There are small adjustments that could probably be made very easily to enable somebody to continue to work effectively.

I received support to return to work and actually, after what I've been through, it really felt liberating.

School were fantastic at supporting me with whatever I felt I could and couldn't do and that took a lot of pressure off me.

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For a lot of individuals work can be a very important part of their role and their identity, so therefore

remaining in contact with work or remaining in work during the treatment if possible can be very important as part of their recovery.

Individuals who have cancer or will have recovered from cancer are protected under the equality act,

therefore it's very important employers provide support and make reasonable adjustments

for these individuals as it is classed as a disability

I was first diagnosed with ovarian and womb cancer in 2011 and it was found that it came back in 2012

I wanted to come back just to get into a normal routine to do what I love doing and just feel that life was carrying on as normal.

Cancer is not a single disease and the treatment for cancer is enormously varied.

Once their treatment plan has been confirmed by healthcare professionals,

they can then have a conversation about what that looks like and how their needs at work might vary,

depending on the different stages of their treatment.

The expectation of the law is that adjustments will be made,

but not if it's excessively expensive and not if it would unduly disrupt the business.

So the word reasonable is important for employers and employees to acknowledge.

But there is an expectation that if it's reasonable, employers will make those adjustments.

My head of department visited me at home and asked me what I felt like doing and what my thoughts were.

And then just went away and arranged everything for me.

Helping someone return to work doesn't have to to cost an awful lot of money.

It could be looking at a special type of chair that might make it more comfortable if they're having some issues with fatigue or with pain.

It might be looking at having micro breaks in between their work so that they can get up and have a walkabout, have a stretch.

If there are any activities that are too strenuous, is there somebody else who could be doing that part of the job for them?

I didn't feel the pressure to go into a classroom because they took the teaching away from me

and let me do administrative tasks that didn't involve me having to stand up for an hour.

There was another teacher brought in to the school to cover some of my classes.

Colleagues certainly did pick up extra tasks for me but all I ever heard from them was 'how are you, are you feeling alright?'

Colleagues really lifted my spirits.

It's important for employers to embrace the equality act because if they don't,

potentially they can face very costly litigation claims and the employment tribunal, which if they have an understanding of the act

could be avoided quite easily by putting simple procedures and policies in place.

We had one situation with a gentleman who was terminally ill suffering from spinal cancer who needed an ergonomic chair,

which would have cost less than £1,000. He felt the employer wanted to get rid of him on grounds of disability.

We took the employer to an employment tribunal and he was awarded a substantial sum of money to compensate him.

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My name is Sandy Rowe. I was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia almost two years ago now.

My manager and colleagues were informed of my diagnosis by my daughter at that time,

who was in the country staying with me and actually, when I think back

in hindsight, that must have been an awful shock for them.

Sandy was the first person I've ever line managed who was diagnosed with cancer.

It was devastating because it was such a shock and because it was so serious and life threatening.

About five months ago, I was ready to start thinking about that whole return back to work.

It took about two months, talking between my consultant and my manager how we were going to approach that

because at that time, my immune system was still compromised.

It was very clear that her contact with other people had to be very limited,

so working from home seemed an obvious starting point.

They provided a desk, chair, laptop.

I actually realised how many doors that opened for me, just to have that mental engagement again,

to start feeling self-worth, self esteem. And I really felt encouraged by that.

Some occupational health services such as ourselves can liaise with employers as well and act as a mediator.

We would look at what therapies may be beneficial for that person at that time,

such as counselling, physio or occupational therapy.

We can also offer workplace assessments, to look at how they carry out their job when they were well

and whether they are still able to carry it out now at the same level or whether some reasonable adjustments need to be made.

The occupational health team managed the communication with Sandy from a medical perspective,

managing expectations about the length of the phased return.

The treatment for cancer is enormously varied and the treatment plan changes.

It's really useful to make sure that they have a regular review with employees as their treatment progresses.

Being able to talk to someone on a daily basis means you can keep them up to date as you get any information.

And that adds to the support, because talking to someone actually helps clarify the situation in your own mind, I think.

I do remember speaking to one of my managers, she was looking through her work diary and she said

'look, I've got a really busy week that week. But,' she said 'what we can do,

we can come and do the work that we need to be doing that day in your kitchen'.

They literally came with their laptops and worked all morning and did their phone calls and I was laying on the settee.

They don't just see supporting somebody about getting them back into office;

it is more about the person and how best they can support them to do that.

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For line managers who would like further support with their employees who they think may be struggling with in the workplace,

then it is important for them to source out some occupational health advice or some vocational rehab advice,

depending on what's available in house or whether they need to seek advice outside.

There are some links on the Macmillan website if you do want to look on that to see what there is locally for your area.

The benefits of supporting somebody to remain in work or return to work are very high for the employers as well,

it means they don't need to retrain somebody else,

they have somebody who has a wealth of experience that's been in the post already.

Sandy is a very specialist and skilled member of staff.

We have invested in her; managing Sandy's return to work was something we were very motivated to do

for both personal and professional reasons. It made very good business sense.

Some of the side effects of cancer and cancer treatments can be long lasting, can be permanent

and some actually don't even occur until some time after treatment has been finished.

They will need to adjust how they live and how they work on an ongoing basis.

Although Sandy has returned to work full time now,

we still need to be mindful that her capacity isn't perhaps fully returned and that will still take some time.

Cancer is different for everybody, so we'll be very much guided by Sandy in that.

Now that my chemotherapy has ended, I'm going back to school for the new term, and I hope to carry on as normal,

but my head of department has been very flexible and tried to give me the lightest timetable possible,

so that I don't become too stressed with the heavy workload, and that my workload will still be monitored.

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I think being open with my manager as much as I possibly could be was important for me and important for them.

That's really how they were able to support me the way they do now.

I'm just waiting to find out whether I need radiotherapy and I'm unsure at the moment how that's going to affect my work load

but what I can be sure of is that my work will be very supportive. That support really does make a difference.

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