Welcome back! This blog provides financial resources and information for people living with cancer. This post is the third 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 1 breast cancer.
Cancer in an emotional roller coaster. Coping with fear and anxiety often consumes more time than cancer treatment. While I focus on treatment and resources, please take advantage of the cancer support services offered by your cancer treatment team. Counseling, support groups, and spiritual support will help you move forward on this journey.
What is stage 1 breast cancer?
Stage 1 breast cancer is a very early stage of an invasive cancer. A small cluster of cancer cells may or may not have spread to normal surrounding breast tissue but are still contained in a small local area. If treatment is completed, stage 1 breast cancer rarely spreads to other parts of the body or comes back later.
How is stage 1 breast cancer treated?
Stage 1 breast cancer is typically treated with surgery:
Lumpectomy: Removal of the breast cancer tumor and surrounding tissue. Recovery time is shorter than mastectomy, typically 2-4 weeks. Radiation therapy is often recommended after lumpectomy.
Mastectomy: Permanent removal of the entire breast. Reconstruction surgery may be planned at the same time. 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)
Hormone Therapy:
After your surgery, your cancer treatment team looks at your cancer cells under the microscope. They look for estrogen or progesterone receptors on the surface of each cancer cell. If they find these receptors on your cancer cells, it means that your body’s hormones are feeding your cancer cells. Your clinician may recommend hormone therapy. Hormone therapy will reduce hormones in your body to “starve” the cancer cells. This type of treatment comes in pills and capsules. Patients taking hormone therapy may experience side effects from reduced hormone levels. Most people living with breast cancer can maintain employment and normal activity levels while taking hormone therapy.
Radiation:
In addition to surgery, radiation is often recommended. Daily radiation therapy may be scheduled for up to 5-7 weeks. Flexible work schedules can allow people living with breast cancer to receive radiation therapy and continue employment. For details of radiation treatment, go to: Radiation Therapy for Breast Cancer Treatment: Types, Side Effects and More
Chemotherapy:
A small percentage of people living with stage 1 breast cancer will need chemotherapy. Treatment may be scheduled once a week or once every 3 weeks. Talk with your healthcare team and your employer about required time off. Depending on the flexibility of your work schedule, and side effects to the medications, you may want to consider requesting intermittent FMLA . For details on FMLA go to: FMLA -The Family and Medical Leave Act | Living with cancer take my hand
Will I need short or long term resources?
Short term resources are appropriate for stage 1 breast cancer. Even with chemotherapy, most treatment plans for stage 1 breast cancer do not extend past 6 months. Loss of income can occur if you do not have sufficient paid leave time for your surgery recovery time. Income can also be affected if you do not get paid for time used for radiation therapy or chemotherapy infusion dates. Additionally, you may incur debt with health insurance deductibles and co-pays.
Resources:
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
