“In the car on the way to the hospital I came up with all kinds of scenarios: from an operation to cut out the nodule, a mastectomy, breast cancer. The latter would be the worst scenario,” says Jorieke. Her mother died of cancer when Jorieke was 14. Other family members have also died of cancer.
Unfortunately, the worst-case scenario turned out to be true. “I came into the surgeon’s room and he immediately said, ‘The results show you have breast cancer.’ I sat in my chair for one second, he himself was still standing. Later a nurse asked if I wanted to have children, because chemotherapy can make you infertile. I was in shock. Like turning off the switch of a lamp: complete noise in my head and my body.”
‘Every day in the hospital’
Jorieke turns out to be a carrier of the BRCA1 gene and has a hereditary predisposition to breast and ovarian cancer. All sorts of investigations were urgently carried out. A treatment plan was drawn up in which a fertility program was started immediately, and the first course of chemotherapy started a few weeks later.
“When I think back to six months ago, it has passed in a blur, a rollercoaster of emotions. Where I normally went to work every day, now I was suddenly in the hospital every day.”
‘We’ll solve it here’
After the results, she immediately called her colleagues. He responded very understandingly. “My colleagues said: we’ll solve it here, you just do what you need now.” Most of all, she needed space to process the message and tell friends and family. And time, for all the investigations and the trajectory that started immediately.
Her employer, the implementation organization Werk en Inkomen Lekstroom, left her alone for a while. “There were telephone calls, but they mainly asked what I needed. The peace they gave me absolutely helped in that first intense and uncertain phase.
Jorieke is a work coach at the municipality of Houten. She guides people on social assistance to find a job, if possible. She first did the work on a secondment basis for a few months. After eight months, she was given a one-year contract, which expires in November.
“I did not expect that my contract would be converted to a contract for an indefinite period. Not while I am still so ill,” says Jorieke. “My treatment will take a while. I really appreciate the fact that my employer dares to give me a contract for an indefinite period of time.”
Stress about money decreases
Not only is it a token of appreciation that she’s doing a good job, but it takes an incredible amount of stress away. “I am alone and live in a rented house. My fixed costs are quite high, I have a car. I can afford that with my job, but if I get sick and have to hand in part of my salary, then it will be very tight.”
She also didn’t want to lose her job. “When I hopefully start reintegrating again soon, it’s nice that I can do that with colleagues who know my situation, who are involved and who understand. I have to learn new things, such as setting my boundaries well. That’s easy with people with whom I feel comfortable.”
Jorieke stared for a long time at the letter that said ‘indefinitely’. “It gives such a boost. I also believe that it has a positive effect on my healing process. It takes a lot of stress away. I can stay in my house, with my friends around, and my income will remain the same for the time being. I I will soon be able to focus on my recovery, without stress about work.”
‘Work is part of your identity’
“Jorieke’s story is very positive and great employership. It is not something that many other cancer patients experience,” says Dr. Margot Joosen of Tilburg University. At Tranzo, a scientific center for care and well-being, she led and supervised various studies into cancer and work.
“Work is an important part of our lives. Not only to earn money, we also derive our self-esteem from it. It is a place where you develop yourself, it is part of your identity,” says Joosen. When you are ill, a lot is suddenly lost: your health, hobbies, sports. “And your work. For a moment you are just ‘that patient’. At a certain point it is nice to shift the focus again and – on your terms – get back to work.”
According to Joosen, the role of the employer is extremely important in this regard. “Many employers respond after someone has been told that he or she has cancer with ‘stay at home’ and then say nothing more. That can be nice, but it is even better if they ask: what do you think of need us? What do you need?”
“We see that employers fill in a lot for the sick employee,” says Joosen. “While a large part of the patients who are doing well also get energy from working in a nice team and feel valued again.”
Lots of extra costs
According to Joosen, cancer patients regularly lose their jobs and the self-employed lose clients if they have cancer. “While it saves a lot of stress if the finances remain the same. Twenty percent of cancer patients will have a hard time financially. The treatment is then reimbursed, but there are often travel and accommodation costs or higher energy costs because the heating is higher.”
According to Joosen, work during or after illness is not only important for self-esteem, but also for money. “I would like to say to employers: look at what is important for an employee with cancer and make them feel heard and recognized. Then you have an employee who is motivated and enjoys going to work.”