Hi Victoria,

Thanks for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear you’re feeling so drained from treatment, but you’re definitely doing the right thing by critically assessing your situation and tuning into what your mind/body are telling you. 

Since you’ve taken time off, you probably have a pretty good handle on the sick-leave and disability policies your company has in place as well as the rights you are entitled to under the law. If not, 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. You also 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, which 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 generally 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 check out this webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/healthcare-professionals/presentation-archive/2017edseriestakingtimeoff. Additionally, our Manager’s Kit is designed for you to give to your boss to help facilitate the conversation, and contains information on the need-to-know laws. Click here to download: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/publication_orders/new. 

Navigating the intricacies can be challenging when it comes to disability and is not an uncommon concern among cancer patients and survivors, but it’s important that you do a lot of research on the different kinds—private, state and federal programs—and what you may have access to. You’ll want to look at your options for all three. I recommend you check out the following resource for more info on filing for disability:

• http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/legal-and-financial/filing-for-disability

• http://triagecancer.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2017-Disability-Insurance-Quick-Guide.pdf

Another option for help working through treatment comes from the Americans with Disabilities Act, which may require your employer to provide reasonable accommodations but there are 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. Reasonable accommodations are not one size fits all and will depend on several factors. It’s always a good idea to speak with your medical team about what potential accommodations you might need, if you haven’t already. A great resource for getting ideas about accommodations is www.AskJAN.org, you can look up cancer and look up different types of jobs and see potential accommodations. 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. You can find more information on the FMLA and ADA here: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/legal-and-financial/cancer-and-the-ada-fmla 

We’d recommend you speak to an legal expert to help sort through your specific circumstances, including what you have access to. Some free/low-cost resources for that are the National Cancer Legal Services Network (http://www.nclsn.org/) and LawHelp.org.

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

Thank you for the above information. My employer ended up asking me to go out on disability for the duration of my treatment, which will last until October at least. However, as per the letter they sent me they will only hold my position until May 16, 2018.