On August 2nd, we held our Balancing Work and Cancer webinar. During the 1-hour session, Scott Sinclair, Senior Manager of Programs at Cancer and Careers, walked us through ways to manage work after a cancer diagnosis. The presentation discussed key practical considerations for balancing work and cancer treatment/recovery, such as deciding whether to work/return to work after treatment, managing disclosure decisions, looking for work strategies, and much more.
Scott kicked off the conversation discussing what we call here at CAC the Diagnosis/Work dilemma (treatment, strategic, emotional, and practical choices), which to me, underscores the complexities of making difficult decisions about work after a cancer diagnosis. He suggested taking a step back to look at the big picture, thinking through all the pieces and starting to answer some of the questions that come up one by one. He emphasized that two key questions to consider are:
- How important is work to you personally?
- And what information do you actually need to make good decisions about work?
Other questions that may arise can relate to financial and insurance needs, personal obligations, and identity. This approach of taking a step back and assessing the bigger picture when making a complex decision, such as whether to keep working or returning to work shortly after treatment, resonates with me – I think that dissecting the puzzle piece by piece and looking at questions as they arise feels like a practical roadmap and makes the process less overwhelming.
Scott also discussed that gathering medical and treatment, work and legal information can help guide the decision-making process. I encourage you to watch the webinar recording to delve into each one of these “buckets” of information and learn how they may impact your decisions about how best to balance work and cancer.
The resources below can be beneficial for those balancing work and cancer – check them out! Cancer patients and survivors looking for work may also benefit from our Ask a Career Coach and our free Resume Review Service, which offers personalized resume feedback from one of our professional career coaches. If you have any questions and/or would like to discuss any work-related concerns, reach out to us at cancerandcareers@cew.org
We hope you can join us for a two sessions on communicating effectively on September 13th, and October 4th.
Balancing Work & Cancer Resources: