After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Tara Cernacek wanted to keep working for a "sense of normalcy", and she isn't alone. According to a survey by Harris Poll and Cancer and Careers, nearly three out of four cancer patients want to stay with their jobs and feel that work helps with recovery.

But that doesn't mean it's easy. Rebecca Nellis, chief mission officer of Cancer and Careers, says "Cancer becomes a mortality crisis that becomes an identity crisis that becomes a financial crisis."

Cernacek's company eventually downsized and she, among other workers, were laid off. This left her searching for a job while she was looking ill. She tried temporary work at home, but it didn't pay much money. She turned to Cancer and Careers for help from a career coach to re-craft her resume and deal with questions about the gap on her resume — and eventually found a new job.

"Work was a saving grace for me," Cernacek says. "It got me out of thinking about being sick. It made me feel productive. And it gave me the money for treatments."

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