Arif Khan's Blog

Week 8: Work Experience

Thought id post on here to let everyone know i'm still plodding along. Still surprises me how people still read this blog, but its a good way to check up on me, and i'm glad they do!

Things have been good since the last post. Last time the post-treatment checks were at the forefront of my mind but now the meeting with my consultant seems a long time ago - and the scans in June a long way off. Managed to have two long overdue reunions last week, the first was at the Peninsula with guys i worked with at Cerebrus, the second was for Dim Sum with the Searchspace lot - although on both occassions it was just 4 of us - but definately worthwhile!

Had some informal feedback from my manager today at work as part of the annual review process - he mentioned a couple of areas to improve on and also had some very nice things to say about work ive been doing lately - although we both talked about how its a bit odd with the 6 month break. Good signs though, he's my line manager and he had far more positive to say than negative - so im happy!

Thursday i meet OH again - i'm pretty sure i'll be going back up to 5 days a week from next week - that will be good - it means my pay should be back to full if nothing else, as last couple months it has dropped a bit as i passed the 6 months landmark.

5 days a week again will be another checkpoint to tick off on the return back to something like 'normality' on the work front at least.

Return to work: 6 Weeks On

The past 6 weeks have both flown by and gone slowly. It seems a lifetime ago when i was starting back at work post treatment and worrying about how that would all go. A lot has happened during that time and a i feel very different both physically & mentally than i did at the start.

Things have gradually increased workload wise yet its been pretty much the perfect mix of not being too much yet at the same time not being too little. Initially when i started back i was given a lot of help, then slowly more responsibility was moved to me, and then the guy i work with was off for almost 2 weeks - pushing me to the forefront - that was a good step!

Last week was probably the most productive of my time here and then this week has also been very good. Its not been as busy workwise but ive been working longer hours and also been fully involved in the new project we are starting.

The project will have myself and james dedicated to this one project for the whole rest of the year - and the scope of it is huge too. Its a chance to start from a clean slate almost and get my teeth stuck in to something major. The project manager is new to the area too so its a fresh new team in ways.

I'm on 4 day weeks currently - next week i'll do the same - but i'm considering moving to the full 5 days a week a bit earlier than planned before as its getting to the point where the day off is disrupting the flow of work .. the fact i get paid a bit less for each day i take off may also be a factor!

3 Month Post-Treatment Check

I met with my consultant on Monday. Have gave me a check over - said all seemed fine and then scheduled a CT scan for June.

One interesting part was him asking me if i had been blogging on the internet!! I remembered how i had mentioned his name a few times on this blog and how it gets picked up on Google searches - quite funny!

I got some good information on the post-chemo follow up.

Checks will be every 3 months.. then move to 6 monthly.. then finally annually - i'll be seeing him for.. the next FIVE YEARS!

To me that is quite a big deal - in terms of putting something behind you and being sure its gone and not having to worry about it again that 5 year time scale is a big issue with all of those things.

Well, good news that i seem to still be clear though - guess we'll know more in June.

3 Month Post-Treatment Review

This Monday i have an appointment with my consultant, Dr A. It will be the first time i'm seeing him since my last PET result.

The last PET result was not 100% clean and there was still some lingering thoughts in his mind and he did say that they'd 'keep an eye' on me.

Since then ive not seen any evidence of the lymphoma returning so i am hopeful it will be a quick check up. What will be interesting will be if he will ask for another CT scan or PET/CT scan - or if just a physical examination will be sufficient.

Another thing i want to clarify with him is how long they will be monitoring me in the years to come.

I'm working from home in the morning on Monday and hope to go in to the hospital around 2pm ish then log back in to work after that.

Occupational Health: 4 Week Review

Popped in to occupational health on Thursday this week (Thursday 3rd April) for a catch up on how things are going.

I was told i am looking very well - which is one of the few benefits of having had cancer, you get told that a lot which is nice - and asked how ive been feeling and what hours im currently on and plans for the future weeks. It was decided that its not time to move on to 5 days a week yet. The plan is to stick for 4 days a week for the next 3 weeks, but up the hours to be from 9:30am to 5pm.

In terms of hours now its getting to the point where i end up staying until ive finished what i need to finish - so the end cut off day time is pretty meaningless to me - as ive often stayed past the 4pm / 4:30pm time ive been working to. The start time in the morning is crucial though.

Just getting in 30 mins earlier requires a fair bit more effort and stress and means the transport system will be that much bussier so it may be a stand all the way to work job. That does present different challenges.

From this week [starting 7th April] i'll be starting at 9:30am so will be travelling during peak time again. That is going to cost more as well as being more busy - but should be fine. Still having a day off is a nice thing to have - especially with it being Wednesday!

Intensive Week - 31st March -> 4th April

This was the busiest week ive had for a while - and it was off the back off a very busy weekend.

Monday was the one day i got to relax to some extent. At work these days i stay now till about 5 / 5:30pm. Tuesday evening i was out in London and met up for a meal with a family group who had just been to see a play in the west end - i think we went in to the restaurant about 10pm and it was well past 1am before i got home.

The next day - Wednesday - early start again, now i did have the day off work and it was pretty much a day of leisure and socialising BUT still meant that i was very busy all day. Went from the London Eye to cafes, to boats, to work offices, to Waterstones, to Burger King to home! Got home about 11pm.

Thursday had an earlier start than normal as i met with occupational health [more on that later] and then after work we had a team evening out. The timing of it could not have been worse as i had a lot of things i needed to do this week and seemed to have zero evenings free! One of the ladies in our team was leaving and also it was an overdue team outing that had been talked about for a while. It started off at a bar called the patonoster, but ended up in Nandos London bridge [can you see my influence at all?] and overall was a good evening although i was knackered! The journey home was not good as the Jubilee line was suspended due to some electrical problem - got home at midnight.

Friday - this Friday was probably the busiest day for me at work since joining the investment bank i work for! Got a lot done though. The guy im currently working with on projects - James - was back from Holiday on Thursday and there were quite a few items i needed his help with. We were able to crank through all the open issues in the space of a few hours - and then i was able to do some coding too and set everything up for some senior business people to login and check out. All went smoothly and i was at work till 5:45pm - which is quite late compared to current schedules!

It was basically a full week for me and i feel fine today, which is good! I did have a lie in but have a big presentation to give on Sunday at the mosque during a regional even - approximately 30mins - so busy today with preparing that. Ive been working on it during the week by taking my laptop to and from work and doing bits on the train [i know you'll probably read this rash - so that part is for you - talk about committment eh?]. If it goes well i may even get a snippet of the presentation online.. if thats allowed.. should be fine.

I am looking forward to doing the presentation - its an important skill to be able to present and its been a while since i've last done one - so looking forward to it. Also im sure there will be plenty of people who i've not seen for a while and who may have heard ive been unwell, so getting up on stage and running this presentation - which is listed as one of the highlights of the programme for tomorrow - is a great opportunity and a bit of a statement announcing i'm back on the scene in ways!