So, I have cancer - what to tell work...

LegacyUser

Very quickly, I'm hoping you can help (if not mods please move to personal issues)...

I was diagnosed with testicle cancer last year and had a testicle removed. I've been in remittion (sp?) for the year, but my latest scans have confirmed that the cancer is now back, and has spread to the lymph nodes.
This can successfully be treated with a very strong dose of chemo lasting 12 weeks, which I'm due to start soon. However...

I work as a contractor, and my contract is up for renewal in June. I've kept this secret so far, but it's clear I won't be able to keep it from my employers any longer. How do I tell them?

I need the contract - I've an overpriced mortgage like everyone else, and if I loose this contract there's little hope of finding another.

I'm worried telling them is like playing a sympathy card to get me contract renewed, however, I'm also aware that it'll mean I'm a risk for 3 months of a 6 month contract, so why would they renew?

I don't know what to do.

Please help.

prinz

Sorry for your troubles. You really should tell your employer. What course of action they take is then up to them after that.I think you should sit down with someone face to face and just tell them like you posted it here:


"I was diagnosed with testicle cancer last year and had a testicle removed. I've been in remittion (sp?) for the year, but my latest scans have confirmed that the cancer is now back, and has spread to the lymph nodes.
This can successfully be treated with a very strong dose of chemo lasting 12 weeks, which I'm due to start soon"

Stheno

Are you self employed and contracting your services to the company you work for? If you are, do you have any sort of income protection?

You need to talk to the company you work for and let them know your situation. Twelve weeks of chemo will take a lot out of you and it's likely that you will need to recuperate after that time to build your strength back up.

Good luck

lmahoney79

I would agree with this. The best thing you can do is be honest and tell them exactly what you said here. talk to someone in private about it and explain everything. Its then up to the company what the next course of action is. You are not playing the sympathy card and they wont think so either, you are ill and you need serious treatment, it has to be done. Good luck with everything, i hope the chemo works well for you.

LegacyUser

Yea, I'm self employed and contracting my services.
I have no income protection.

I looked into it last year after I found out (too late) but at that point it wasn't available at a reasonable rate (which is fair enough)

Thanks everyone for the well wishes!

LegacyUser

Hi OP,

Sorry your Cancer has spread you must be feeling very unsure of things at the moment,

Look dont worry, you are sick and need to rest and give yourself attention, Let the contract go if it is the only consequence, You will get sick benefit and help with your mortgage, and you may be able to find a friend you know to take over your contract for the time you are out, Try and see if you can do this but this is a time you need to care for yourself,

I really feel like if you put yourself first here the situation will look after itself,

Best of luck.

puglover

OP I am very sorry to hear this, I can only imagine how stressful and worrying this is for you.

When you say a contract what exactly do you mean? How long have you been in this position?

Regardless of your contract, depending on your terms and work conditions as well as the lenght of time you have been with the company you may actually hold the status of an employee, and would therefore have the same rights as the employee.

The following link will explain this a bit more:
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/Documents/codeofpract.pdf

NERA www.nera.ie might also be abale to advise you or you local Citizens Info Office.

What I would do is establish what your status is for yourself, if you hold employee status you will be fine. Either way though speak to management about your illness without bringing status into it initially. They may be more accomodating than you think.

If you do hold employee status & they are not accomodation you can go down the legal route. NERA will advise you on what to do.


Best of luck with it

legalmillie

I am very sorry to hear this and I hope your chemo goes well. Firstly, I would check to see if you have income protection. Did you take out life insurance when you took out your mortgage? If so, did it have serious illness cover?

I would then speak to your employer and explain the situation. You will need time to recuperate during your chemo though so you will need to take time off. Maybe they could give you a month by month basis contract. In order for you to get better you have to look after yourself.

On the mortgage end of things you could go to your Bank and explain the situation. A friend of mine just got a 6 month moratorium on her mortgage as she is pregnant and cannot afford to pay it during those months as she only recieves the statutory maternity leave.

The bank may be very accomodating and give you interest only or even a moratorium.

Best of luck.

Stheno

Cancer man wrote: »

Yea, I'm self employed and contracting my services.
I have no income protection.

I looked into it last year after I found out (too late) but at that point it wasn't available at a reasonable rate (which is fair enough)

Thanks everyone for the well wishes!

Ah, sorry to hear that

I really think your best option is to firstly speak to the company to whom you contract, then depending on how that goes, look into making what financial arrangements you can, e.g. talking to your bank about your situation etc, and trying to come to an arrangement in advance with them, if you find that your contract is not renewed.

Are you contracting long? Depending on how long, you might get lucky in terms of your PRSI status and be eligible for sickness benefit.

LegacyUser

puglover wrote: »

When you say a contract what exactly do you mean? How long have you been in this position?

I've had my contract for 3 years now. I mean I'm an IT consultant? I have my own company, and I charge companies a daily rate to provide assistance.

Regardless of your contract, depending on your terms and work conditions as well as the lenght of time you have been with the company you may actually hold the status of an employee, and would therefore have the same rights as the employee.

I'm not aware that it works that way at all for me.[/QUOTE] Also, as far as I know, I'm not entitled to social welfare either, due to my employment status.

I'll probably have a chat with the bank alright, if I'm not earning, I really cant afford my mortage.

Stheno

Cancer man wrote: »

I've had my contract for 3 years now. I mean I'm an IT consultant? I have my own company, and I charge companies a daily rate to provide assistance.

I'm not aware that it works that way at all for me.

Also, as far as I know, I'm not entitled to social welfare either, due to my employment status.

I'll probably have a chat with the bank alright, if I'm not earning, I really cant afford my mortage.[/QUOTE]


As you have your own company then you'd not be classed as an employee of those companies to whom you provide a service.

You are correct on the social welfare side of things as well, but it might be worth checking out, as they use the past five years overall, then one specific year (either 2 or 3 years ago) to determine your entitlement, a quick call to the PRSI people will clarify that for you, easy way to check would be to see if you are entitled to optical benefits, as the qualification procedure is the same.

Again best of luck with everything.

EPM

If the contract goes it goes but it will mean that you're around for the next one.

A guy in my department had something similar this time last year. He is a contractor also with no income protection. You may find that the company can be very accomodating with regard to these issues. He took some time off for the op and afterwards, worked part-time through chemo and radium treatment but it did take its toll on him but he took time off when needed and worked from home (could this be an option).

Best of luck OP;)

alegrabaroque

So sorry your going through this I don`t even know what to say, I can`t imagine.

As you have your own business and its your business services they are paying for could you not employ someone else to do it for that period so keeping your contract and providing the service?

Might be a stupid idea but I know there is alot of people who could do this job so its an employers market, maybe someone not so experienced so you could pay them less. I know you`ll suffer financially but short term as opposed to long term

LegacyUser

Everything will work out fine you have to concentrate on getting yourself better.
You must've got a shock to hear the cancer was back
I'm sure the life insurance will help you out once you tell them you have a serious illness and can't work or the bank will out your mortgage on interest only for a year.
You're entitled to illlness benefit from the social, talk to a social worker at the hospital while you are getting your treatment and they will tell you all your entitlements.
It's all only material things anyway - your health is more important.

briktop

best of luck mate , i found this post by accident ,
hope it works out for you
you would be better focussing on resting , eating well and exercising to get better / manage the chemo , and stop worrying as much as possible.

easier said then done , but you need to look after yourself first.

also think it be better to be upfront with the company , but maybe not go into too much detail.

Overheal

Cancer man wrote: »

I work as a contractor, and my contract is up for renewal in June. I've kept this secret so far, but it's clear I won't be able to keep it from my employers any longer. How do I tell them?

I need the contract - I've an overpriced mortgage like everyone else, and if I loose this contract there's little hope of finding another.

I'm worried telling them is like playing a sympathy card to get me contract renewed, however, I'm also aware that it'll mean I'm a risk for 3 months of a 6 month contract, so why would they renew?

I don't know what to do.

Please help.

You can't not tell them. If they renew your contract and then it emerges youve been witholding a serious medical condition - I'm sure theres a bylaw there somewhere. Its not in good faith. They could drop you like a stone.

Just bring it up. No bull****, no ulterior motives. Tell them you need chemo and you need to know how to proceed.

LegacyUser

Im sorry to hear you have it back. Im two years in remission. I only had stage one so I went with surveillance rather then radiation or chemo at the time. Is radiation an option now? You could apparently work through that but itd be tough. Jeez this makes me nervous im in for another ct scan in the morning. At the end of the day getting better is whats most important so best of luck.

LegacyUser

get better wrote: »

Im two years in remission.

Best of luck buddy - don't worry about your scan, there's no point really.

Anyways, I told them in work. The senior manager maintains that the service I provide here is much appreciated, and as long as there is budget, there is no problem taking time to recover. Thankfully thats a weight off my mind.
Unfortunately though, my mortgage life assurance only covers me in the event that I die, so it looks like making ends meet might get tricky, but I've resolved to talk to my back once the treatment start. I'd be amazed if they didn't let me take a break from payments.

Folks, thanks for the well wishes and replies. Hopefully this doesn't drag out too long.

@ get better: best of luck buddy. Hopfully you'll be grand.

Stheno

Cancer-man wrote: »

Best of luck buddy - don't worry about your scan, there's no point really.

Anyways, I told them in work. The senior manager maintains that the service I provide here is much appreciated, and as long as there is budget, there is no problem taking time to recover. Thankfully thats a weight off my mind.
Unfortunately though, my mortgage life assurance only covers me in the event that I die, so it looks like making ends meet might get tricky, but I've resolved to talk to my back once the treatment start. I'd be amazed if they didn't let me take a break from payments.

That's some good news for you in terms of work

Best wishes for a full recovery and good luck with the bank

LegacyUser

Hello all. Thanks for your help, and I'm hoping you can help me again, but first to update...

Well I've finished my treatment, which was tough. I'll find out in the next couple of days if it was successful.

However, due to my treatment, and the steroids I was on, I've put on just over two stone in a few months. Naturally, I'm eager to loose this weight, and get my fitness back. Can anyone advise me of the best way to do this?
I'm still very weak after all the treatment, so I'm planning on just getting out there walking gently for an hour each evening, but I'm kinda eager to push it (without hurting myself). Anyone any ideas or pointers?


Mods, I understand this is best suited for the fitness section, but I can't post there anonymously, so I'm not sure what the best course of action is?

legalmillie

Hi,

I hope your treatment was successful. You poor thing, you have been through the mill. If you are still weak after the treatment then you should probably stick with walking in the evenings but the best way to burn those calories off is running/spinning. I wouldn't recommend running if you are weak but you could try spinning. You can do it at your own pace and it's a great workout.

Best of luck

SarahSassy

Have no pearls of wisdom but just wanted to say well done on getting through the treatment and best of luck

HereKitty

Hi Op
Just read through this thread today, so glad to hear about the positive reaction from the job and that you're through your treatment and I'll have fingers crossed you get a good result. Great to see you focussing on looking after yourself and being so positive. On the financial side, not sure if this was mentioned but might be worth while checking in with MABS to see if they can lobby on your behalf if you need it. Might be worth having a read through this http://www.ibf.ie/consumersset.html

Lots of good wishes to you

Silverfish

Cancer man wrote: »

Hello all. Thanks for your help, and I'm hoping you can help me again, but first to update...

Well I've finished my treatment, which was tough. I'll find out in the next couple of days if it was successful.

However, due to my treatment, and the steroids I was on, I've put on just over two stone in a few months. Naturally, I'm eager to loose this weight, and get my fitness back. Can anyone advise me of the best way to do this?
I'm still very weak after all the treatment, so I'm planning on just getting out there walking gently for an hour each evening, but I'm kinda eager to push it (without hurting myself). Anyone any ideas or pointers?


Mods, I understand this is best suited for the fitness section, but I can't post there anonymously, so I'm not sure what the best course of action is?

Well, first off, I'd take it easy. If I remember correctly, the weight should slowly drop off as you go back into your normal routine.

I would strongly suggest you talk to your doctor about any weight loss you plan.

jmbkay

Congrats OP, delighted to hear your news. Hopefully you're out of the woods. Be kind to yourself, your idea of walking sounds good. Take it really easy. Best of luck with work etc.

Miss Fluff

Cancer man wrote: »

Hello all. Thanks for your help, and I'm hoping you can help me again, but first to update...

Well I've finished my treatment, which was tough. I'll find out in the next couple of days if it was successful.

However, due to my treatment, and the steroids I was on, I've put on just over two stone in a few months. Naturally, I'm eager to loose this weight, and get my fitness back. Can anyone advise me of the best way to do this?
I'm still very weak after all the treatment, so I'm planning on just getting out there walking gently for an hour each evening, but I'm kinda eager to push it (without hurting myself). Anyone any ideas or pointers?


Mods, I understand this is best suited for the fitness section, but I can't post there anonymously, so I'm not sure what the best course of action is?

I'm sure if you ask one of the mods nicely they will allow you post anon and move it to the fitness thread for you.

I do think you should probably consult with your GP on the best course of exercise. The steroids will have left you feeling tired and lethargic so pace yourself and get back on your feet at a sustainable pace rather than do yourself damage/hinder your recovery by going at it hell for leather.

Am delighted the treatment has now finished and I wish you the very best, I think you have handled it really well and I will say a little prayer for you this evening re your results - I have a good feeling you will be fine x:)

LegacyUser

Thanks for the replies and well wishes lads.

Mods, is this something that can be done? Would it be possible to move the thread into the fitness section? (and maybe retitle it so they don't need to read the whole thing - just the recovery bit?)

Cheers.

Wibbs

I started a thread in fitness for you http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62023352#post62023352 and just quoted your last post looking for advice. Hope this suits.

LegacyUser

Wibbs wrote: »

I started a thread in fitness for you http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62023352#post62023352 and just quoted your last post looking for advice. Hope this suits.

Thanks a million Wibbs, greatly appreciated.

jambi

The mods over in fitness locked the thread saying professional medical advice needed.

Anyway, congrats cancer man, maybe a name change is in order?

I was in almost exactly the same situation, without the complications of the work/contract thing. But in terms of the initial diagnosis, surgery, following spread to lymph nodes, 3 months chemo, etc all identical. I came out the other side completely unfit too. My problem was the opposite though, I had lost over two and a half stone! I was under 9st. That was over 4 years ago now.

Getting back to fitness wasn't easy, start light, walk maybe a little jog. Energy levels won't be right for months. Try to fix your diet first, no more comfort foods! :P Read the stickies in the fitness forum for some diet help.

Whenever I felt like not getting out and doing something and need a little motivation, all I had to do is remember the times I was laid up, getting pumped full of drugs that made me feel like crap and incapable of exercise.

Build up the exercise slowly, after you have a basic level of fitness back maybe join a club to get into some exercise or sport more regularly.

The main advice I guess is not to expect too much of yourself too soon, your body has been through a lot. It will take time to recover fully. Start slow, build it up, try to do some exercise you enjoy and you will get there. In the meantime, eat well and rest well.

Good luck.

Feel free to PM me if you want to.