Navigating Complexities of Work-life Balance
This Blog post represents a partnership between the Women in Medicine Summit and Healio Women in Oncology. An excerpt appears blow, and please find the full length piece at Healio’s Women in Oncology Blog
It was a cold Thursday night in November — the night of Thanksgiving 2022.
The driver opened the trunk, put my suitcase in and I got into the car. We were on our way to John F. Kennedy airport, about 2 hours away. I was going to take the longest flight of my life — 15 hours to South Korea. I was leaving on a Thursday night after having said goodbye to my family after our Thanksgiving dinner and planned to arrive Saturday morning in Seoul. Work-life balance felt very off kilter to me as I rode away.
‘Mom guilt’
In the days leading up to this trip, when people would ask me about my Thanksgiving plans, I would consistently get the surprised look and they would say, “You are going to Korea?” Followed by, “You are so amazing, I don’t know how you do it.” or “Are you excited?”
The truth was that as I was on my way to the airport, I felt anything but amazing or excited. I kept asking myself what I was doing and is this really how I should be spending my holiday weekend. I am the mom of a 9-year-old boy, a breast medical oncologist, chief of breast medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center and president of the International Society of Multinational Association of Cancer in Supportive Care (MASCC).
The Korean Cancer Supportive Society had recently joined as an affiliate to MASCC, and as president, I had the opportunity to travel to South Korea to give a plenary talk and officially celebrate the collaboration between the societies. Because American Thanksgiving is clearly not a global holiday, the festivities fell during our holiday weekend.
By the time I arrived at the airport, I had allowed mom guilt to saturate me thoroughly and it was time to deal with the practicalities of international travel and get through the airport to my gate. It was the first time I was flying business class, and I began to relax in the comfort of the Korean Air lounge. I was tired and anxious but was also beginning to feel the inklings of excitement over the wonderful privilege and opportunity that this was.
About the author: Maryam Lustberg, MD, MPH, is director of The Breast Center at Smilow Cancer
Hospital and chief of breast medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center.
