Work and cancer: Young patients struggle with fatigue, identity and self-doubt

Your 20s to 40s is generally when you're laying the foundations of your career, climbing the corporate ladder and figuring out your professional path. It's also when you're expected to give 110% and make your mark in the workplace.

But how does a person with cancer navigate this busy and challenging time of life?

Three young National Cancer Centre Singapore (NCCS) patients share how their cancer journey has impacted their jobs, for better or worse.

Learning to let go of perfection

Deborah had to learn to let go of perfection during her cancer journey. (Credit: Deborah Seah)

Early this year, 43-year-old Deborah Seah was hard at work as the only administrative staff in the IT department at Duke-NUS Medical School. She was busy handling budgets, procurement and everything in between, but as a self-professed "workaholic", she relished the challenge.

This changed when she was diagnosed with Stage 1 triple-positive breast cancer in July 2025, after a routine mammogram. Triple-positive breast cancer is a subtype of breast cancer that requires a combination of hormone therapy and targeted drugs, in addition to surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy, for the best possible outcome.

As such, Deborah went through a lumpectomy, chemotherapy concurrent with targeted therapy, followed by radiation therapy. Targeted therapy is ongoing and she will begin hormone therapy in January 2026. Despite this, she did not take time fully off work other than three weeks after surgery and on treatment days, as she wanted to concentrate on something other than cancer. 

To concentrate on something other than cancer, Deborah did not take time fully off work as she underwent treatment. (Credit: Deborah Seah)

The once-a-week, 12-weekly chemotherapy course was the toughest. The weekend leading up to treatment caused her anxiety, and the chemotherapy caused extreme fatigue, made her feel uncomfortably warm, triggered bad rashes and other distressing side-effects. But the worst was how it affected her thought process.

"The brain fog from chemotherapy was scary because I could not remember things like I could before. I had to work at a slower pace and think through everything very carefully."

Clearing her mailbox and completing tasks at work felt exhausting. But what she found the hardest was realising when she had forgotten something or made a minor mistake, which took a toll on her mental and emotional health.

"I am luckier than most, as my boss was very understanding and flexible about my work arrangements and even excused me from long meetings. Some work was delegated to other team members, who kindly helped to cover my duty. But I didn’t feel comfortable accepting help or inconveniencing my colleagues."

As a young patient, Deborah was enrolled in NCCS's Adolescent and Young Adult Oncology (AYAO) programme, which pairs patients with a navigator who provides support, information and coordinates appointments to help with issues such as fertility, treatment-related complications and mental health. For Deborah, AYAO helped refer her to a TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) practitioner to manage the side effects of chemotherapy and they arranged rehabilitation sessions for her to rebuild her physical strength.

Ultimately, Deborah spoke with her supervisor and team and shared that she needed help to double-check her work. They willingly did it without judgement. This helped her continue to work and stay connected to her support system.

"I'm passionate about my work and needed to be meaningfully engaged. But I had to learn that being engaged didn't mean struggling to do everything by myself."

A workaholic striving for balance

Lymphoma patient, Scott is trying to find the right balance in work and life. (Credit: Scott Wei Jie)

At 36 years old, Scott Wei Jie was making a name for himself in the world of offshore private banking. His exceptional drive and work ethic helped him work his way up from an ITE diploma to a competitive career in finance. But success came at a price as Scott faced enormous amounts of stress at work.

In January 2024, he noticed that his eyes kept watering and experienced a heaviness behind them. When he went for a check-up, tests showed that he had stage 4 lymphoma.

The diagnosis came as a complete shock to Scott, who took hospitalisation leave to undergo four rounds of rituximab treatment, a type of targeted therapy. It took a physical toll and Scott had to rest in bed for days to recover after treatment sessions. The stress from the situation also contributed to the end of his relationship with his partner of three years. Feeling depressed, he sought help from his oncologist Dr Eileen Poon, who is also the head of the AYAO programme at NCCS. She referred him for counselling which he continues to today.

In November 2024, Scott was ready to return to work, but life felt very different. Having spent time travelling with his family and learning Korean, he decided he should take things easier at work. His workplace was supportive about him taking on a more backend role that would be less taxing. However, he found that he missed the excitement from his old job.

"Initially I wanted to take a chill pill, but I realise that I still have a lot of fight left in me!"

Scott is still deciding whether he'd like more responsibility at work or if he's happy where he is.

"I'm still finding my balance and don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. It's about finding that middle ground, not just swinging from one extreme to the other," admitted Scott.

A single mother's determination

Single mother Dayana prepared to return to work while undergoing cancer treatment. (Credit: Dayana Alhady)

In 2024, when 39-year-old Dayana Alhadypreparing her finally got the lump in her right breast that she had for years checked by a doctor, she was not prepared for the diagnosis: Stage 3 breast cancer and lymphoma. To treat it, she had to undergo a mastectomy of her right breast, chemotherapy and is on lifelong targeted therapy to manage recurrence and the lymphoma.

But as a single mother with a teenage daughter, Dayana faced the harsh reality that she could not afford to just focus on her recovery. Financial constraints meant she had to think about returning to work while undergoing treatment. After she underwent a mastectomy in October 2024, Dayana joined the AYAO programme, where she was referred to a counsellor who helped her to apply for financial assistance and support with her monthly expenses.

When Dayana was nearing the end of the course of 16 rounds of chemotherapy, she started preparing her resume and took online training courses to brush up on interview skills. She had to explain to the trainers why she had no hair, as she was undergoing chemotherapy which had caused it to fall out.

"I was super weak, but I had to gear up to go back to work," shared Dayana. "Two to three days after a chemo round, I'd feel exhausted but force myself to work on my CV."

Dayana had a strong resume, she had worked for 12 years as an environmental public health officer managing a variety of portfolios, including food hygiene and waste management in high-traffic areas like Orchard and Little India. She soon found a supervisory position in a cleaning company.

However, while the bosses at the company were supportive, she experienced bullying from co-workers who picked on her for having cancer. Traumatised, she resigned from the position.

Fortunately, the same day she resigned, a major international hotel chain called to offer her a role as a hygiene officer. In her current role, Dayana has the responsibility of checking on food safety and cleanliness at the hotel. But it has not been easy.

"At work, cancer is not part of the picture, and I act as though I'm fine. Half the people think my lack of hair is a style choice! But every night when I get home, I am exhausted,” confessed Dayana.

Today, Dayana is still undergoing treatment with targeted therapy and looks forward to travelling in the future.

"I try to keep moving one step at a time.  It's never over, you only fail when you give up!"

Find your support

Deborah, Scott and Dayana's experiences all share a common thread, that there isn’t a "right way" to navigate work and cancer. The path they took depended on their circumstances, what felt right for them and their support networks.

Support networks, whether they are family members, friends or colleagues, make a big difference in alleviating the pressure faced during the cancer journey. Equally important are resources available through programmes like the AYAO Programme at NCCS, which provides tailored support for young adults navigating cancer alongside work, relationships and life goals.

For information on support groups available at NCCS, visit: Support Groups and Programmes | National Cancer Centre Singapore