Pink Monday: Goele returned to class 6 months after her diagnosis

Return

To figure out the best way to handle her return, Goele contacted Rentree. This organization assists workers who want to return to work after cancer treatment.

"A gradual return to work in education proved difficult. You can't start working one day a week and then gradually build up. It became a 'reduced performance leave for illness' where I work part-time and lose one-fourth of a day of sick leave per workday. For that formula, I had to figure out if I had enough sick days left, because as a lateral entrant I am entitled to fewer sick days than colleagues who have been in teaching longer."

Setting boundaries

"Because of the antihormone therapy, I sleep poorly and am tired. I suffer from muscle and joint pain. That is why we suggested to my director that I should not have any hours on Wednesdays, so that I could recuperate that day. Unfortunately, a full Wednesday off was out of the question: it was reserved for colleagues with children. That was hard to swallow: you choose for children, not for cancer. The control doctor was also surprised by my schedule. He urged me to guard my limits and to insist once again on free Wednesdays. My return to work was approved only temporarily - for two months.

The grade coordinator was more understanding and spared me the hectic first day of school and left the welcoming of freshmen to my colleagues. So it was a Pink Tuesday for me, on September 3. The colleagues were cordial, the students happy to see me again. The classes were more exhausting than ever, but it was good to be among people again.

In my book bag, besides books, there are also many healthy snacks. This is because my medication makes me nauseous when I'm hungry. That's why I eat a snack at every break - otherwise I can't get a bite through my throat in the afternoon."