How Small Business Leaders Can Support Employees Impacted by Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an opportunity for small business owners to lead with purpose.

When cancer touches your team, whether an employee, their spouse, or a loved one, it impacts every level of your organization. Small businesses can make a meaningful difference through intentional policies, benefits, and culture. Backed by data and real-world evidence, here’s how to act this month and beyond.

1. Strengthen Preventive Care Access

• Many health plans already cover mammograms and preventive care at no cost, but employees often don’t realize it.
• Hosting mobile mammogram events or health screening days can increase participation and support early detection.
• A wellness program focused on cancer may pay for itself if just one cancer is caught early rather than late.

Earlier detection not only leads to better health outcomes, but it can also reduce treatment intensity and speed return to work. For small employers, catching illness earlier helps reduce benefit costs and lost productivity.

2. Offer Paid Leave and Flexibility for Care

A cancer diagnosis often leads to intensive medical appointments, treatment side effects, and recovery time. Without support, many employees may be forced out of work entirely. The data speaks volumes:

• In one study of breast cancer patients, only 50% had jobs with paid sick leave, 39% had disability benefits, and 38% had flexible schedules prior to diagnosis.
• Among survivors generally, 41.3% made extended leave or employment changes after diagnosis; 75.4% of those used paid leave.
• In a 25-month study, about 46% had a work interruption. Many who returned or sustained work reported better well-being outcomes than those with job loss or persistent unemployment.

Best practices for small businesses:

• Build in paid or semi-paid medical leave, beyond just short-term sick days.
• Allow gradual return to work – such as part-time or reduced duties initially.
• Enable remote work or flexible scheduling so treatment days or recovery periods don’t force a total leave.
• Document a return-to-work plan to show employees you’re thinking about their path back.

3. Expand Mental Health and Caregiver Support

• Survivors who return to work often report better quality-of-life outcomes compared to those who don’t.
• Support from colleagues, supervisors, and clear communication is a major facilitator for return-to-work.
• Support must evolve over time, as survivors continue to experience changes in health and employment needs years after treatment.

Implementable steps:

• Ensure access to EAPs (Employee Assistance Programs), counseling, or mental health benefits.
• Educate managers to understand and normalize health-based accommodations.
• Offer support for employees acting as caregivers, including schedule flexibility or caregiver leave.

4. Create a Culture of Awareness and Compassion

• Awareness is about creating a culture where health challenges can be openly discussed and supported.
• In small and medium enterprises, management engagement is critical for successful cancer support programs.
• Employers that communicate benefits and health priorities clearly help reduce uncertainty and build trust.

Ideas to bring it to life:

• Host an awareness week or pink day, promote breast cancer screening resources, or partner with nonprofits for a campaign.
• Share (with permission) stories from employees or community members who’ve faced breast cancer.
• Invite healthcare providers or local nonprofits to present sessions about risk factors, detection, and resources.
• Ensure materials and benefits are accessible in multiple formats and languages.

5. Partner with Experts and Build a Long-Term Strategy

• A benefits partner, insurer, or healthcare consultant can help design sustainable, scalable support systems.
• Cancer care navigation programs help guide patients, reduce administrative burdens, and coordinate workplace accommodations.
• Value-based cancer care benefit models can reduce costs and improve outcomes.
• Communication toolkits and campaigns ensure employees know what benefits exist and how to use them.

Small and midsize businesses that integrate cancer care strategies into their benefit plans report better retention and lower long-term costs. Businesses offering paid leave, flexible work, and robust coverage see lower turnover among employees facing health crises.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

By embedding data-backed policies and benefits into your small business, you can help transform adversity into resilience – for your employees, your culture, and your bottom line.

Explore the Small Business Essentials Resource Hub for tools, templates, and strategies that help small businesses build healthier, more resilient teams all year long.

Contact us today to discuss your business needs and options!

Sources:

[1] American Cancer Society: Key Statistics for Breast Cancer
[2] BreastCancer.org: Unemployment Common After Breast Cancer Treatment
[3] ASCO Journal of Clinical Oncology: Impact of Breast Cancer Treatment on Employment: Results of a Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study (CANTO)
[4] National Institutes of Health (NIH): Women With Breast Cancer Who Work For Accommodating Employers More Likely To Retain Jobs After Treatment
[5] BMC Public Health: Factors associated with return to work of breast cancer survivors: a systematic review
[6] PMC: Job loss, return to work, and multidimensional well-being after breast cancer treatment in working-age Black and White women