Keeping Up With Your Daily Routine
Working
Thinking About the Future
Summing Up: Living Each Day

When you have cancer, living each day to the fullest means: staying involved in the duties and pleasures of daily life returning to work if possible making plans for the future

Is living with cancer the biggest challenge you have ever faced? For most people, it is. Dealing with cancer and facing thoughts of death is a life-changing event for most people.

"My cancer made me take a closer look at how I spend my days. Realizing that they might be limited, I was determined to make them as good as possible. I vowed to use my time in ways that were good for me or brought me pleasure."

Try to live each day as normally as you can. Enjoy the simple things you like to do such as petting your cat or watching a sunset. Take pleasure in big events such as a friend's wedding or your grandson's high school graduation.

Keeping Up With Your Daily Routine

If you feel well enough, keep up with your daily routine. This includes going to work, spending time with family and friends, taking part in hobbies, and even going on trips.

At the same time, give yourself time to be with your feelings about cancer. Also, be careful about acting cheerful when you are not. Avoiding your feelings may make you feel worse, not better. (To learn more, go to "Sharing Your Feelings About Cancer.")

Use these questions to think about how you want to spend your time.

• Who do I like to be with?
• Who makes me laugh?
• How do I want to spend my time?
• What makes me feel happy?
• What types of things do I enjoy the most?
• What types of things do I like the least?
• Is there something I want to do that I've never tried?

Fun

Sometimes people with cancer try new, fun things that they have never done before. For instance, have you always wanted to ride in a hot air balloon or go deep-sea fishing? What fun things have you always wanted to try, but have never taken the time to do? A young woman with cancer put it this way,

"Too often we patients fill up our lives with meaningful activities and neglect the frivolous outlets that keep us sane."

Try to do something just for fun, not because you have to do it. But be careful not to tire yourself out. Some people get depressed when they are too tired. Make sure to get enough rest so you feel strong and can enjoy these fun activities.

Physical Activities

Many people find they have more energy when they take part in physical activities such as swimming, walking, yoga, and biking. They find that these types of activities help them keep strong and make them feel good. A bit of exercise everyday:

• improves your chances of feeling better
• keeps your muscles toned
• speeds your healing
• controls stress
• helps free your mind of bad thoughts

Even if you have never done physical activities before, you can start now. Choose something you think you'd like to do, and get your doctor's okay to try it. You can do some exercises even if you have to stay in bed.

Start slowly, doing an activity for just 5 or 10 minutes a day. When you feel strong enough, you can slowly increase this time to 30 minutes or more. Let your doctors and 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

"I was nervous about going back to work. A big issue was what to tell my supervisor and co-workers. I knew that they would be supportive, but I was afraid that they would think I was no longer able to do as good a job as I used to."

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 (treat unfairly) workers who have disabilities such as cancer. These national laws protect your rights as a worker:

• The Federal Rehabilitation Act of 1973
• The Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990

Most states also have laws that protect the rights of people with cancer. You can take legal action (sue) if you think that you are not being hired for a job because of your cancer. Here are some ways to learn more about your legal rights:

• Talk with your social worker and ask about laws in your state. Your social worker can also give you the name of the state agency that protects your rights as an employee.
• Contact your state's Department of Labor or Office of Civil Rights.
• Contact your state Representative or Senator. You can find out who represents your district and how to contact this person by looking on the Internet or at a library.
• Visit the Web site for the National Cancer Institute's State Cancer Legislative Database Program at http://www.scld-nci.net/

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 http://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 phone book.

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.

Once you finish treatment, you may expect life to return to the way it was before cancer. In truth, it can take a while for life to settle down. This can be a hard time. While you adjust to life after treatment, you may find it helpful to read Facing Forward: Life After Cancer Treatment.

Summing Up: Living Each Day

Living with cancer means not only looking at death but also how to live the rest of your life--whether it is long or short. Take care of daily duties and do things that are fun. Both are needed for a full life. Many people who have cancer feel that living each day to the fullest means: staying involved in the duties and pleasures of daily life returning to work if possible making plans for the future

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