Table 3.

Reasons that influenced or enabled low-wage breast cancer survivors’ employment decisions to continue working/return to work (n = 24).

Employment decision	Broad reasons that influenced or enabled decisions	Detailed reasons that influenced or enabled decision
Continued to work
Influenced by	Financial necessity	Fear of losing their job
		Fear of losing employer-sponsored health insurance
		Need for income from job
		Limited/no access to paid time off
Influenced by	Sense of responsibility	Need for normalcy provided by work
		Feeling needed at work
		Feeling that going to work represented health
Returned to work
Enabled by	Use of short- and long-term disability	Able to use disability income to meet needs during leave
Enabled by	Use of combined paid time off	Access to a combination of paid time off enabled them to take extended leave including: sick leave, vacation, sick leave banks, personal days, and emergency leave as well as disability benefits
Enabled by	Use of other workplace supports	Access to supports enabled them to return to work after leave including: supervisor support, coworker support, flexible work arrangements, gradual return to work, and job modification
Influenced by	Financial necessity	Need for income from job
Stopped working
Influenced by	Lack of employer benefits	No access to paid time off for treatment
Influenced by	Inability to work	Not able to perform usual work duties due to side effects
		No one to cover their work if they took time off
		Unable to work due to severity of illness
Enabled by	Financial assistance	Needed assistance from friends/family, Medicaid, food banks, and/or disability coverage to survive financially
Long-term Leave
Influenced by	Serious health problems	Limited range of motion and/or advanced-stage cancer diagnosis