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Military (VA) disability income
If you served in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War and were stationed in or near areas known to be exposed to the herbicide Agent Orange, your subsequent development of lung, bronchial, laryngeal, or tracheal cancer is considered by the Veterans Administration to be related to dioxin exposure. (Dioxin is a contaminant of Agent Orange.) You will likely be eligible for temporary, permanent, full, or partial VA disability income benefits. If you pass away, your surviving wife or dependent children might be eligible for benefits.

Benefits will be retroactive to your date of first treatment and will continue as long as any long-term side effect of treatment is present. Such effects might include diminished lung capacity from surgery or radiotherapy, residual neural damage from chemotherapy, or intractable fatigue that interferes with your ability to work.

Note that if you refuse veteran's disability benefits from a sense of pride, it will be almost impossible to reopen your claim later. For instance, if you suffer a heart attack years after being treated with radiotherapy and your doctors are convinced your heart was damaged by this cancer treatment, you will not be permitted by the VA to reopen your case and collect benefits. Because damage from cancer treatment-particularly radiotherapy-may develop years after its administered, it's best not to refuse a VA settlement if its offered, no matter how well you feel nor how able to work you might be.

Note as well that you can receive partial VA disability benefits while working full-time. The wife of a US Army veteran exposed to dioxin in Southeast Asia tells about filing for benefits with the Veterans Administration Agent Orange Program:
When my husband was diagnosed with cancer, we filed a claim with the VA's Agent Orange program, even though we knew they were not covering his type of cancer at that time. It was a matter of principle. We wanted to be a statistic to catch their attention.

A few years later, the VA broadened its decision and determined that my husband's cancer was related to Agent Orange exposure. They contacted us, and he received a retroactive payment for one year of full disability. He now receives monthly checks for being, by their ruling, still about 30 percent disabled.

Lung cancer is not the only cancer considered by the VA to be associated with dioxin exposure. Lymphoma, myeloma, soft tissue sarcoma, and several non cancer diseases are also compensable. For the most current information about Agent Orange compensation for lung and other cancers, call the Veterans Administration at (800) 8271000 or visit their web site at http://www.va.gov/pressrell99fsao.htm

Employment issues
Having and being treated for lung cancer can disrupt your job attendance and performance. If you're very lucky, you'll have managers and coworkers who accommodate your ups and downs, perhaps holding fundraisers for you or donating their own unused sick or vacation time for your use. Many of us are not this fortunate.

Protection under the law
As with finance and insurance issues, an employee has certain protections under the law. Verify the details of these laws because they may change over time:
• The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) recognizes cancer as a temporary or permanent disability for which you cannot be penalized by demotion or dismissal. Its also illegal to deny a qualified candidate a job simply because of a disability, but it's difficult to prove this kind of discrimination unless you know every other job applicant and all of their qualifications intimately. Call (800) 669-4000 or visit http://www.usdfor.gov/crtlada.html.
• The Federal Rehabilitation Act, enforced by Department of Justice Civil Rights Division ((202) 514-4609), covers some people not covered by the ADA:
- Employees of the executive branch of the federal government
_ Employees of employers who have federal contracts or receive federal assistance and have fewer than fifteen employees
The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) guarantees to those who have worked 25 hours per week for one year the right to twelve weeks of leave annually, either for ones own healthcare or to attend to a sick family member. You must give 30 days' prior notice. During these twelve weeks, your job or a similar one must be held open for you and your benefits must be maintained. The FMLA applies only to companies with 50 or more employees within a 75-mile radius. Violations of this law should be reported to the US Department of Labor. Getting a job

If you're a cancer survivor, the rules might change when you try to get a new job. The protections in place for current employees can be sidestepped by employers who are afraid of hiring a cancer survivor. Here are some recommendations:
• Work with a job counselor to prepare a resume and practice interview skills.
• Choose a large employer over a small company because their larger pool of employees will tend to absorb any additional health insurance costs they incur to cover you. Moreover, some federal antidiscrimination laws do not apply to small employers.
• Do not volunteer information about your cancer history during an interview.
Your ability to do the job should be the focus of the prospective employer's questions. Do not lie if asked about your health-instead, attempt to redirect the focus of questions or suggest that personal questions are inappropriate (and then reconsider working for someone who asks nosy questions).
• Under the ADA, employers cannot ask about your medical history or require you to take medical tests unless they have offered you a job.
• Some guides suggest that you not ask about health insurance until you're offered a job, but if you have highly sought job skills, good health insurance might be considered an enticement, and asking would not be inappropriate.
• Visit the US EEOC web site at http://www.eeoc.gov for tips about finding a job and addressing health-related discrimination incidents.