William Penn Life, 2004 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2004-08-01 / 8. szám
HealthPage nurses know if you have pain when you do this activity. Working People with cancer often want to get back to work. Their jobs not only give them an income but also a sense of routine. Work helps people feel good about themselves. Before you go back to work, talk with your doctor as well as your boss. Make sure you are well enough to do your job. You may need to work fewer hours or do your job in a different way. Some people feel well enough to work while they are having chemo or radiation treatment. Others need to wait until their treatments are over. Talking with your boss and co-workers You might find that your boss and co-workers treat you differently than they did before you had cancer. They may say nothing because they don't know what to say and don't want to hurt your feelings. Or, they may not know if you want to talk about your cancer or would rather just focus on work. If you can, use humor or make a joke. Humor can help break the ice and make people feel more at ease. Let your boss and co-workers know if, and when, you want to talk about your cancer. You may find that it is easier than you thought it would be. Your legal rights Some people with cancer face roadblocks when they try to go back to work or get a new job. Even those who had cancer many years ago may still have trouble. Employers may not treat them fairly because they believe myths that aren't true. They may believe cancer can be spread from person to person or people with cancer take too many sick days. Some employers also think that people with cancer are poor insurance risks. It is against the law to discriminate against workers who have disabilities such as cancer. Both the Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990 protect your rights as a worker. Most states also have laws that Health Links There are many places on the Internet where you can learn more about cancer and how to live with it. One of the best places to start is the website of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), a part of the National Institutes of Health. You can find the NCI at 3 www.cancer.gov protect the rights of people with cancer. You can take legal action if you think that you are not being hired for a job because of your cancer. You may also want to learn about the benefits you can get as a person with cancer. One is the Family and Medical Leave Act. This law allows most workers to take up to 12 weeks of unpaid time to deal with certain family and medical problems. To learn more, speak with the human resource office where you work. You can also contact the U.S. Department of Labor at (202) 693-0066 or www.dol.gov/. Some people can't return to their jobs because of their cancer. For instance, you may no longer be able to lift heavy boxes if that task is a part of your job. If you can't do the work you did before, contact your state rehabilitation program. Ask about training programs that teach you the skills you need for other kinds of work. To learn more, look under the state government section in the blue pages of your phonebook. Thinking about the future You may find it helpful to look beyond your treatment and think about what you want to do when you feel well again. Many people find it helpful to set goals. Setting goals gives them something to think about and work toward. Goals can also help people focus on what they want to achieve next week, next year, and into the future. As one man with cancer said, "I decided I would travel to Europe when my therapy was over. I used treatment time to research the countries I wanted to visit and read first-person accounts written by other travelers. I bought a new camera and figured out how to use it. I even brushed up on my French!" Goals can also help you get you through hard times. In fact, many cancer patients have done much better than their doctor expected because they wanted to go to a wedding or meet their new grandchild. It is wise for people with cancer to "put their house in order." Think about making a will and talk about end-of-life choices with your loved ones. You may also want to put your photos into albums, write down your family history, and sort through some of the things you own. Putting your house in order is not the same as giving up. In fact, it is a way that people with cancer can live each day to the fullest and think about the future. These things make sense for everyone, sick or well. Advance Directives Advance directives are legal papers that allow you to decide ahead of time how you want to be treated when you are dying. They help your loved ones and doctors know what to do if, and when, you can't tell them yourself. People with cancer face a lot of choices about the future. It's hard to talk about the end of your life. But when you do, you can have peace of mind. You will know you cared enough to make hard choices for yourself, instead of leaving them for your loved ones and health care providers. Advance directives include: • A will to divide your money and things you own among your heirs • A living will to let people know what kind of medical care you want if you are close to death • A durable power of attorney to appoint a person (a "health care proxy") to make medical decisions for you when you can't make them yourself • A trust to give your money or things you own to someone, ffilliu Pen life, August 2004 7
