Welcome back! This blog provides financial resources and information for people living with cancer. This post is the fourth in a series for information on breast cancer resources, which can be found at: https://livingwithcancertakemyhand.com/blog.
In this post I will focus on stage 2 breast cancer.
What is stage 2 breast cancer?
Stage 2 breast cancer is an early-stage cancer that is determined by the size of your tumor (up to the size of a small lime), as well as the number of lymph nodes that cancer cells are found in. This can include smaller tumors with positive lymph nodes, or larger tumors with no positive lymph nodes.
How is stage 2 breast cancer treated?
Treatment options include surgery, chemotherapy (before or after surgery), radiation and/or hormone therapy.
Surgery: At a minimum, most women will have a lumpectomy, but many will have a mastectomy. Recovery will take a minimum of 4-6 weeks. For more details on what to expect with mastectomy, go to: What to Expect During and After Mastectomy Surgery (breastcancer.org)
Radiation: Radiation treatments usually start 3-8 weeks after surgery unless chemotherapy is recommended. If chemotherapy is planned after surgery, radiation usually starts 3-4 weeks after chemotherapy is completed.
Chemotherapy: Chemo for breast cancer can be recommended before and/or after surgery. If before surgery, expect 2-4 months of treatment. If after surgery, chemo typically starts within 4-8 weeks after surgery. If your breast cancer cells are HER2 positive, you may receive treatment every 3 weeks for up to 12 months. More information on chemotherapy with breast cancer can be found at: Chemotherapy for breast cancer – Mayo Clinic
Expected Time Off:
Treatment for stage 2 breast cancer will require more time off from work than earlier stage breast cancers. Many women will use paid time off for surgery and recovery time. However, depending on the flexibility of your employer, you may be able to continue to work during daily radiation treatments. If your cancer treatment team is recommending chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments, expect to use paid time off and may need to apply for FMLA or short-term disability.
Breast cancer treatment affects everyone differently. Talk with your cancer treatment team on the expected time frame for all your treatment. I’ve talked with many women who have had to use minimal paid time off and continue to work around their treatment schedules. I’ve also talked with many women who planned to do the same, but experienced fatigue and other side effects that required additional time off chose to use FMLA & short-term disability benefits.
Will I need short or long term resources?
In general, short-term resources are appropriate for stage 2 breast cancer.
Even with chemotherapy, most treatment plans for stage 2 breast cancer do not extend past 6-8 months. Loss of income can occur if you do not have sufficient paid leave time for your surgery recovery time, or if your experience significant side effects from treatment.
Income can also be affected if you do not get paid for time used for radiation therapy or chemotherapy infusion and recovery dates. Additionally, you may incur debt with health insurance deductibles and co-pays.
Resources:
FMLA: Most women with stage 2 breast cancer will want to investigate FMLA (The Family and Medical Leave Act) benefits. More details can be found at: FMLA -The Family and Medical Leave Act | Living with cancer take my hand
Short term disability: An insurance plan that replaces at least part of your income if you are unable to work for a limited period. Short term disability plans do not cover work related injuries.
California, Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island require employees to participate in short term disability plans, however there are exceptions. If you live in a state other than the five listed above, your employer may offer a short-term disability insurance plan as part of your benefit package (ie; Aflac, State Farm, MetLife, etc.) For more details go to:
Short Term Disability Leave- The Basics | Living with cancer take my hand
Short-Term Disability: What Every Employee Should Know | The Muse
Additional patient assistance resources can be found at: Patient Assistance Programs | Living with cancer take my hand
Resources for chemotherapy can be found at: Pharmaceutical Assistance Programs | Living with cancer take my hand
Ask your cancer treatment team for additional local resources. Often there are funds available from local organizations and charities to keep you stable during this journey.
I hope this information is helpful. If you would like to continue this conversation, please click on the Subscribe button at the top of the Blog page. I would love to hear your comments as well as resources that have worked for you. Please share this information with your family and friends.
Keeping you in my prayers
Jackie
