May is Disability Insurance Awareness Month, a time for brokers to reinforce the need for disability benefits with their clients. In your counsel to clients this month, consider helping them plan for 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 was the second leading cause of new disability claims in 2012 and is the fourth leading cause of ongoing claims. Few things are as life-altering as its diagnosis, and one of your clients’ employees could be facing this reality this year.

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