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Career & Education

Explore tools for returning to school, finding meaningful work, and navigating life transitions during and after cancer.

Note: We’re glad to share these resources from organizations and individuals we know. While we do our best to keep them current, links may change over time, and Dear Jack is not responsible for the content on external sites. If you come across a link that no longer works, please drop us a note so we can fix it!

Resources

Helpful Organizations & Links

Cancer for College Presenters on October 2024 community call

HopeCam – for college students who need laptops or tablets

Balancing Work & Cancer with Cancer and Careers, March 2026

We were honored to have Sissy Silva from Cancer and Careers share with us about Balancing Work and Cancer.
Balancing Work and Cancer presentation

Some key notes from the call include:

  • Work is a part of our identity, so the idea that cancer takes away the ability or desire to work is often false
  • We all have a limited pool of internal resources. Consider and prioritize what matters to you. Ask yourself – how important is work to you personally? What information do you need to make a decision about work?
  • An inability to work can create an identity crisis and you might need support to process that.
  • Safeguard your privacy online. Develop a disclosure plan, monitor what others post about you and consider how you present any cancer community involvement to employers. If you are sharing online, stick with what you know to be true today and what is relevant now. It is impossible to “unshare” information.
  • The goal of a resume and cover letter is to get an interview and sharing your cancer history at those junctures is not going to support that goal. These are also one way interactions and not a reliable way to communicate.
  • There may be practical benefits to disclosing your diagnosis including, the ability to request reasonable accommodations or showing your supervisor why your performance may have changed.
  • If you decide to disclose your diagnosis, make sure your employer understands that treatment is fluid and you are sharing what you know today but it might change in the future and you will communicate with them any changes to your situation.

    • There are lots of links in the slide deck with more information and support.

    LinkedIn Profile Setup Tips and Tricks, March 2025, Steps to Success Series: Part 3 of 3

    We were honored to have Mona Yaeger, Senior Career Management Consultant, join us to share how to best build and utilize a LinkedIn profile. She shared an incredibly informational and insightful slide deck, LinkedIn – Your Profile & How to Get Back to Work.

    Some key information from the call included:

    • The goal of LinkedIn is to search for jobs and to showcase yourself as “talent” to recruiters.
    • Your profile picture should be only you (no pets or other people) and not include anything distracting.
    • You can show more personality in your banner. Canva at www.canva.com has some great free LinkedIn banners.
    • Your About section should be predominantly in narrative form and should share about you!
    • Your skills can be divided into categories and can also be highlighted in your About section. Repeating is okay because these are key words employers and AI will search for.
    • Under work experience, there is an option to add a Career Break. It is totally up to you if you label this medical/health but you should be prepared to answer questions about a resume gap.
    • The time to reveal your cancer diagnosis is when you have a job offer.
    • In an interview, if asked about a work gap you can say, “I was taking care of myself” or “I was taking care of a family member.” You don’t have to give any more information than that.
    • LinkedIn has a mobile app. If you tap the search bar at the top, it will present a QR code and a scan button so you can easily connect with someone you met.
    • LinkedIn is great for networking!
    • Find employees at the company you’d like to work at and request to connect with them.
    • See if you can find a common area of interest in their profile.
    • Always include a note when you request to connect.
    • If you are looking to switch career paths, make sure to change your headline and your about section to gear toward what you want to do, not what you’ve done.
    Cancer for College, October 2024

    We were honored to have Cancer for College join us to share about the amazing resources they provide!

    There are two main resources they provide that every AYA should check out – scholarships and medical debt relief.

    Scholarship Information

    • Applications for 2025-2026 scholarships are open from 11/1/2024-1/31/25
    • You have to have had cancer at any point in your life
    • You must be attending (or going to attend) a US accredited school (university, college, or trade school)
    • Gross family income must be under $150,000 annually – if you are under 25, you must provide your and your parent’s tax returns
    • Scholarships are available for specific majors
    • There are no age restrictions, and graduate studies apply as well
    • Welcome to reapply each year
    • Scholarships range from $5,000-$10,000
    • Medical Debt Relief Information
    • You have to have completed treatment prior to applying
    • Can apply for debt relief and a scholarship at the same time
    • They partner with a patient advocacy service
    • If accepted into the program, you get them all your bills, they connect you with the advocacy service who reaches out to your treatment hospital to negotiate a lower price on your final bill, they pay the remaining amount
    • In 2025, this will be capped at age 25
    • There is no financial requirement to apply for medical debt relief
    • Feel free to reach out to stevi@cancerforcollege.org or shelby@cancerforcollege.orgCancer for College hosts virtual workshops regularly!