It can be daunting to contemplate a return to work after a cancer diagnosis.
There’s the physical and emotional toll of the illness, coupled with the fear of being unable to perform at the same level.
As a cancer survivor, you may face issues such as fatigue, changes in cognitive abilities, anxiety, and the need for more flexibility in your role.
Additionally, your work environment may have changed during your absence, which adds another layer of complexity.
For these reasons, structured support can be invaluable in helping you rebuild your professional lives with confidence and resilience.
Laure Goubau is a certified executive coach. Her professional work involves helping people cope with and solve a panoply of work-related problems.
Between 2017 and 2018, Laure underwent cancer treatments that kept her away from her career as a professional development director. After struggling to find her footing when she reentered the workforce, Laure worked with a coach to regain confidence and to rediscover herself as a leader.
The experience was so powerful that she decided to become a certified executive coach in order to become more skilled in her line of work.
“I got into coaching because I benefited from it at a really important time in my life,” says Laure. “I also always wanted to be involved with cancer patients, so offering group coaching for those who are returning to work seemed evident to me.”
With that intention, she will facilitate a six-week online workshop of weekly two-hour sessions for small groups of eight participants.
What happens during the workshop
The workshop is part of the Hope & Cope initiatives that benefit cancer survivors. The objective is not to offer therapy but to empower attendants to formulate back-to-work strategies in a safe and supportive environment.
“To help participants determine the practices that best serve them on their return to work, the program includes coaching questions, group sharing, self-reflection exercises, goal setting, and even a bit of visualization,“explains Laure.
The experience of going back to work may be different for everyone, however the workshop deals with common concerns that affect everyone:
- feelings of apprehension, vulnerability and guilt
- stress when feeling pressured to perform, whether the pressure is felt as internal or external
- respecting one’s physical limitations such as diminished energy and brain fog
- being transparent with colleagues about those limitations
- setting realistic expectations of oneself and learning to communicate that to others.
Throughout the sessions, the participants are helped to develop self-awareness, recognize the challenges of diminished energy, to evaluate, reassess and establish realistic goals. They also reflect on overall health and self-care.
Another important aspect of the group is encouraging connections between the members. This is facilitated, for example, by one-on-one sharing between individuals during the online workshops.
In getting to know each other, participants may more deeply explore what fears hinder them or what goals they wish to set and are excited about.
The conversations that occur and the cohesiveness of the group are a powerful way for individuals to feel supported through the difficult transition of going back to work.
“When you go back to work, you move from primarily focusing on healing yourself and being cared for by others,” says Laure, “to once again picking up the reins of your life and assuming increased responsibilities.”
Through attending the workshops participants may expect to come away with a sense of increased introspection and self-awareness, heightened courage and self-assurance to face new life challenges.
Laure has successfully run these workshops in another hospital and is looking forward to running a set of workshops for Hope & Cope.
“My greatest satisfaction is seeing people I’ve coached regain their autonomy and leadership skills,” Laure concludes.
The “Going back to work after cancer” workshops will begin on Monday, October 21, and run once a week for six weeks to November 25th. Space is limited to 8 people on first-come first served basis.
