Hello,

Thanks for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear that in addition to your re-diagnosis, you’ve had added stress around your work situation. 

Many patients and survivors struggle with memory and concentration issues (also known as “chemo brain”) during and after treatment, which can cause major stress and frustration at work. Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to minimize the impact. I would recommend reading this article about working with chemo brain for useful tips: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/where-to-start/managing-treatment-side-effects/working-with-chemo-brain. 

It might be beneficial to review your company’s leave policies (many times this can be found in your company’s HR handbook/guide). It’s possible the handbook might outline additional leave benefits (flex-time, job-sharing, telecommuting, etc.) outside of standard sick/vacation time/paid-time off. It’s possible that you might be eligible for the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which allows employees with serious medical conditions to receive up to 12 weeks unpaid leave per year and can be used all at once or in increments as short as a few hours at a time. Leave under the FMLA is job-protected and health insurance protected, meaning that you can’t be fired while taking it. There are some eligibility requirements though, which you must meet to qualify. For more on the specifics of the FMLA, I would read one of our recent blog posts: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/blog/what-is-fmla-leave-and-how-do

Your employer may also be required to provide reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), but there are also some eligibility requirements tied to this law as well. Your employer must be a private or state/local government employer with 15 or more employees. Reasonable accommodations are adjustments in the workplace that help employees stay-on-the-job, these may include things like a modified work schedule such as telecommuting or flex time (working the same number of hours but distributed differently over the course of a week) or changes to your workspace or access to technology. There are also state fair employment laws that might be helpful to consider. Some states’ laws protect individuals working for employers with fewer than 15 employees. Our partner, Triage Cancer, has a Quick Guide to Cancer-Related Laws by State available at http://triagecancer.org/resources/quickguides.

The following resources might be helpful as well:

• Managing Your Treatment Side Effects: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/where-to-start/managing-treatment-side-effects/work-and-your-treatment
  


• Working Through Treatment Webinar:https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/webinar-treatment
  

• Occupational Therapy and Vocational Rehab webinar: webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/occvoc
  

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at cancerandcareers@cew.org or 646-929-8032.

Kind regards,

Nicole Franklin, MPH

Senior Manager of Programs

Cancer and Careers