Born from lived experience. Built for the workplace.
Work Beyond Cancer was founded on a simple belief: that a cancer diagnosis should never mean the end of a career — or a person's sense of purpose.
Mission & Vision
Our mission
To help create workplaces where people affected by cancer are supported to remain at work, take the time they need, and return to work with dignity, understanding and the accommodations they need to succeed.
Our vision
A world where no one has to choose between their health and their livelihood because of cancer.
Core values
Compassion
We recognize the human experience behind every diagnosis and believe people deserve empathy, dignity, and understanding at work.
Respect
We honour each person's privacy, autonomy, identity, and individual experience of cancer, treatment, recovery, and caregiving.
Inclusion
We believe workplaces should be designed so people affected by cancer can remain connected, supported, and able to contribute.
Practical Support
We turn good intentions into meaningful action through clear guidance, education, accommodations, and workplace practices that actually work.
Courage
We are willing to have difficult conversations, challenge outdated workplace assumptions, and advocate for better ways of supporting people through cancer.
Hope
We believe work can be part of rebuilding confidence, purpose, stability, and life beyond cancer.
Why Work Beyond Cancer Exists
Work Beyond Cancer grew from both personal experience and professional insight.
— Lana Hann, Founder
I have experienced cancer twice, and with both diagnoses I was fortunate to have my cancer identified early. Early diagnosis gave me options, treatment and hope — but it also taught me something I had not fully understood before: cancer does not end when treatment ends.
Recovery is not simply physical. Cancer can affect confidence, energy, identity, relationships, finances, routines and the way we see ourselves. For many people, work is deeply connected to that sense of identity. It can represent independence, purpose, stability, contribution and connection to the world outside of cancer.
Returning to work can therefore be an important part of recovery. It can be a sign that life is moving forward. It can restore routine and confidence. It can reconnect someone with colleagues, purpose and a part of themselves that existed before diagnosis.
But returning to work can also be complicated. A person may look well long before they feel fully recovered. Fatigue can linger. Medical appointments may continue. Treatment can affect concentration, sleep, stamina and emotional well-being. There can also be an unspoken pressure to return to normal when life no longer feels quite the same.
Through my own cancer experiences and return-to-work experiences, I came to understand just how important workplace support can be during this period. The way an employee is treated while navigating cancer matters. Thoughtful communication, flexibility, appropriate accommodation and informed leadership can help someone regain confidence and successfully remain connected to work. When support is handled poorly, the impact can be significant at a time when an employee may already be at their most vulnerable.
My professional background in leadership, human resources and organizational operations gave me another perspective. I could see that many employers genuinely want to do the right thing but may not know what good cancer-inclusive workplace support actually looks like. Managers may be unsure what to say. HR professionals may be navigating complex accommodation questions. Teams may not understand why recovery takes time. Employers may struggle to balance operational needs with compassion and flexibility.
That gap is why Work Beyond Cancer exists. We help employers, leaders, HR professionals and employees navigate cancer in the workplace with greater knowledge, confidence and humanity. Our focus extends beyond the moment of diagnosis. It includes medical leave, workplace accommodation, treatment, return to work, survivorship, caregiving and the longer-term realities of living and working beyond cancer.
Because cancer changes many things. Work can be one of the places where people begin to rebuild. And when workplaces understand how to support that experience, they can make a meaningful difference in someone's recovery, confidence and ability to move forward.
"No one should face cancer alone. Support belongs at work, too."
Ready to get involved?
Whether you are an individual navigating cancer at work, an employer building a more inclusive culture, or someone who believes in this mission — we would love to connect.