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Posted 7/22/2018 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
Has anyone faced the dilemma of continuing to work while treating or going on disability or leave of absence to focus on treatment. I know that decision involves many factors..insurance, income, savings, ability to work, financial necessity, spousal or family support etc.. I am struggling with that dilleman and would like to hear anyone’s advice or decisions made based on experience and whether focusing on treatment alone can be the right decision if it’s a viable option.

Thanks.
Posted 7/22/2018 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
That's one only you can really decide. Why are you thinking of doing disability? The side effects? I worked through out my RT, except a couple of days at the end.

For surgery guys, 2-6 weeks is a normal period to off work.

The question comes down to how long you think you'll be unable to work and how much sick leave you have, etc.

Really a hard question to answer without a little more info.
Andrew
Posted 7/22/2018 11:39 PM (GMT 0)
There are others who will likely respond to this thread too, but I'm in the process of coordinating radiation treatments right now, including 5-6 weeks of twenty-eight (28), consecutive, daily IMRT sessions, which will take place out-of state, hundreds of miles away.

During that period of time, it would be impractical for me to report to work, and because of the duration of those 28 total sessions, no family member will be able to accompany me, due to their own employment obligations. Even if they could, there would be no affordable housing for them there.

But its all good! We remain one of America's heartland families that still works for a living (no disability or government subsidies). We'll just work through it. I'll use paid leave and probably a small amount of unpaid time-off, and she'll likely fly or drive down to see me on holidays. My life, and our life together, even in the toughest of times, means far more than money. Billy the Kid once said "there are only two types of influence in America . . . bullets and dollars." I ain't got neither, so my path in life has already been set. wink
Posted 7/22/2018 11:45 PM (GMT 0)
I worked during my IMRT. I was treated at a location near where I work and managed to get a 7:00 am time slot on the machine. I was able to go get treatment, have some breakfast and then went to work.

The treatments are mostly boring and it's until you really get near the end of treatment before you start feeling any effects.

It's a difficult thing to provide good answers for because everyone is in a different place.

Andrew
Posted 7/22/2018 11:50 PM (GMT 0)
My CyberKnife SBRT treatment process only encompassed 5 treatments over a 10-day period. I arranged to have my treatments at 9 AM, then just went to work for the remainder of the day. I didn't miss a day of work, nor did I miss a day at the gym. I am one of the lucky ones.

Those of you who have lengthy radiation treatment plans may have more issues in trying to maintain a normal working schedule. The timing of your daily treatments may or may not allow work.

And of course, surgery patients have completely different issues, as do chemo patients. Some years ago, when I had open-heart surgery, I needed to take 6 weeks of disability, then was able to return to work part-time for a couple of weeks after that.

I guess a man't gotta do what a man's gotta do. The pay-off is in getting to the other end of that tunnel. . .
Posted 7/23/2018 12:00 AM (GMT 0)
I went back to work ten days after my RP, but I was using a lot of pads for a while. I worked all the way through my RT. It was useful to be close to a toilet during that time. The adjustments I had to make for working through my treatments wasn’t as difficult as I thought it might be.
Posted 7/23/2018 12:18 AM (GMT 0)
I went back to work two weeks post-surgery. Being (sort of) back to normal felt great. I suspect that not being at work would have given me too much time to brood over having cancer. I also worked straight through my RT, but I was very lucky and had practically no SEs.

Post Edited (fiddlecanoe) : 7/22/2018 7:52:34 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 7/23/2018 12:34 AM (GMT 0)
Post-surgery: I went back to work at the office 4 weeks after RP. But I actually went to a conference in Charleston SC a week before returning to the office. I skipped a couple of panels to take naps. I considered taking longer off but I think I would have gone stir crazy.

During SRT: I took no time off. Tx was on a different island from where I live (on Guam, not Saipan), but I was fortunate to be able to telecommute and to not suffer any debilitating SEs.
Posted 7/23/2018 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
Yeh your right...deleted...I knew I should have stuck with my trusty James Joyce response

"apologize...apologize...pull out their eyes...pull out their eyes..." I say the book but not sure if it was Dubliners or Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man...either way I know my use of it is not the use Joyce intended...which brings me to the question...what is it called when you misappropriate a quote...genius...or...insane...umm...that's the same ting I tink
Posted 7/23/2018 1:55 AM (GMT 0)
Hey Mattamax...no fair deleting before me...yeh a sabbatical...dats da ticket...umm do ya get paid on a sabbatical...no problem...
Posted 7/23/2018 1:56 AM (GMT 0)
Where's F8 when I need em...he knows me... smhair
Posted 7/23/2018 2:12 AM (GMT 0)
Must have been simultaneous. Actually you a hair before me. Mine looked naked by itself. Good decision on your part.
Posted 7/23/2018 11:00 AM (GMT 0)
I continued to work right through the whole mess, and I look better naked now than I did then. I did cut my daily mileage back to 6 miles/day for 1 year due to peripheral damage from the treatments.

One day on the way home from radiation, I heard Glenn Gould's rendition of Bach's Goldberg Variations on CBC. Totally fell in love with that piece that day, still listen to it a couple of times a week in studio. Nothing else quite like it.

Carry on. turn
Posted 7/23/2018 11:28 AM (GMT 0)
Hi John. That is a tough one. Financially it can be a very big deal and some find the work brings more structure and normalcy to life aiding with the treatment. Employers have to help you get through treatment and disease effects, of course.

I would have a discussion with the benefits specialist at your company’s HR department and see if you meet the definition of disability for benefits. Social Security disability (SSDI), if you qualify, will be used to offset your work benefits so you won’t get both. Often work benefits are very tough after the first year or two and require you to be physically or mentally unable to perform any type of work the employer has to offer. With the plethora of home based work available it is getting increasingly difficult for a person with your education and training to get full permanent long term disability benefits. So start by confirming the financial situation. And You can’t apply for SSDI now because you are working.

If finances don’t matter, then it really is a purely personal decision. I suggest you contact two members that have taken different approaches in serious disease and treatment situations similar to yours. todd1963 has continued to work throughout and has done well. Lee and I just spent several days with him and Mandy and they are doing very well. On the other hand, Gunner chose to stop working to spend more time with his young family. I suggest you speak with each of them to get some insight. Let me know if I can help you make contact with them.

Most of the men on this board are in no way experiencing what you are. I, for one, have not been in a position health and treatment wise to consider disability. Surgery and or radiation therapy will get at most only very short term consideration for employer sponsored benefits and nothing from SSDI. And most PCa treatment stops and does not significantly impair the ability to work. Unfortunately, you are in a very different situation and I agree that you should get more information to determine your best direction.

And importantly, how is the Number One Fan doing? I hope she is progressing well, and Lee and I keep both of you in our prayers.

Best wishes,

Jack
Posted 7/23/2018 1:34 PM (GMT 0)
When I was getting nuked at MD Anderson, some of the guys I met were maintaining a normal work schedule. I'm glad I was retired since I would get so tired in the afternoons and had to take a one or two hour nap. I was also on Lupron at the time so maybe that made the situation worse than it would have been.
Posted 7/23/2018 2:00 PM (GMT 0)
I took went back to work 3 or 4vweeks (don’t recall exactly) after surgery, and even then only 2-3 hours a day till about the 6 week mark. I did that because I could, being self employed and having the ability to do essential, time sensitive work, from home.


If I wasn’t self employed and didn’t have the flexibility, I could have gone back full time within 2-3vweeks, and just powered through it.

Took about 3-4 months though for me at least, to get back to full strength
Posted 7/23/2018 3:16 PM (GMT 0)
I am self employed and trying to work through my 26 treatments - IM/GRT. I schedule latest RT (4-5:00 pm) and leave my office late afternoon. I also have a pretty long ride for RT. Thank god for decent staff who are supportive and kick it up an notch to fill in for me on a daily basis. Also, my family support is very strong as well! Hoping for a non-eventful summer! yeah
Posted 7/23/2018 3:48 PM (GMT 0)
I'd love to not work. Well, I'm technically not working cause I'm on here reading/posting. My focus is way down and I have to work in spurts. I don't think lack of focus qualifies for disability.
Posted 7/23/2018 3:53 PM (GMT 0)
truedat Mattamax….you were right...For a former AT controller...my self control is lacking...I can only try to correct that and will....Ok Im turning the corner on it sans the toy periscope I used to have as a kid...there is a fine line twixt a reason and an excuse...so I wont go there...John16 based an your tag I hope you will forgive me and come back and respond to the many positive responses offered...
Posted 7/24/2018 10:44 AM (GMT 0)
Good Morning John16... I had my RP in March of 2017, Hernia surgery a couple of months later, went back to work for 3 months then had a total shoulder surgery at the end of August, started Lupron in Oct. then in December started Radiation. I'm very fortunate my company had a very good S&A program that provided an income during this time. I turned 62 at the end of Feb 2018 and decided to pull the pin based on what I had been through the last year and also that I have to be on Lupron for another year plus. I also have degenerative disk disease that so far has been controlled by epidural shots. I'm able to carry insurance through my company and my wife is on medicare but she is still working. I still work odd jobs but only when I want to. At first I was really scared about money and everything but now almost 6 months later am glad I did you can slow down a bit life isn't quite the mad pace it was before and the stress level is reduced considerably when I get together with some of the other guys I worked with that have retired they say that's the number one thing is the reduced stress. We all know how stress can kill you and already having PCA don't need anymore help!! I have never seen a armored truck following a hearst yet so my plan is to go into the ground owing about a half a mil!! LOL no seriously I think everybody is in their own situation sometimes retirement works and sometimes it doesn't a person just has to look at all the options and then decide. Wishing you and your family the best in whatever decision you make!

Larry
Posted 7/24/2018 2:15 PM (GMT 0)
There are two types of disability. One is short term and the other is permanent. Permanent disability is an entitlement program administered through the social security administration. At their website you can find an area that includes a list of impairments that includes prostate cancer. But, it is quite specific on when prostate cancer becomes an impairment that qualifies a person for disability.
The income from disability is very low and unless you have other financial means it will be a challenge to maintain a lifestyle that you may be accustomed to. However, if you find that you cannot work and you meet the definition on the list of impairments it can help.
Posted 7/29/2018 6:38 PM (GMT 0)
John16,

I asked the same question 2 years ago. I received many thoughtful responses as you have. Because you asked, I'll share my thoughts. You have already identified the important points of consideration. Not even knowing you, I will go out on a limb and say that you likely have enough financial resources to retire just because you are considering retirement as an option. We all know that there are many levels of retirement. Having said this, retired at any level means that you now do only what you want to do. In my humble opinion, people that do not retire (60 plus) regardless of health, usually do not because they convince themselves that they love their work. Nothing wrong with that. I loved my work too. I just didn't know what I know now.

My approach to this dilemma took about 1 hour of thought. Please bear in mind that I'm Gleason 9, Stage 4...very high risk. Regardless what any physician believes... I am in God's hands now. Immediately upon hearing of my pathology results (it was a Friday), my wife and I took a long walk. I retired on the following Monday. In retrospect I have to believe that the 2 year process of my treatments was easier without working. I say this because I had a lot of down days and a good nap every afternoon. As others have told you, working is possible. No doubt.

My real reason for retiring was that I just did not want to risk my opportunity to retire. If in an advanced state, we have no idea where this disease will go. I tell my friends that I've had the worst 2 years of my life, yet the best two years of my life. Retirement has supported the latter. Today I'm functioning near normal. My numbers are good, I've trimmed some of the Lupron weight, and I'm hoping to restore my libido and sexual function some day soon. I'm back to playing golf, traveling the world, reading a ton and thinking better than ever. I volunteer for cancer research funding. I'm not wealthy. I'm just comfortable. I've received offers to return to work, but I'm not interested in going back to work. Retirement is my gift for enduring.

If you can figure out a plan to retire...its a layup! Good luck with your decision. God Bless you and everyone in the fight.

RETIRED: Don't need to, don't want to, can't make me!
Posted 7/30/2018 1:13 PM (GMT 0)
I worked through SBRT, which was only 5 treatments. My immediate supervisor was aware of my situation and even offered to have someone drive me to and from treatments. I'll be forever grateful for that gesture.

I knew that there would be side-effects and took some precautions (a change of clothes in case of an accident, never needed it). The greatest benefit of working through therapy was for me that it takes your mind off the cancer, ate least temporary.
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