New research led by Anna Zajacova of the University of Wyoming, found that the average U.S. adult diagnosed with cancer will miss five weeks of work in the first year and see a total family income decline by 20 percent.

The study surveyed about 17,000 men and women between 1999 and 2009, 1,000 of which had been diagnosed with cancer after 1990.

The article cited human resources departments and Cancer and Careers as resources for cancer patients to navigate work challenges.

“Some people just need a few days off for surgery for an early stage cancer and then they’re done, while others would have longer and more intensive treatments including chemotherapy and radiation,” said Dr. Craig Earle of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research in Canada, who was not part of the new study.

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