Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi. 

• Dr. Anshuman Kumar:  

He is a Cancer Doctor in Delhi NCR with 16 years of experience in this profile and working at Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital, New Delhi.

Returning to Work After Cancer:

The transformation from being a cancer patient to a cancer survivor is a huge relief. However, going back to work seems to be a difficult task, and it can be quite stressful. Often, people worry about how well will they be able to perform specific tasks; after the cancer treatment, it may be hard for you to come up with new ideas spontaneously, also called “brain fog,” cancer fatigue, specific pain that will not go away after the treatment.  

Having a job will help in the following ways: 

• Help you to get back to “normal life.” 
• Keep a sense of identity and purpose in your life. 
• Keep you busy and allow you to focus on things other than cancer. 
• Help you feel active and useful to those around you. 

Tips to help survivors calibrate at work:

• Try to be a part of a healthy lifestyle- Exercise, eat healthy, participate in activities around you. 

• Identify any individual accommodations that will help- use of a wheelchair, a stool, and so on. 

• Live as if you are back at work- try to stay out of the house during working hours, perform tasks that you often do at your job, prepare for your return by working on a computer, or by making similar presentations at home. 
• Make a return-to-work plan- by consulting with your cancer specialist.  

Accept help– address the problem you are facing, plan for the way to speak about your illness, keep your co-workers up-to-date about your recovery.