If you are a woman who has been diagnosed with cancer, you are probably more concerned about getting well than you are about your career.  However, keeping your job and earning a living during cancer treatment remains a reality and like many Americans, you may not be able to stop working during treatment.

Ideally, if you can manage to take time off from full-time work during treatment, you should try to arrange it.  Most employers offer some level of flexibility for workers who are dealing with a serious illness.  In addition to the stress of going to work during treatment, women are also dealing with issues of hair loss and decisions about whether to wear a cancer wig or cancer headscarf to the workplace.

Whether you can continue working will ultimately depend on a few key factors:

• Your age and overall health
• The stage of your cancer
• The type of work you do and the number of hours on the job

If your cancer is caught early enough, continuing to work may not be such a bad thing.  Rather than staying at home and dwelling on the current state of your health, going to work may actually keep you feeling productive and focused.  We all know how important it is to hold on to a strong mental attitude when fighting cancer, so if you’re feeling up to it and your doctor approves, you should continue to work.

While it may be a challenge at first to get up in the morning, put on a chemotherapy wig and go to work as if everything in life was normal, just being out in the world and performing routine tasks may make it treatment seem to go by faster.

Speak with your employer and let them know how you are feeling.  There are some federal and state laws in place that require employers to offer a flexible work schedule to meet your treatment needs, and now may be the time to take some of those vacation and personal days you’ve accrued.  If all you need is a less demanding schedule, then it may be possible to work part time or work from home during treatments.

If you plan to continue working, start shopping for cancer headscarves and/or cancer wigs well in advance of treatment.  Just knowing you can continue to look your best – even during hair loss – will help you maintain a positive attitude about going to work.