Will I Be Able to Work During Cancer Treatment?

If you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, it’s normal to wonder how treatment — including chemotherapy side effects — might affect your ability to work. The answer looks different for everyone. It depends on factors such as the type and stage of cancer, the treatment you need, your overall health and the demands of your job.

Some people are able to keep working much as they did before, while others may need workplace accommodations or temporary changes to their responsibilities. For some, cutting back on hours or taking time away from work becomes necessary.

Working With Cancer

The side effects of radiation, chemotherapy and other cancer treatments can affect your ability to work. Plus, you may need to take certain precautions in the workplace.

• Chemotherapy: If you’re working while in chemo, side effects that can impact your job performance include fatigue, brain fog and nausea. You may need to take precautions when using the toilet to reduce any coworkers’ exposure to toxic waste.  
• Radiation therapy: Side effects of radiation can include fatigue and skin changes like redness, irritation and itching. With some types of radiation therapy, you may need to keep away from other people, especially pregnant women and children.
• Other treatments: You may need to have the same safety precautions with targeted therapy, immunotherapy or hormone therapy that you do with chemotherapy. And these treatments can also cause side effects that make it harder for you to work.

How to Manage Work With Cancer

These strategies can help you stay on top of your work responsibilities as much as possible when you’re in treatment for cancer.

• Ask for help: If you don’t have the time or energy to do everything you need to, ask coworkers if they can help or ask your supervisor if they can reassign some of your duties temporarily.
• Communicate with your supervisor: What you’re able to do and the support you need will change based on your treatments. Some treatments may hit you harder, while others may have fewer side effects. Keep your supervisor informed about how you’re doing and how well you’re able to manage your work.
• Get help at home: When you don’t have as many household responsibilities to manage, you’ll have more energy for work. Ask your partner for support with chores you normally handle and see if your family and friends can help. You may want to hire help for childcare or housecleaning and have groceries or meals delivered.  
• Make a list of your job responsibilities: Ideally, create this list ahead of time and make sure other people can manage these tasks if you can’t work.
• Plan your treatments: If possible, try to have treatments later in the day or right before the weekend. That way, you have more time to rest and recover before work.  
• Request accommodations: Talk to someone in Human Resources about what’s available for you. Even something as simple as a desk closer to the bathroom could be helpful.
• Try to build some flexibility into your schedule: It may be best for you to work for shorter stretches of time, with more breaks. If possible, working at home can give you more control, so you can work when you feel up to it and rest when you need to.
• Talk to your Sutter cancer patient navigator: Patient navigatorsCancer Patient Navigators at Sutter provide support with guidance, education and case management. They can help you find resources and request accommodations if you need them.

What If You Can’t Work?

Depending on your job, you may qualify for short-term or long-term disability insurance benefits. Talk to your company’s human resources office about your coverage and options.