- Hi, my name is Keyosha Gaines with Nashville General Hospital.

On today's "For Your Good Health," we're going to talk about going back to work after cancer treatment.

(gentle music) Our goal when you undergo cancer is definitely to restore you as close as we can back to before when you had the cancer, so that may mean returning back to work.

And returning back to work can look different for every individual that has undergone cancer treatment.

When can I return back to work?

What should I expect when I go back to work?

These are all conversations you need to have with your oncology team.

We need to know, what was your job?

What did you do?

Did you do a lot of heavy lifting?

You may find that you're not able to lift like you used to be so you may need accommodations from your employee on lifting, on sitting, standing, things of that nature.

So you may need a transition period before going back to work because of underlying treatments that you had.

So that can look like a hybrid work schedule, if your facility offers that.

That can look like less hours a week.

That can also look like a shared job with another employee, if that's available.

Side effects can linger months past treatment so it's important, again, to talk to your care team about these side effects and how they can affect your work.

Fatigue is generally one of the major side effects that we see.

You do have rights and your employee has to respect your rights.

Your cancer journey is what it is.

It is your journey.

So it is on you if you would like to be more sharing with your cancer journey.

If you do not, that is okay.

As long as your employer's aware that you had cancer, that's all you need to share about your journey.

As a cancer survivor, you do have a right for FMLA, which is Family Medical Leave Act, which gives you up to 12 weeks off of work.

If you're having a problem at your workplace in relation to you having been a cancer survivor, definitely let your oncology team know 'cause there are some resources we can direct you in.

So I just wanted to go over your lab results with you, okay?

Cancer is a major ordeal.

However, it should not stop your life.

We want to return you back to how you were prior to your treatment.

(gentle music)