May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, a time for brokersto reinforce the need for disability benefits with their clients.In your counsel to clients this month, consider helping them planfor a scenario they may not be familiar with or prepared for —helping an employee through a cancer diagnosis.

According to the Council for Disability Awareness, cancer wasthe second leading cause of new disability claims in 2012 and isthe fourth leading cause of ongoing claims. Few things are aslife-altering as its diagnosis, and one of your clients’ employeescould be facing this reality this year.

Ensuring your clients have a handle on their disability benefitsand available carrier resources can provide a solid foundation tohelp them support and guide an employee through a cancer-relateddisability leave. No employer should expect an employee undergoingcancer treatment to continue to work, but the fact of the matter ismany may want to. Some see it as a way to maintain a bit ofnormalcy in their lives.

When having a conversation with your clients, use the followingeight tips to guide your conversation and help them ensure they’reready for this very real, plausible scenario.

1. Set up support—and use it. If the time comesfor your clients to help an employee through a cancer diagnosis, itwill be much easier to provide the proper support with the righttools in place. Employer-sponsored disability benefits and anemployee assistance program are the foundation of any solid plan.Some disability carriers even offer access to vocational or nurseconsultants who are well-versed in coordinating between humanresources, the employee and his or her medical team.

   |

   Helping your clients understand the ins and outs of theirdisability offerings—and reminding them about resources they maynot remember they even have—will help make sure they’re doing allthey can to help contribute to an employee's recovery.

2. Emphasize the “human” in human resources. Whilefulfilling all the administrative duties necessary in thissituation, it might be easy for an employer to forget they arehelping someone who has just received some of the most difficultnews they’ll ever hear. Something as simple as a phone call orsending a note letting the employee know he or she has your fullsupport can provide some much needed peace of mind. Remindemployers that these simple gestures go a long way—as many will behesitant to reach out as they may fear they’ll be in the wrong fordoing so.

3. Educate in the name of empathy. Some employersmay not understand the demands of a cancer diagnosis. Knowing moreabout a specific diagnosis and subsequent treatment help anemployer provide the best support. Provide clients with informationfrom reputable sites such as Cancer.gov and Cancer.org, which aregood places to gain some basic knowledge.

4. Dial in the doctor. Employers that can give thetreating physician a job description provide assistance withdeveloping an appropriate recovery plan. This plan also shouldinclude recommendations for workload if the employee wants, or isable, to return to work on a modified schedule.

   |

   Employer/doctor collaboration on the recovery plan also can helpavoid any stress an employee may feel about communicating the needfor a decreased workload or leave of absence to recover.

5. Get ready for good days. When employees want tocontinue working through their diagnosis, employers that help themcommunicate with peers and feel a daily sense of purpose can helpinstill value and worth. A plan that allows an employee to work on“good days”—be it from work or home—or to maintain a reducedworkload is important for advancing an employee's recovery.

6. Be prepared for the bad days, too. Cancertreatment can be grueling (remember tip No. 3?). There may be timeswhen an employee is struggling with recovery from surgery or thenegative side effects of treatment. Employers that see recovery asthe top priority and have a work plan in place that adheres to thismentality will help reduce stress for the employee and theemployee's team.

7. Remain realistic. Keeping expectations in checkis an important part of working through the cancer equation. Thisgoes for the employer and the employee. Work never should get inthe way of recovery—not the other way around.

8. Check for changes. To say fighting cancer ishard is a massive understatement. Not only is the diseasephysically demanding, but it can take a major emotional toll aswell. Prompt employers to watch for changes in an employee'semotions and remember to remind him or her about the mental healthresources that your employee assistance program offers.

Disability benefits are there to help guide your clients andtheir employees through illnesses and injuries — some may be fairlyroutine while others, such as a cancer diagnosis, moredifficult.

This list can help you work with your customers to ensure theyhave a benefits package in place to help handle an employee'scancer diagnosis and help clients support an employee fromdiagnosis through, hopefully, the return to work.

– Illustration © theispot.com / Keith Negley