Supporting Students with Cancer in Academic Institutions

How education systems can empower, not exclude, those facing cancer

A cancer diagnosis should not equate to pausing your dreams or putting your life on hold. For many students, continuing their education through treatment can provide a much-needed sense of purpose, stability, and connection. Academic institutions have a unique and vital role to play not only in making space for those diagnosed with cancer but in empowering them to choose whether they wish to pause, continue, or adjust their studies. It should never be a foregone conclusion that illness must end a student’s academic journey. The power of choice must remain in the hands of the student, and it is the responsibility of educational systems to ensure that support, access, and dignity are built into that choice.

This article explores how universities, colleges, and other academic institutions can create environments that actively support students with cancer not through sympathy alone, but through structural compassion, policy clarity, and proactive care.

 1. Flexible Learning and Assessment Options

Cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery often result in fatigue, immune suppression, and unpredictable schedules. Students may miss lectures or need to rest for extended periods. For this reason, flexibility is not a luxury but a necessity.

Academic institutions can support students by:

• Uploading recorded lectures and providing asynchronous course access so that students can learn at their own pace.
• Offering digital submission portals for assignments to avoid unnecessary travel or in-person attendance.
• Creating modular learning structures that allow part-time or extended study without penalty.
• Granting non-punitive deferrals or make-up exams when health issues interfere

These accommodations allow students to prioritise their health while staying connected to academic life. Importantly, this flexibility should be integrated into institutional policy and offered early, not just when asked for.

 2. Personalised Academic Support

Cancer care is unique to each individual, so academic support should be, too. A student undergoing intensive treatment has very different needs from someone in long-term remission or recovering from surgery.

Institutions can provide tailored academic support by:

• Assigning named support staff who coordinate adjustments across departments
• Developing individual study plans that reflect treatment cycles and recovery periods
• Ensuring instructors are briefed (with the student’s consent) to foster understanding and consistency
• Providing quiet spaces for rest between classes or appointments

This level of planning reduces the emotional and administrative burden on the student, freeing up energy for both healing and learning.

3. Prioritising Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing

A cancer diagnosis, especially during student life, can be mentally and emotionally overwhelming. Worries about health, academic progress, social life, and the future often coexist. Institutions must ensure emotional care is available and accessible.

Effective strategies include:

• Offering priority access to trained mental health professionals
• Creating peer support groups for students with chronic illness or a lived experience of cancer
• Running therapeutic activities like mindfulness, journaling, or creative arts that are accessible to those with fatigue or mobility limits
• Supporting students’ return to study with confidence-building sessions or adjusted course loads

These services help reduce isolation, promote coping strategies, and ensure students feel seen beyond their diagnosis.

 4. Building Inclusive, Informed Policies

Not every student is aware that cancer can qualify as a disability under national or institutional policy. Without accessible information, students may not know their rights or what help is available.

Institutions can make a difference by:

• Clearly communicating policies around long-term illness and disability
• Automatically offering reasonable adjustments when a diagnosis is confirmed
• Ensuring training for staff on cancer awareness and appropriate communication
• Appointing a dedicated health and disability coordinator to assist students in navigating both academic and medical systems

Inclusive policies create security and consistency, turning what could be a confusing process into one where students feel protected and empowered.

 5. Empowering the Student’s Community

A cancer diagnosis not only affects the student, but it can also impact their peers, group dynamics, and social identity. Institutions should cultivate a compassionate culture where students with cancer feel included, not excluded.

They can do this by:

• Providing guidance for peers on how to be supportive while respecting boundaries
• Allowing trusted friends or carers to join wellbeing sessions or access helpful materials
• Supporting student-led awareness events that highlight cancer experiences and reduce stigma
• Including cancer and chronic illness in diversity and inclusion training

By engaging the whole campus community, institutions shift the narrative from isolation to solidarity and ensure students don’t face their journey alone.

Final Thoughts

The journey of a student with cancer is often complex, but it should never be one of exclusion or silence. Academic institutions hold great power to either open or close the door to opportunity, depending on how they structure support.

By integrating flexibility, personalised care, mental health services, inclusive policies, and community empowerment into their approach, institutions can offer not just access but dignity, choice, and belonging.

Cancer should never dictate whether a student gets to pursue their education. But for them to have that power of choice, the academic system must stand beside them, not behind.

Edited by: Katheeja Imani