Nearly a year ago, Congress passed a law allowing people with cancer to press pause on their student loan payments.

Yet borrowers haven't been able to access the so-called cancer deferment because the U.S. Education Department didn't provide the companies that administer its federal student loan programs with an official application.

Now that form is available and eligible borrowers should be able to put their loans into deferment. (Email me if you run into trouble: annie.nova@nbcuni.com.)

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CNBC revealed earlier this year that servicers were denying borrowers the deferment — and often giving incorrect information about it — long after the law went into effect.

Up to 1 million people could be eligible, according to estimates by Mark Kantrowitz, an expert on student debt.

The general requirements are that a person 1) needs to owe money on federal student loans and 2) must be in active treatment for cancer.

Once approved, borrowers can pause their bills throughout their medical care and then for six months afterward.