When you're navigating a cancer diagnosis earlier in your career, asking for changes at work might feel complicated or challenging. You may still be establishing yourself, building relationships and trying to demonstrate what you're capable of. Adding a health situation to that mix, especially one that could affect your energy, your schedule or your concentration, raises a lot of questions. What are you actually entitled to ask for? How do you bring it up and with whom? And will asking for something make things awkward?

The short answer is you likely have more options than you realize, and asking for a reasonable accommodation is not asking for special treatment or a favor.

What is a Reasonable Accommodation?

A reasonable accommodation is any modification to your job, your schedule or your work environment that allows you to perform the essential functions of your job. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)—a federal law covering employers with 15 or more employees—requires eligible employers to provide reasonable accommodations to employees with qualifying conditions. Cancer, and many of its treatment side effects, typically qualify, whether you're currently in treatment, in recovery or experiencing longer-term effects after treatment has ended. That said, each situation is looked at individually to determine eligibility.

In addition, many states have their own fair employment laws that provide similar protections— and may cover employers with fewer than 15 employees—so even if the ADA doesn’t apply to your workplace, you may still have options.

For more information on the ADA, the ADA Amendments Act and how these laws may apply to your situation, visit Your Legal Rights in the Workplace.

What Can You Ask For?

Reasonable accommodations vary depending on your job demands and the side effects you're experiencing. Below are some examples of common and practical options, organized by the type of challenge they address. Not all will be applicable to every person and/or job, they are designed to get you thinking.

Fatigue and physical side effects:

• Adjusted or flexible scheduling. For example, shifting your start time on treatment days or front-loading your week when you know the end of the week will be harder.
• More frequent breaks during the day.
• A modified workstation, e.g. moving closer to a restroom, farther from food smells that trigger nausea or to a quieter area.
• Ergonomic equipment, such as a supportive chair, a sit/stand desk, fatigue mat or stool if you stand or a cooling vest for temperature sensitivity.
• Temporarily reassigning physically demanding tasks.

Concentration and cognitive side effects (including “chemo brain” and “brain fog”):

• Permission to use noise-canceling headphones or to work in a quieter space during tasks that require focus or for a specified length of time.
• Receiving assignments in writing rather than relying on verbal-only communication.
• Protected blocks of time without interruptions.
• Adjusted deadlines or additional time to complete tasks.
• Being able to record or use notetaking software to help capture conversations, meetings, etc.

Schedule and attendance:

• Shifting your hours to work the same total number, just at different times. For example, 7am–3pm instead of 9am–5pm.
• Remote work, fully or partially, to reduce the impact of a draining commute or protect a compromised immune system.
• Schedule or break changes for those in hourly or shift-based roles.

Policy exceptions:

• Keeping a water bottle or snacks at your workstation.
• Wearing clothing that differs from the standard dress code due to skin sensitivity, neuropathy or lymphedema.
• Attending meetings virtually on days when in-person is difficult.

For a broader list of accommodation ideas, the Job Accommodation Network (JAN), a free resource run by the U.S. Department of Labor, maintains a searchable database at askjan.org that lets you look up accommodation strategies by specific limitation or condition and it can be a helpful way to generate ideas before any conversation with your employer.

It is important to remember that the request does have to be reasonable so, for example, a museum greeter may not be able to shift their hours away from 9am-5pm if that is when the museum is open but they may be able to have a stool at their station and/or more frequent breaks depending on the side effect(s) they are trying to manage. An individual may also need more than one accommodation to be able to perform the essential functions of their job.

How to Ask

The ADA doesn’t require you to make your request in a particular way or to a specific person but being clear and concrete may make the process smoother. A few things to keep in mind:

• You may want to use the phrase “reasonable accommodation.” It’s the legal term that signals to HR and/or your manager that you know what you’re asking for. Most managers have never been trained to support a direct report navigating cancer (or other serious illness), so using the specific language may help your supervisor get the answers they need to support you.
• You don’t have to share your full diagnosis or even that it is cancer. You do need to provide enough information to show that you are entitled to access accommodations due to a medical condition that affects your work, but you get to decide how much detail to share beyond that. (For more on navigating disclosure decisions, see our Disclosure Decisions at Work article in this section).
• Think about this conversation through the lens of what you need to be successful and manage your health as well as what your supervisor needs to maintain the workflow, schedule, deliverables, etc. of the team. When you present your ideal recommendations, it should be clear that you’ve thought about the situation from everyone’s perspective.
• Put it in writing after the conversation. Once you’ve agreed on the accommodation(s), a brief follow-up email creates a paper trail for everyone and gives you something to refer to when/if your needs change. It doesn’t need to be super formal or in any kind of legal language, just a recap of what was discussed so you both have it.
• Know that your needs may change. You’re not locked-in to one accommodation forever. What helps during active treatment may look different from what you need in recovery or maintenance. You can revisit the conversation at any point.

Sample Scripts

Not sure how to open the conversation? Here are a few ways to get started, depending on whether/what you have disclosed:

If you’re talking to your manager for the first time:

“I’ve been managing a health situation that’s been affecting my energy on certain days. I’d like to talk about requesting a reasonable accommodation, specifically, the option to shift my start time by a couple of hours on days when I have medical appointments. I want to make sure my work stays on track and I think this adjustment would help me do that.”

If you’re in a non-office or physically demanding role and you’ve disclosed:

“Some of the side effects from my treatment are affecting my physical stamina. I’d like to request a reasonable accommodation, specifically, a stool or chair at my station so I can sit when I need to, and more frequent short breaks during my shift. I’m committed to being here and doing my job well, and I think these adjustments would help me keep doing that.”

If you’re dealing with concentration or cognitive challenges:

“Some of the side effects I’m experiencing are affecting my concentration, things like brain fog that make it harder to focus in a noisy environment. I’d like to request a reasonable accommodation to use noise-canceling headphones at my desk and to receive project notes and key information in writing when possible. I think that would help me stay on top of my work most effectively.”

If you’re following up in writing after a conversation:

“Hi [Manager’s name], thank you for taking the time to connect today. Our conversation and the plan we came up with to: [brief description, e.g., “have a flexible start time between 8 and 10am depending on my treatment schedule”] will set me up to be as productive as I have always been. I will be sure to update the office-wide calendar with any changes to my schedule and keep track of my shifted hours. I’ll schedule time for us to meet next month to make sure everything is working.”

If Your Request Is Denied

Under the ADA, an employer can decline an accommodation only if it would cause what’s called “undue hardship” meaning significant expense or operational disruption. That’s a relatively high bar, and most common accommodations don’t come close to meeting it.

Your employer is required to engage in an “interactive process” with you under the ADA, which simply means they are obligated to work with you to figure out what’s feasible that addresses the issue you’re having, and not just turn the request down. If they won’t have the conversation at all, that may itself be worth looking into.

If you’re denied, you can ask for an explanation and propose an alternative. And if you believe discrimination is involved, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) handles ADA complaints. Before getting to that point, it may be worthwhile to speak to a pro bono legal organization or expert about your options. While some people do choose to file a complaint there are many things to consider, including the time it will take, the public disclosure of filing, any future work considerations, what your ideal outcome is, etc.

Please note: This article is intended to provide general information only and should not be taken as legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, consult a qualified legal professional.

Updated 2026

This article was made possible in part by support from the Andrea Argenio Foundation.