Cancer & Work
Back to work. But not back to before.
Cancer changes more than your health. It can change how you feel about yourself, your confidence, your relationships and your working life.
And sometimes, when everyone else thinks things are getting back to normal, you are still trying to work out what normal looks like now.
At Let's Get On With It, I provide practical, compassionate and evidence-informed support to help people navigate working life during and after cancer.
I also work with employers, managers and HR professionals to help them understand the impact of cancer and support people more effectively.
Because a successful return to work isn't simply about getting someone back through the door. It's about helping them stay well, feel confident and move forward in a way that works for them.
How can I help?
For individuals affected by cancer
Finding your feet again through THRIVE
Perhaps you're preparing to return to work after cancer treatment. Maybe you've already returned but things don't feel quite right. Or perhaps you're questioning what you want from work and life now.
THRIVE is designed to help you make sense of these changes, rebuild confidence and explore what comes next.
Through supportive group programmes and individual coaching, we explore the practical and emotional challenges of cancer and working life.
This might include changes in identity, confidence, wellbeing, relationships, coping strategies and managing uncertainty.
There is no pressure to return to work before you're ready, and no expectation that you should simply go back to being the person you were before.
The aim is to help you find a way forward that feels right for you.
THRIVE group programmes are offered when dates are available. One-to-one coaching is also available online across the UK as a paid service.
Why work with me?
I'm Jo Hall, an Occupational Therapist, accredited coach and former senior NHS leader with over 30 years' experience working with individuals, teams and organisations.
I also bring something very personal to this work.
Having experienced breast cancer and treatment-induced menopause myself, I understand that the emotional and psychological impact of cancer doesn't necessarily end when treatment finishes.
I know what it's like to have a return-to-work plan but still feel unsure about your confidence, your identity and where you fit.
That experience, combined with my professional background in occupational therapy, organisational development, leadership and coaching, shapes everything I do.
My approach is practical, supportive, evidence-informed and focused on helping people make meaningful changes in their everyday lives.
For employers, managers and HR professionals
Supporting the person, not just the return-to-work process
Cancer is increasingly part of working life, yet many managers have received little or no training in how to support an employee affected by it.
A phased return, reasonable adjustments and occupational health advice are important. But they don't necessarily address the psychological and emotional impact of cancer.
Confidence, identity, fatigue, anxiety, uncertainty and changing relationships can all influence someone's experience of work.
I work with organisations to develop the knowledge, skills and confidence needed to support employees affected by cancer.
This includes practical training for managers and HR professionals, facilitating better conversations, understanding the impact of cancer on working life and identifying sustainable approaches to workplace support.
Support can be tailored to individual organisations and delivered through workshops, coaching and facilitated sessions.
Let's talk
Whether you're navigating cancer and working life yourself, supporting someone in your organisation or interested in bringing THRIVE to your workplace, I'd love to hear from you.
Jo Hall
Let's Get On With It Ltd
07496 012666
THRIVE coaching and workshops complement, rather than replace, appropriate medical care, counselling and occupational health support.
Living and Working Beyond Cancer
Finding your feet again with THRIVE
Cancer can change much more than your health.
Perhaps you've finished treatment and everyone expects life to return to normal. Perhaps you're already back at work but struggling with confidence, fatigue or feeling like yourself again.
Or perhaps you're wondering whether you even want to return to the same working life.
You don't have to have all the answers.
THRIVE offers a supportive space to explore what's changed, rebuild confidence and work out what matters to you now.
Through practical group programmes and individual coaching, we explore:
Rebuilding confidence and your sense of identity.
Understanding your emotional responses to change.
Managing uncertainty and unhelpful thinking patterns.
Recognising your strengths and what matters to you.
Navigating relationships and conversations at work.
Finding realistic, manageable steps forward.
THRIVE combines occupational therapy, coaching and positive psychology with practical tools you can use in everyday life.
It's not about getting back to who you were. It's about finding a way forward that works for who you are now.
Individual coaching is available online across the UK, with group programmes offered periodically.
Cancer & Work: Support for Employers
A return-to-work plan is important. But is it enough?
When an employee is diagnosed with cancer, most organisations want to do the right thing.
They may have policies, occupational health support, phased return arrangements and reasonable adjustments in place.
But what happens when someone returns to work and things aren't quite as they were before?
What if their confidence has changed? They're struggling with fatigue, concentration or anxiety? Or they're questioning their identity and their ability to do the job they once did with ease?
And how confident are your managers in having those conversations?
Supporting someone affected by cancer requires more than simply following a policy.
It requires understanding, empathy, practical skills and the confidence to have conversations that aren't always comfortable.
Helping organisations get it right
At Let's Get On With It, I work with employers, HR professionals and managers to develop practical, compassionate and effective approaches to supporting employees affected by cancer.
My support includes:
Manager and HR training
Building confidence and capability to have meaningful conversations about cancer, its ongoing effects, reasonable adjustments and sustainable working arrangements.
Workshops and facilitated conversations
Helping teams and organisations understand the impact of cancer on working life, challenge assumptions and develop practical approaches to supporting colleagues.
Individual coaching
Supporting employees navigating cancer and work, including confidence, identity, relationships, uncertainty and decisions about their working future.
Supporting sustainable returns to work
Helping employers and employees work together to identify what will help someone return to, remain in or adapt their working life. Where appropriate, this can include facilitated conversations between employees and managers.
Why does it matter?
The consequences of inadequate support can be significant.
For individuals, it can mean reduced confidence, unnecessary distress, difficulties remaining in employment and the loss of a valued part of their identity.
For organisations, it can mean prolonged absence, reduced productivity, the loss of experienced employees and additional recruitment costs.
Yet research suggests that many line managers have received little training in how to support employees affected by cancer.
Good intentions matter. But managers also need the knowledge, confidence and skills to turn those intentions into meaningful support.
Why work with me?
I bring together over 30 years of NHS and organisational leadership experience, professional expertise as an Occupational Therapist, accredited coaching skills and my own lived experience of cancer.
I understand the challenges from both sides: the experience of the individual navigating life and work after cancer, and the realities facing managers and organisations.
My approach is practical, evidence-informed and tailored to your workplace.
Because supporting someone affected by cancer isn't just about helping them return to work. It's about creating the conditions in which they can thrive.
Let's have a conversation
Whether you're looking for a one-off manager workshop, a tailored development programme or individual coaching support, I'd be happy to explore what might work for your organisation.
Why Work With Me?
Professional expertise. Personal experience. Practical support.
I'm Jo Hall, an Occupational Therapist, accredited coach and former senior NHS leader with over 30 years' experience working with people, teams and organisations.
But there's another reason this work matters so much to me.
I experienced breast cancer and treatment-induced menopause while working in a senior NHS leadership role.
I had a return-to-work plan. I had occupational health support. On paper, everything was in place.
But being back at work wasn't the same as feeling ready to be back.
My confidence had changed. My sense of identity had shifted. And I hadn't anticipated quite how much the emotional and psychological impact of cancer would affect my working life.
That experience stayed with me.
Today, I bring together my professional expertise, lived experience and passion for helping people navigate change.
As the founder of Let's Get On With It and creator of THRIVE, I've developed practical approaches to supporting people affected by cancer, working collaboratively with Helen Rollason Cancer Charity and South East and Central Essex Mind.
I also understand organisations. I've spent decades working with leaders, managers and teams, helping them navigate complexity, develop confidence and create healthier working environments.
I understand both sides of the conversation: the person trying to find their feet again and the employer wanting to do the right thing.
My approach isn't about telling people what they should do. It's about creating space to think, offering practical tools and helping people find a way forward that works for them.
Because getting back to work is one thing.
Feeling able to thrive there is another.
THRIVE – More Than Just Returning to Work
Back to work. But not back to before.
THRIVE grew out of a simple observation: while there is increasing support for people during cancer treatment, the emotional, psychological and practical challenges of returning to everyday life and work can sometimes be overlooked.
Developed in collaboration with Helen Rollason Cancer Charity and South East and Central Essex Mind, THRIVE brings together occupational therapy, coaching, positive psychology and the power of shared experience.
Our first programme ran in March 2026, offering participants a supportive space to explore confidence, identity, wellbeing, relationships and working life.
Across six facilitated sessions, participants had time to reflect, share experiences, explore practical tools and take small, meaningful steps forward.
What did we learn?
The feedback from our first programme was incredibly encouraging.
83% reported greater confidence.
100% said they would recommend THRIVE to someone in a similar situation.
9.2/10 was the average rating for how well the programme met its aims.
But beyond the numbers, something else mattered.
Participants valued having space to talk openly, connect with others who understood and begin to see new possibilities for themselves.
For some, that meant returning to employment. For others, it meant exploring new roles, rebuilding confidence or simply feeling more like themselves again.
Building on What We've Learned
I'm now developing THRIVE further, offering individual coaching and exploring opportunities to work with more individuals, employers and partner organisations.
The ambition is simple: to help more people affected by cancer feel supported, confident and able to participate in working life in ways that are meaningful and sustainable for them.
82% -Greater confidence
100%-Would recommend Thrive
9.2/10- How well the programme met its aims
Cancer & Work: Why Employers Need to Act
Good intentions aren't always enough.
As more people live and work with or beyond cancer, employers need to be better equipped to support them.
Yet recent research highlights some significant gaps.
78%
Of HR managers responding to a 2024 survey question reported that their organisations had not provided line managers with specific training on supporting employees affected by cancer.
£3.7 billion
The estimated annual cost to UK employers of cancer-related absence and reduced productivity.
These figures tell an important story.
Cancer isn't simply a period of absence followed by a return to normal. Its effects can continue long after treatment, affecting confidence, wellbeing and someone's ability to remain in work.
Supporting people well isn't just the right thing to do. It makes good business sense too.
At Let's Get On With It, I help organisations turn good intentions into practical action.
Sources: Working With Cancer and Institute for Employment Studies, Bevan Report (2024); Working With Cancer, What Cancer Costs Employers (2026).
Let's Get On With It
Because work after cancer matters.
Whether you're finding your feet again after cancer, supporting someone in your organisation or looking to develop better workplace practices, I'd love to have a conversation.
There's no one-size-fits-all approach. What matters is finding support that works for you, your people or your organisation.
Let's explore what might help.
Jo Hall
Occupational Therapist | Accredited Coach | Organisational Development Consultant
Let's Get On With It Ltd
07496 012666