Given how much travel the CAC team does, it seemed only right to create a blog series for 2013 called "On the Road with CAC." Some of the upcoming places we are headed include Huntington Beach, CA for the APOS Conference; Houston, TX for the CLRC's Cancer Rights Conference; Denver, CO for the Rocky Mountain LLS Blood Cancer Conference; Orange County, CA for the BMTinfo Symposium; and Las Vegas, NV for the OMG! Cancer Summit for Young Adults.  And, those are only the ones between now and the end of April!  Phew! 

In this first installment 2013, I am excited to talk about two fantastic events in Los Angeles last week.  The first, on Friday January 25th, was our second In-Service training for healthcare professionals.  This one was hosted by the Cancer Support Community-Benjamin Center and attended by some truly dedicated healthcare pros from organizations like USC, UCLA, St. Joesph's Hospital, the Palo Alto Medical Foundation and of course facilitators and staff members from several area CSC affiliates. Joanna Morales (Cancer Rights Attorney and CEO of Navigating Cancer Survivorship) and I spent the day talking through all the practical and legal issues that come up for patients trying to manage employment and their cancer treatment and recovery.  My favorite part is always the interactive exercises where we can really see the attendees put the information into practice.  Plus we always learn something too!  For instance, occupational therapists are very good at coming up with ideas for possible reasonable accommodations that might help someone do their job if they are experiencing a disability due to their treatment or its side effects.

Then on Saturday Joanna and I spoke during two of the general sessions at the 2nd Annual LLS of Greater Los Angeles Blood Cancer Conference.  They had a fantastic turnout and we met some incredible survivors, caregivers and advocates who had all come together for support and information sharing.  We even shared the stage with Dr. Bruce, a local surgeon and NBC4 health reporter!

If you are interested in learning more about Cancer and Careers' In-Service training program or would like us to speak at an upcoming event please reach out to us at cancerandcareers@cew.org.