RETURNING TO WORK

After your medical leave is over, gear up for the next challenge: making your re-entry to your job as comfortable as possible. For cancer survivors, returning to work often brings mixed emotions: relief, trepidation, hope -- and perhaps awkwardness. Even if you are sure you're ready to return, you may worry: Will you encounter skepticism or support? That depends partly on how you approach the situation, experts say. Here are some suggestions for smoothing the transition from cancer patient back to valued employee.

Follow Your Style
If you're naturally talkative and share information easily, you'll probably want to update co-workers and your boss on your recovery. If you're more private, just tell everyone you're doing fine and let it go at that. (You can expect your supervisor to honor your requests for confidentiality.) How much you divulge can also depend on the work environment and whether other employees have taken time off for cancer treatment and returned to work successfully.

Get up to Speed
It is important to feel confident again about your job abilities. How do you do so?

• Test your psyche. Just as important as feeling capable of doing the job is feeling psychologically up to speed. If you're feeling below par, you might seek one-on-one counseling from a social worker or a therapist, or join a support group of other cancer patients returning to work.
• Evaluate your readiness to work. Are you ready to come back full-time or part-time? If part-time sounds more feasible, consider what accommodations you will need. Do mornings work better, or afternoons? Take into account any medications you are on and their possible side effects;. Will they impair your ability to drive to work, for instance, or to stay alert during marathon meetings?
• Attend workshops or seminars to refresh your skills, suggest experts at Cancer Care, a self-help organization that posts additional tips on returning to work on its Web site.

• Once you've decided whether you are fit to return full-time or part-time, make a schedule, see if it fits your employer's need and then prepare to follow it.
• Take a look at your workstation. Does it need to be redesigned or fitted with equipment such as back support or other devices to make you more comfortable?
• Focus on the work itself, even if catching up means tending to tedious tasks such as returning a boatload of telephone calls or tackling a mountain of mail. "It's important to resume routine," says Susan Scherr, 58, a two-time cancer survivor. Doing so underscores the reality that you've transitioned from patient to employee.