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Retire with breast cancer?

Page last modified on: October 10, 2008

Question from MarisaC: Is a person with breast cancer allowed to ask for retirement?: Answers —Ruth Oratz, M.D., F.A.C.P.: From a clinical point of view, it's important to know if you have active disease, whether the disease is metastatic, and if so what the prognosis is. Or are you someone who's newly diagnosed and is undergoing therapy? I don't know the legal implications, but it seems to me that would be important information to know before answering your question.; Barbara Hoffman, J.D.: Additionally, I'd need to know what the personnel policies are where you work to know the rules regarding retirement.; Ruth Oratz, M.D., F.A.C.P.: Other than retirement, other options are a leave of absence. Or perhaps you're eligible for leave under the Family and Medical Leave policy or you're eligible for disability insurance.

On Wednesday, September 19, 2007, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Working During Treatment. Barbara Hoffman, J.D., Irene Card, and moderator Ruth Oratz, M.D., F.A.C.P. answered your questions about the legal, financial, physical, and emotional aspects of working during breast cancer treatment.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Barbara Hoffman, J.D. is a member of the Legal Research and Writing faculty of Rutgers Law School B in Newark and is the founding chair of the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship.

Irene Card is president of Medical Insurance Claims, Inc., a health insurance services company in New Jersey, which she founded in 1980. Ms. Card is the former insurance advisor to the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and Memorial Sloan Kettering Post Treatment Resource Program.

Ruth Oratz, M.D., F.A.C.P. is associate professor of clinical medicine at New York University School of Medicine. She is the founder of The Women's Oncology & Wellness Practice in New York City where she specializes in treating women with breast cancer and other malignancies, as well as women at risk for cancer.