????不久之前，“癌癥”這個詞在朋友中間、家里，當然還有辦公室還是一種禁忌。不管是出于迷信、恐懼、困惑，還是尊重，關于癌癥的討論大部分是在竊竊私語中完成的。

????如今，隨著癌癥治愈率不斷攀升，人們在確診結果出來后，他們所做的決定——既有私人方面也有職業方面——都發生了顯著的變化。突然之間，對很多（但并非所有）人來說，問題不再是“我怎么永久地停止工作？”相反，問題變成了，“我要離開多久？”或者是，“我究竟要不要停止工作？”

????根據非營利機構癌癥與職業組織（Cancer and Careers）一項最新的調查，員工在癌癥確診后繼續工作已經變得相當普遍。接受調查的癌癥幸存者中：有四分之一的人表示，他們繼續工作是為了保住自己的健康保險；一半的人表示，他們繼續工作是為了讓事情“盡可能維持現狀”；而三分之二的受訪者聲稱，他們感覺自己的狀態足夠勝任繼續工作。這項由哈里斯互動公司（Harris Interactive）進行的調查詢問了400名罹患癌癥的成年人，他們都在確診后選擇繼續工作。

????“工作給了他們一個在癌癥之外的喘息之地，”凱特?斯維尼。她是癌癥與職業組織的執行理事，這家非營利機構向員工提供資源支持。

????根據癌癥與職業組織的調查：大約45%的員工表示，他們在確診后不會離職，不會中斷工作；而31%的人聲稱會歇工幾周到5個月的時間。

????隨著越來越多的員工選擇繼續工作，越來越多的雇主現在必須應對一個相對較新的局面。人力資源顧問瑪格麗特?斯彭斯表示，她見過公司在員工確診為癌癥后做出的各種各樣的反應。她說，員工和公司非常容易感到陷入困境。斯彭斯說，“雇主感到進退兩難，”尤其是因為他們并不總是全面了解員工的健康狀況。

????一年前，斯彭斯的丈夫被確診罹患一種罕見的癌癥，她近距離地體會到了癌癥與職業的難題。這對夫婦曾考慮暫時移居到紐約或德克薩斯州以更方便地接受高質量的治療，但他們排除了這個選項，原因是相關費用的問題。

????“他需要繼續工作，”斯彭斯說。“這是唯一的一件能夠讓他（在接受一輪輪放療間隙跟這個世界）保持聯系的事情。”

????根據美國癌癥協會（American Cancer Society）提供的數據，2012年美國有1,370萬人罹患癌癥，這個數字到2022年預計將增長至1,780萬人。在癌癥幸存者中，三分之一的女性和四分之一的男性年齡在60歲以下，而25%的人年齡在60至69歲之間。

????癌癥并不會給人們的職業生涯造成嚴重傷害。根據賓夕法尼亞州立大學（Penn State）的研究，只有4%至5%的癌癥幸存者不大可能繼續工作，或者比沒有癌癥病史的同齡成年人少工作一半時間。另外，或許并不讓人感到意外的是，癌癥復發患者的工作時間更短，而休假時間更長。

????斯維尼表示，比之十年前，如今的員工更愿意跟同事和老板分享自己詳細的病情。她說，十年之前，很多人在工作時對自己罹患癌癥諱莫如深。

????Not long ago, the word "cancer" was off-limits, among friends, at home, and certainly at the office. Whether it was out of superstition, fear, confusion, or respect, most talk about the disease was done in hushed tones.

????Today, as the survival rate climbs, the decisions people make after diagnosis -- both personal and professional -- have evolved significantly. Suddenly, for many (but not all), the question is not, "How do I leave work for good?" Instead, it's "How long do I take off?" or "Do I have to take off at all?"

????Working after a cancer diagnosis has become fairly common, according to a new survey conducted by the nonprofit group Cancer and Careers. One in four people with cancer who were surveyed said they continued working to keep their health insurance. Twice as many said they worked to keep things "as normal as possible." And two-thirds who were surveyed claimed they felt well enough to stay on the job. The Harris Interactive survey queried 400 adults diagnosed with cancer who were working.

????"Work provides them a respite from cancer-land," said Kate Sweeney, executive director of Cancer and Careers, a nonprofit that offers resources to workers.

????Some 45% of workers said they took no time off after their diagnosis and kept working, while 31% said they took anywhere between a few weeks to five months off, according to Cancer and Careers' survey.

????As more employees choose to continue working, more employers must grapple with relatively new territory. HR consultant Margaret Spence says she has seen all manner of responses from companies with workers diagnosed with cancer. Spence says it's easy for workers and firms to feel trapped. "Employers are caught between a rock and a hard place," especially since they don't always have a complete picture of the worker's health, she said.

????A year ago, Spence's husband was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer -- and she got to experience the cancer-career conundrum up close. The couple considered relocating temporarily to New York or Texas to be closer to high-quality treatment but ruled that out because of the associated costs.

????"He needed to keep working," Spence said. "It was the one thing that kept him connected" to the world amid rounds of radiation.

????An estimated 13.7 million people have had cancer and were living in the U.S. in 2012, and that's expected to grow to 17.8 million by 2022, according to the American Cancer Society. About one-third of female cancer survivors and one-quarter of male survivors are under 60 years old, while another 25% are 60 to 69.

????Cancer does take a toll on people's careers. Survivors are 4-5% less likely to hold jobs and work up to four hours less than similarly aged adults without a history of cancer, according to research from Penn State. And, perhaps without surprise, those who suffer from recurrences of cancer work less and take longer breaks from work.

????Workers today are more willing to share the details of their disease with coworkers and bosses than they were 10 years ago, Sweeney said. A decade ago, many people kept their cancer a secret at work, she claims.