The legal issues arising from a cancer diagnosis are wide and varied, including a number of separate areas of law such as employment, insurance, government benefits, consumer rights, and estate planning. Cancer Rights Law is designed to create greater awareness of these legal issues and to cultivate more advocates to assist cancer survivors and their families, friends, and caregivers in navigating those issues.
In the context of a cancer diagnosis, an understanding of your rights can mean the difference between losing your job, your health insurance, or even your home. And in its most extreme case, it can be the difference between getting access to care or losing your life.
This is the first book of its kind to comprehensively address these legal topics through the lens of cancer diagnosis.
Monica Fawzy Bryant, Esq., is a cancer rights attorney, speaker, and author dedicated to improving access to quality information on health care-related issues. She is the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer for Triage Cancer, a national nonprofit organization that provides education on the practical and legal issues that may impact individuals diagnosed with cancer and their caregivers.
In 2022, Ms. Bryant was named as one of Cancer Health 25, an annual list that honors individuals who have made a difference in the lives of people with cancer. In 2019, she received a 40 Under 40 in Cancer Award, and in 2015, was awarded the Legacy Advocate Award by a leading young adult cancer organization. She is an Adjunct Law Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Law, teaching a class on Cancer Rights. Throughout her career, she has provided nearly 1,000 educational seminars for individuals who have been diagnosed with cancer, their caregivers, lawyers, advocates, health care professionals, elected officials, and the general public.
She regularly shares her expertise through written book chapters, articles, and blogs, and appears on television, radio, and podcast shows. In 2023, she co-wrote an article for CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians entitled "Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment in Working-Age Adults: Implications for Employment, Health Insurance Coverage, and Financial Hardship in the United States"; and in 2020, she co-wrote the chapter "Cancer-Related Legal Issues" for the Oncology Nursing Society's book Oncology Nurse Navigation: Delivering Patient-Centered Care across the Continuum. Ms. Bryant provides expert review for a variety of national organizations, including the Social Security Administration, the American Cancer Society, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Cancer Support Community, Cancer and Careers, National Brain Tumor Foundation, and Livestrong.
Previously, Ms. Bryant was Midwest Regional Director for a national disability rights organization where she forged relationships with cancer organizations, hospitals, law firms, members of underserved communities, and other community partners, to introduce them to the field of Cancer Rights Law. Prior to relocating to Chicago, she served as Legislative Counsel for U.S. Congresswoman Linda T. Sanchez and Law Clerk for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein. During her time in Congress, she worked on health, justice, civil rights, and women's issues.
Ms. Bryant is a member of the American Bar Association's Cancer Legal Advocacy Interest Group, the Coalition to Protect Parenthood after Cancer, the National Cancer Legal Services Network, and many other legal and cancer community initiatives.
She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in law and society, with an emphasis in criminal justice, and psychology, from the University of California, Santa Barbara and her law degree from the George Washington University Law School. She is a member of both the California and Illinois State Bars.
Joanna Fawzy Doran, Esq., is a cancer rights attorney, author, speaker, and Chief Executive Officer of Triage Cancer, a national, nonprofit organization providing free education on practical and legal issues that may impact individuals coping with cancer and their caregivers, through events, materials, and resources.
Ms. Doran has spent more than 30 years working on behalf of individuals with cancer, including five as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, teaching a seminar in Cancer Rights Law, and eight at the John Wayne Cancer Institute's Psychosocial Care Program and Positive Appearance Center. She has also taught a Community Advocacy Clinic, as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School.
Ms. Doran co-authored the book Cancer Rights Law for the American Bar Association- the first and only book of its kind. In 2020, she wrote a chapter, "Cancer-Related Legal Issues," for the Oncology Nursing Society's book Oncology Nurse Navigation: Delivering Patient-Centered Care Across the Continuum. In 2017, she wrote "Preventing or Minimizing Financial Toxicity across the Continuum of Cancer Care," a chapter for the Oncology Nursing Society's book Cancer Survivorship: Transdisciplinary, Patient-Centered Approaches to the Season of Survival. In 2009, she also contributed to a book entitled Work and Cancer Survivors. And, her work has appeared in a variety of other publications, such as Psycho-Oncology, Heal, Cure, Coping with Cancer, Women, and Ability Magazine.
Ms. Doran has presented more than 1,000 educational seminars on employment, insurance, health care, and advocacy issues throughout the country for individuals diagnosed with cancer, caregivers, health care professionals, advocates, lawyers, employers, and the general public.
In addition, she has served on numerous cancer community committees and boards, including as Chair of the Board of Directors for the California Division of the American Cancer Society, ZERO Prostate Cancer's Medical Advisory Board, and the Executive Committee of the American Bar Association's Breast Cancer Task Force.
Ms. Doran has received several awards and recognition for her service to the cancer community and her work in the area of legislative advocacy, including the 2009 Susan G. Komen for the Cure (R) Public Policy Advocate of the Year and the 2015 Legacy Advocate Award from Stupid Cancer. In 2010, she was recognized by the Los Angeles Daily Journal as one of the Top 20 Attorneys in California Under the Age of 40. In 2023, she was one of Cancer Health's 25 Champions of Health Equity.
Ms. Doran earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science with an emphasis in international relations from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. She is a member of the California State Bar.
