Nurse Chemo at your service

[wannabegood]

I was interested to see if I could possibly meet anyone that has been on chemo and on the floor at the same time. I am a new grad and a new cancer patient, so there are a lot of questions that I need to ask. Being a new grad, you all know that time management is especially tricky right out of the gate. Throw in extreme fatigue, and I wonder how this thing is going to pan out. I cannot and will not put off going to work. If any of you have been in my shoes, you know how crazy it feels and the need to return to normalcy becomes all important.

I have a great nurse manager and a good relationship with the other nurses on the floor (I did my preceptorship with them and made several friends). They have called to let me know that they will be supportive of me, which is a huge load off my shoulders. But I need to talk with someone that has been through chemo, knows what its like, and how I can try to manage the demands of my patients and my own limitations (of which, I am not very familiar with yet). I haven't started my new job, and trying to be the good student is still fresh on my brain, as I have just graduated, so I want to be as prepared as possible for what I am about to embark on. I want to carry my own load, but I already know that may prove more difficult than I can imagine right now.

If you have any comments, suggestions, or advice, I would really welcome them. Thanks a million,

Joy

[AlsgalRN]

Joy, This time last year, I was undergoing chemo for breast cancer. I had my lumpectomy in May, finished the chemo in Aug., and the radiation in Nov. I took cytoxin and taxotere q3 weeks x4 doses. At the time that I was diagnosed with cancer, my husband was diagnosed with ALS. So, you can understand why I felt I HAD to work through all of the treatments. I had to keep us insured. Also, I wanted to save all of my PTO (paid time off) because I did not know how fast his disease would progress.

I have been a nurse for more than 20 years. I work in a high risk OB/GYN clinic. One of the most hated assignments for RNs in my clinic is telephone triage. We have to rotate it a week at the time. I did telephone triage through the whole treatment. I was seated most of the day so fatigue was not a huge issue. I was in an office by myself and took my nausea bucket with me. I never had to use it at work but did have some close calls trying to get to the bathroom to throw up. The bucket was just my little extra security. Staying in the phone room limited my exposure to patients. That was nice when I had spells with low white counts.

Please feel free to PM me with any questions. I am glad to help.

Regards,

Robin (I picked the only smilie with hair! It is so nioce to have my hair again!)

[mom2730]

Hi Joy, you must be strong to be able to work while on chemo. I was on maternity leave and ready to go back to work when I was diagnoised. I went through nine months of chemo and six weeks of radiation. I was weak and tired and not sure if I could have handled the busy med-surg floor I worked on. Three months after chemo was completed the cancer returned and I went thru massive doses of chemo and had a bone marrow transplant. I went thru several difficult years with many complications. To make a long story short , I would have given anything if I could have continued working because I now want to go back to work and am having trouble finding work. Not working for the past 10 years is really hurting, most places want recent expierence. Also, I don't think I would have the problems with depression like I do now. I think if you can work it will be great for your sanity. Good Luck!

[wannabegood]

I feel very lucky to have a job in which the nurse manager is willing to work with me and also supports me. She said she will work with me and my schedule for chemo and its side effects. The other nurses are very supportive too. I should start working next Monday and am ready to get back to the real world. Chemo world stinks! Keep trying to get back into the work force, I know what it feels like to be out of it and I know its not good, mentally. It has been driving me crazy and doesn't help my self esteem at all. You can do it, just keep looking.

Thanks for the feedback,

Joy

[midcom]

I feel very lucky to have a job in which the nurse manager is willing to work with me and also supports me. She said she will work with me and my schedule for chemo and its side effects. The other nurses are very supportive too.

Wow, I could have posted this exact same thing just a few months ago. While going through chemo, the same regime as Robin, by the way, my supervisor was so accomadating & so were my fellow nurses. They seemed to know instinctively when I was having a bad day or when I felt tired. I don't work in acute care, but rather a very large family practive clinic, and there was always someone who would pitch in if needed.

The extreme fatigue was what really got to me. I was just hired when I started chemo & I decided that I really didn't want to have to quit my dream job because of the chemo. I, fortunately, only worked part time (3/4) & on the days that I worked, I did nothing at home after. Heck, even now, 3 months after the end of treatments, I am exhausted after a day of work & do practically nothing when I get home, just cook a meal & throw in a load of laundry. I hope soon that the fatigue will let up.

One thing good that comes of this is that you definately can empathize with your patients who are going through chemo, even if you are lucky like me & didn't experience nausea & vomiting. I have been asked some pretty blunt & personal questions by patients that I wish I could have asked someone before I went through it. I was happy to answer all but the most personal questions. I'm now getting questions again, now that I have tossed the wigs & scarves & am going "natural." Nothing screams "chemo" louder than 1/2 inch long hair.:chuckle

Dixie