Cancer and its treatment can affect your ability to work. Some people can carry on working, either full-time or part-time, during treatment. Some people need to carry on working as much as possible for financial reasons.

When either you or your partner has been diagnosed with cancer, you may want to give up work in order to cope with the cancer and its treatment, or to look after your partner. If work has been the major focus of your life it can be difficult for you and your partner to adjust to one of you not working. If you are both at home all day it will take time to get used to being with each other all the time.

You may find that you can’t continue working due to the cancer or the treatment. Or you may have to work shorter hours or different days. Cancer is covered by the Disability Discrimination Act so an employer can’t discriminate against anyone who has cancer. They have a duty to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to workplaces to make sure people with a disability are not at a disadvantage to other people. If you’re a carer for someone with cancer, you have the right to request flexible working.

A diagnosis of cancer can affect your finances and may cause money problems. This can put a strain on your relationship and can be hard to cope with, especially when you are already coping with the cancer and its effects.

Many people can give you advice on your financial situation. Getting some advice early may save you a lot of time and energy. You can get advice from the social worker at the hospital, your local Social Security office and your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

It may help to contact an independent financial adviser. They can assess your individual situation and recommend the best course of action.

Cancer, or its treatment, often changes a person’s role in their family. During and after treatment, you may not have the physical energy to do the jobs around the house which you did before. Your partner may feel that they have to take on more just to keep everything running normally.

Relatives and neighbours may get involved in lending a hand and sometimes this can leave the person with cancer with a sense of not being needed, or not having control over their lives. For some people, fulfilling their role as a mum, dad, or breadwinner is an important part of their self-esteem.

As a partner, you may feel tired from having to do more and may even feel resentful at times. This is a normal reaction to this situation. You are going through your own experience of the cancer even though it is not you who’s been diagnosed.

It is important to talk together about how you feel and what you think is important. You can plan together about which tasks need to take priority and what help you might need.