How work kept me going during my cancer treatment | Sarah Donnelly

Translator: María Rico Vázquez Reviewer: Noelia Bernárdez Alonso

Xuño de 2014.

Tiña 30 anos

cando recibín unha chamada da miña doutora

para dicirme que xa tiña os resultados das probas.

Fun vela á hora do xantar e díxome

It was June 2014.

I was 30 years old,

que sentía dicirme que tiña cancro de mama.

and I received a call from my doctor's office

to say my test results were in.

Non quixen crela, e de primeiras non o fixen.

So I walked up to see her in my lunch break, and my doctor said

Son avogada e precisaba probas.

she was very sorry to tell me that I had breast cancer.

Avergóñame confesarlles

que me erguín e camiñei ata onde estaba ela

I didn't want to believe her and at first, I didn't.

para poder mirar por riba do seu ombreiro e corroborar

You see, I'm a lawyer and I needed some evidence.

o que estaba escrito na folla que tiña diante.

So I'm very embarrassed to tell you all

[Risas]

Carcinoma maligno.

that I stood up and I walked around to where she was sitting

Mais aínda sen querer crelo, preguntei:

so that I could look over her shoulder and verify

«Carcinoma maligno. Está segura de que iso é cancro?».

what was written on the page in front of her.

(Laughter)

[Risas]

Malignant carcinoma.

Díxome que estaba segura.

But still not wanting to believe it, I said,

Volvín ao traballo e entreguei as cousas urxentes

"Now, malignant carcinoma, you're sure that means cancer?"

mentres me facían máis probas para ver se o cancro se espallara.

(Laughter)

Mais, nese intre, o traballo non era a miña prioridade.

She told me she was sure.

Back at work, I handed over the urgent things that needed to be done

Pensaba en como contarlle á miña familia e aos meus amigos

while I was having more tests to see if my cancer had spread.

que tiña cancro.

En como ía responder ás súas preguntas

But at that moment, work wasn't my priority.

sobre se era grave ou sobre se ía estar ben

cando nin sequera eu o sabía.

I was thinking about how I was going to tell my family and friends

En se a miña parella e máis eu

teriamos a oportunidade de formar unha familia.

that I had cancer.

How I was going to answer their questions

E dáballe voltas a como dicirllo á miña nai,

about how bad it was and whether I was going to be OK,

que tivera cancro de mama cando estaba embarazada de min.

when I didn't know that myself.

I was wondering if my partner and I

Ela sabería como me sentía

would ever have an opportunity to start a family.

e tería máis idea do que me agardaba.

And I was figuring out how I was going to tell my mother,

Pero tampouco quería que tivese que revivir a súa experiencia co cancro.

who had herself had breast cancer when she was pregnant with me.

O que non sabía daquela

She would know how I was feeling

era que o traballo tería un gran papel no meu tratamento e recuperación.

and have an idea of what lay ahead for me.

But I also didn't want her to have to relive her cancer experience.

Que os meus compañeiros e o meu traballo

me farían sentir valiosa e humana

What I didn't appreciate at the time

en momentos nos que, doutro xeito, me sentiría un número máis.

was that work was about to play a huge role in my treatment and recovery.

Que o meu traballo me proporcionaría rutina e estabilidade

That it would be my coworkers and my job

cando afrontaba moitas decisións persoais complicadas

that would make me feel valuable and human

e moita incerteza.

at times when I would have otherwise felt like a statistic.

Por exemplo, que tipo de reconstrución mamaria ía ter.

That it would be my job that would give me routine and stability

Nun momento así,

when I was dealing with so many difficult personal decisions

suporán que busquei apoio na familia e nos amigos.

and so much uncertainty.

E si, por suposto que o fixen.

Like, what sort of breast reconstruction I was going to have.

Pero serían os meus compañeiros

os que desempeñarían un papel fundamental no meu día a día,

And at a time like that,

you would think that I would turn to my family and friends for support.

os que me farían rir.

And yes, of course I did that.

Eramos un equipo bastante unido

But it would ultimately be my colleagues

e tiñamos algunhas brincadeiras internas,

who would play a huge role in my day-to-day life.

como cando escoitaron que alguén me preguntaba

And they would be the ones to make me laugh.

que facía para ter un cabelo tan brillante e perfecto

You see, we were a pretty close team,

sen saber que era unha perruca, por suposto.

and we shared a couple of really good in-jokes,

like this time they overheard someone ask me

Era unha perruca moi boa.

Con ela era moi doado aviarse polas mañás.

how I got my hair so shiny and perfect --

[Risas]

Pero en momentos coma ese, apreciaba o seu apoio

without knowing that it was, of course, a wig,

e preguntábame que faría sen eles.

and you know, it was a very good wig

and it did make getting ready in the mornings very easy.

Teño falado con moitas persoas, sobre todo mulleres,

(Laughter)

But in little moments like this, I appreciated what their support meant,

que non tiveron a sorte de contar cun grupo así

porque non lles deron a oportunidade de traballar durante o tratamento.

and I wondered what I would have done without that network.

I've spoken with so many people, women in particular,

E son varios os motivos.

Mais creo que, sobre todo, se reduce a xefes excesivamente paternalistas.

who haven't had the chance to have that network

because they haven't been given the opportunity to work through treatment.

Eses xefes queren que marches e que te centres en ti.

And there are several reasons for this.

E que volvas cando te atopes mellor.

But I think it mostly comes down to overly paternalistic employers.

E empregan ese tipo de expresións.

E aínda que a súa intención é boa,

These employers want you to go away and focus on yourself.

a min fíxome tanto ben que me frustra moitísimo

And come back when you're better.

que lle digan a alguén que non pode ou non debe traballar

And they use those kinds of phrases.

And while these responses are well-meaning,

cando é algo que quere facer e pode facer fisicamente.

knowing the benefits it brought me,

Entón, comecei a indagar sobre que debe facer un xefe

it makes me incredibly frustrated

cando alguén presenta un diagnóstico de cancro.

when people are told that they couldn’t or shouldn't work,

Descubrín que en Australia o cancro se considera unha discapacidade.

when it's something that they want to do and physically can do.

So I started to look into what an employer is required to do

Polo tanto, se non podes desempeñar as túas funcións laborais habituais,

when someone presents with a cancer diagnosis.

o teu xefe está obrigado pola Lei sobre Discriminación por Discapacidade

I discovered that under Australian law, cancer is considered a disability.

a facer axustes razoables nas túas condicións laborais

para que poidas seguir traballando.

So if you are unable to perform your usual work duties,

Que serían para min axustes razoables?

your employer is obligated by the Disability Discrimination Act

Eu coñecía os impactos obvios que tería o meu diagnóstico no meu traballo.

to make reasonable adjustments to your working arrangements,

so that you can continue to work.

Tería consultas médicas no meu horario de traballo

What would reasonable adjustments look like for me?

e precisaría días libres para recuperarme das cirurxías.

I knew the obvious impacts my diagnosis was going to have on work.

De novo, como boa avogada que son,

fixen as miñas debidas dilixencias sobre que esperar do tratamento.

Medical appointments would be scheduled during business hours,

and I knew that I would need time off to recover from surgical procedures.

Unha boa parte fíxenas co Doutor Google.

Quizais non foi a mellor das ideas e non o recomendo.

Again, being a typical lawyer,

[Risas]

I had done my due diligence on what to expect from treatment.

Aínda que estaba preparada para os efectos secundarios físicos,

o que máis me asustaba era o chamado «quimiocerebro».

Admittedly, a lot of that was through Doctor Google,

perhaps not my best move and I wouldn't recommend that.

O «quimiocerebro» preséntase en forma de perda de memoria,

(Laughter)

falla de concentración

But while I was ready for all the physical side effects,

e incapacidade para resolver problemas.

what really scared me was this thing called chemo brain.

E se me pasaba iso,

como ía exercer de avogada?

Chemo brain presents itself through memory loss,

Obrigaríanme a deixar o meu traballo?

an inability to concentrate

Como podería falar co meu xerente

and an inability to solve problems.

And if this happened to me,

sobre axustes razoables nas miñas condicións laborais

I wondered how I was going to do my job as a lawyer.

se non sabía como me ía afectar?

Would I be forced to leave work?

Tiven a sorte de contar cun xerente comprensivo

And how could I possibly have a discussion with my manager

que se aledaba de ver como ían as cousas

about reasonable adjustments to my working arrangements

en troques de esixir un plan concreto por adiantado.

when I didn't know how I was going to be impacted?

I was fortunate to have a supportive manager

Tiven a sorte de que, aínda que quizais non coñecera

o concepto de axustes razoables,

who was happy to see how things went as we went along,

para el era unha cuestión de sentido común.

rather than requiring a concrete plan up front.

Pero aprendín que non é algo de sentido común para todo o mundo.

I was lucky that while he may not have even known

about this concept of reasonable adjustments,

Todos os que pasan por un tratamento descubrirán como lles afecta

to him, it was just common sense.

e cales son as súas limitacións.

E aprenderán a adaptarse a iso.

But I've learned that it's not common sense to everyone.

No meu caso, aprendín algúns consellos e trucos sobre o tratamento.

Everyone going through treatment will learn how it impacts them

Por exemplo, antes de ir á quimio

and what their limitations are.

debes asegurarte de estar ben hidratada

e quentiña, pois iso axuda ás enfermeiras a atoparche as veas.

And they'll learn to adjust for that.

So for me, there were the tips and tricks that I learned about the treatment itself,

E debes asegurarte de non papar a túa comida favorita

nin antes nin despois da quimio

like, before you go to chemo,

porque a vas trousar e non vas querer vela nunca máis.

you need to make sure you're really well hydrated

and that you're warm, because it helps the nurses to find your veins.

[Risas]

Iso aprendino polas malas.

And make sure that you don't eat any of your favorite food,

E despois tiña trucos para xestionar o meu fluxo de traballo.

either before or after chemo,

Programaba a quimio para os luns a primeira hora da mañá.

because you're going to be throwing that up

and you won't ever want to look at it again.

Sabía que dende que saíra da unidade de coidados oncolóxicos

(Laughter)

I learned that one the hard way.

tería unhas catro horas antes de que caese esa pantalla de néboa

And then there were the tricks for managing my workflow.

e comezase a sentir náuseas.

I scheduled chemo for first thing on a Monday morning.

Entón, empregaba ese tempo para contestar correos e facer chamadas.

I knew that from the time I left the cancer care unit,

I had about four hours before this fog screen would come down

O peor do malestar desaparecería nunhas 48 horas.

and I would start to be sick.

Despois, volvería traballar pero dende a casa.

So I would use that time to clean my inbox and make any urgent calls.

O tratamento continuaba e eu sabía que agardar.

Puiden establecer expectativas razoables cos meus socios

The worst of the sickness would be gone within about 48 hours.

sobre o que podía facer e os prazos nos que podía facelo.

And then I would log back into work from home.

Mais aínda lembro as súas voces dubidosas

This treatment continued and I knew what to expect.

I was able to set reasonable expectations with my business partners

cando pedían cousas,

cando me pedían cousas nun prazo determinado.

about what I could do

and the time frames that I could do it in.

E, créanme, eran persoas

sen medo ningún á hora de poñer prazos.

But I still remember the hesitation in their voices

[Risas]

Tiña a impresión de que non querían poñerme presión adicional

when it came to asking for things.

And asking me to do things by a certain time.

mentres me sometía ao tratamento.

And trust me, these were people

E aínda que valoraba as súas intencións, en realidade precisaba eses prazos.

that were not afraid of setting a good deadline.

(Laughter)

Para min, iso era algo que podía chegar a controlar

I got the impression they didn't want to put any extra pressure on me

e manter baixo control

while I was going through treatment.

cando había moitas outras cousas que non.

And while I appreciated the sentiment,

E mentres traballaba dende a casa

I actually needed the deadlines.

pensaba de que xeito os xefes deberían aplicar este concepto

To me, that was something within my control

and something that could stay in my control

de axustes razoables na actualidade,

when there were so many things that couldn't.

onde a unha de cada dúas persoas en Australia

And as I was working from home,

lle diagnosticarán cancro antes dos 85 anos.

I was thinking about how employers should be applying this concept

Xa que seguimos a traballar cada vez máis, ata a velleira,

of reasonable adjustments in our current age,

where one in two Australian men and women

as posibilidades de ter doenzas graves en idade de traballar aumentan.

will be diagnosed with cancer by the age of 85.

E coa tecnoloxía, que nos permite traballar en calquera lugar e momento,

So, as we continue to work longer and longer into older age,

os axustes razoables xa non dependen

the chances of having a serious illness while we're in the workforce

de se podes ou non podes seguir indo á oficina fisicamente.

are increasing.

And with technology enabling us to work anywhere, any time,

O dos axustes razoables tampouco se trata

reasonable adjustments are no longer contingent upon

de ofrecer un descanso máis longo ou unha cadeira máis cómoda para sentar,

whether or not you can continue to physically make it

aínda que iso tamén estaría ben.

into the physical office.

Polo menos, debemos aplicar políticas de flexibilidade e estratexias

Reasonable adjustments are also not about

just offering a longer break or a comfier chair to sit in,

que xa desenvolvemos para outros casos,

como para as persoas con responsabilidades familiares.

although those things might be good, too.

Mais como podemos garantir que a xente fale

At the very least,

we need to be applying the flexibility policies and strategies

sobre axustes razoables

we've developed for other scenarios,

like for people with family responsibilities.

se a primeira resposta dun xerente é

«ai!, non, non volvas ao traballo ata que te atopes mellor»?

But how can we ensure that people are even having a conversation

Entón, tiven unha idea.

about what reasonable adjustments might look like for them

Debe ser obrigatorio que os xerentes teñan estas conversas cos traballadores.

if a manager's first response is to say,

"Oh no, don't come back to work until you're better."

E precisamos que leccións de persoas coma min,

que se beneficiaron de traballar durante o tratamento,

And a light went on for me.

It must be compulsory for managers

se compartan máis amplamente.

to have to have these conversations with their employees.

Pensei no que se podería facer para guiar estas conversas

And lessons from people like me,

e unha marabillosa compañeira, Camilla Gunn,

that have really benefited from working through treatment,

creou un manual chamado Traballar co cancro.

need to be more widely shared.

Este manual proporciona un marco para que os diagnosticados,

And I thought about what could be done to guide these conversations,

os seus xerentes, coidadores e compañeiros de traballo

and then an amazing colleague of mine, Camilla Gunn,

teñan conversas sobre o cancro e o apoio laboral dispoñible.

developed a "Working with Cancer" toolkit.

The toolkit provides a framework for those diagnosed,

Camilla e máis eu estivemos noutras organizacións

para falar sobre este manual e sobre como pode axudar a guiar

their managers, their carers and their coworkers

estas conversas que, doutro xeito, serían bastante incómodas.

to have conversations about cancer and the work support available.

E alédame dicir que o emprego deste manual está a aumentar.

Camilla and I have now been to other organizations

to talk about the toolkit

and how it can help to guide through

Entón, cal debería ser a primeira resposta dun xerente

what, quite frankly, are otherwise some pretty awkward conversations.

cando alguén di que está enfermo

e non sabe como esa doenza vai afectar ao seu traballo?

And I'm pleased to say that the uptake of the toolkit is increasing.

Debe ser esta:

«Na medida en que vostede sexa capaz e queira,

So what should be a manager's first response

when somebody says that they're sick

encantaríanos establecer axustes

para que poida seguir traballando durante o tratamento».

and they don't know how it's going to impact their work?

Precisamos involucrar positivamente as persoas con doenzas graves

It must be this:

"To the extent that you are able, and want to,

para que sigan traballando

en troques de afastalas de xeito paternalista.

we would love to work out an arrangement for you

to continue to work through treatment."

Conteilles a miña historia porque quero que coñezan os beneficios

We need to start positively engaging people with serious illness

que me aportou traballar durante o tratamento.

to keep them in the workforce,

E tamén para que cambien a súa percepción

rather than paternalistically pushing them away.

se pensan que quen está a pasar por un tratamento

é alguén aburrido, fráxil e que trousa sen parar.

I've told you my story because I want you to know the benefits

Si, esas cousas pasaron nalgún momento,

that working through treatment brought me.

And I also want to change your perceptions

quizais durante moito tempo,

if you think that somebody going through treatment

pero tamén estaba decidida a esforzarme no traballo

is just bored, frail and vomiting a lot.

como fixera sempre.

E puiden facelo porque o meu xefe me deu esa opción.

And yes, these things were true some of the time,

if not a lot of the time,

E, sobre todo, cóntollelo

but I was also determined to push myself at work

porque, aínda que é unha opción aparentemente obvia,

as much as I had always done.

And I was able to do that because my employer gave me the choice.

non sempre se ofrece nin se fomenta.

E debería.

Most importantly, I'm telling you

Grazas.

[Aplausos]

because while it's a seemingly obvious choice to give someone,

it's not one that is always offered or encouraged.

And it must be.

Thank you.

(Applause)