Hi Elizabeth,

Thank you for writing to us- it sounds like you have really been through a lot. You’re definitely doing the right thing by critically assessing your situation, weighing your options and figuring out your best course of action. Questions about managing your treatment side effects and workload are ones we hear often from our community.  Although each person’s work situation and treatment demands are different, please know you aren’t alone in needing to figure out your own best path forward.

If you want to stay at your office-based job, modifying your schedule as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA (or a similar state law) or using the FMLA to either create a more flexible schedule or to take time off to rest could be a potential option (you may have already tapped into one or both but we want to make sure you are covering all your bases). Perhaps working remotely at your existing job could be considered a reasonable accommodation given your current circumstances?

Also, you might consider whether your physical work space could be changed/adjusted or if there are other practical solutions that might help. If you end up doing a lot of tasks outside of your job description (most of us pick up all kinds of extra things), would it be possible to scale back on some of those and/or delegate them?

A great resource for getting ideas about accommodations is www.askjan.org. It’s important to remember that reasonable accommodations are not one size fits all and will depend on a number of factors. Please note that the ADA applies to eligible job applicants and employees of a private employer with fifteen or more employees, or a state or local government of any size. Some states’ laws protect individuals working for employers with fewer than 15 employees. One of our partner organizations, Triage Cancer, has an excellent Quick Guide to Cancer-Related Laws by State available at http://triagecancer.org/resources/quickguides.

If you’re considering a remote position, I would recommend checking out FlexJobs (https://www.flexjobs.com/). It’s a useful resource to learn about flexible/remote jobs and the companies that are hiring for them. They also have a very robust job board that is fully vetted and focused on those types of roles. It is membership-based, but you can explore everything before you commit. If you decide to join you can enter the code CANCER when you check out to receive a 50% discount.

I've sent your question to our career coaches for their insight, but in the meantime, I would suggest checking out the following resources:

• Working Through Treatment Webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/2017-webinar-treatment
  

• Article on Requesting Reasonable Accommodations: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/legal-and-financial/Requesting-reasonable-accommodations
  

• Managing Your Treatment Side Effects: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/where-to-start/Managing-Treatment-Side-Effects
  

I hope this is helpful. 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

Manager of Programs 

Cancer and Careers