Responding to employment concerns of cancer survivors

The report on cancer survivorship recently released by the Institute of Medicine called on providers to become familiar with the employment rights of survivors, to offer them information about employment rights and programs, and to help minimize the adverse effects of cancer on employment. This review is designed to help providers respond to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations by describing relevant employment and health insurance protections, nationally accessible services and information sources for survivors, functional limitations that may affect survivors' work, and a variety of rehabilitation services that may be helpful for survivors with disabling residual effects of cancer and its treatment. It also suggests directions for further efforts on the part of public and private cancer organizations, researchers, and clinicians to address the employment concerns of survivors.