Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana invites businesses, corporations, and agencies serving Northeast Indiana to become a Partner in Caring at no cost to you. Partners in Caring receive guidance, resources, and direct assistance when an employee is affected by cancer.
Why become a Partner in Caring?
According to the National Cancer Institute, 39.5% of men and women will face a cancer diagnosis at some time in their life. For businesses like yours, For businesses like yours, that translates to many of your employees facing their own diagnosis or that of a loved one.
It is vital that employers understand how to respond to the cancer diagnosis of an employee or their loved one.
Becoming a Partner in Caring helps.
- Demonstrate how your company truly values its employees, especially when they are sick. Research proves employees who feel valued are more productive and less likely to quit. Reducing turnover and improving job satisfaction directly improves your bottom line.
- Provide your human resource professionals and management staff with the resources they need. Cancer Services can prepare your staff to respond effectively when someone they manage shares the difficult news that they have cancer.
- Connect your employees with a local, comprehensive support system through Cancer Services. Being a Partner in Caring will make it easier for your employees to access services when they – or someone they love – is touched by cancer.
How can Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana help your business?
- Provide direct support for your employees when they are diagnosed with cancer. For more than 75 years Cancer Services has operated as this community’s response when friends and neighbors have cancer. The agency offers comprehensive support services that reduce the financial and emotional burden of cancer.
- Help navigating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and other regulatory policies. Cancer Services offers resources, problem-solving, and education to help you and your team navigate employment concerns such as reasonable accommodations, medical leave, or other policies affecting people with cancer.
- Assistance obtaining Indiana Employer Gold Standard certification. The Indiana Cancer Consortium (ICC) Employer Gold Standard program awards and recognizes employers that encourage appropriate cancer screenings and promote wellness for their employees. Cancer Services can provide technical assistance to help your organization gain Gold Standard status.
- Access to evidence-based and cost-effective strategies to prevent cancer and promote health in your workplace. Professional and knowledgeable staff can offer a variety of educational experiences on topics such as prevention, screening, and strategies for improving quality of life during cancer treatment.
Does all of this sound like a great benefit to your company and employees? We’re here to help! Contact Stacey Stumpf, Director of Development, at (260) 484-9560 or sstumpf@cancer-services.org to learn more and sign up.
When a colleague shares their cancer diagnosis, many employees may not know how to respond beyond an initial, sympathetic “I’m sorry.”
Each person’s cancer journey is unique. Some may appreciate their colleague’s concern, while others may view their working time as a chance to take a break from their diagnosis and will not want to talk or share much about their journey. Both responses are valid.
Cancer Services board member Carla MacDonald, EdD, MSW/MBA, ACSW, LSW, Associate Professor of Social Work and Director of Field Education at Huntington University, shared her perspective on cancer and work:
“I have shared my recent diagnosis of breast cancer with my work colleagues because I want them to understand my occasional absences from work, my changing appearance and most of all, to give me support. The ones who check in with me and ask a genuine ‘how are you doing’ gives me strength and power not just because I know that they care but more than that, it gives me the chance to share a part of my life right now.
I’m carrying this diagnosis of cancer with me everyday and when someone allows me to share my story, I am able to reach out and let go of a part of my life that I wish wasn’t a part of me. I’m struggling but when you reach out, it is an offer to be willing to carry the burden with me. I gain strength from your reaching out.
Don’t be afraid to ask. Don’t fear that your colleague with cancer doesn’t want to talk about it. They are already talking about it internally every day and every minute. By talking, you give the assurance that you’re on this journey with them.”
