Hi Lucy,

Thank you for reaching out to Cancer and Careers. It is understandable that your situation feels tricky but there are a few initial steps to take to best prepare and make a plan.

First, it’s important to have a sense of a timeline for treatment before you think about next moves. So I would have some more conversations with your healthcare team to get a better understanding of what to expect. Of course they can’t tell you anything for sure but it is worth getting a general idea. I also wonder if you could inquire about pushing your start date out a bit further? Since it’s already 2 months away, it seems like there isn’t an extreme urgency. I would recommend that once you have had those conversations with your healthcare team, you begin to consider what a conversation about pushing the start date further out would look like.

In regard to your two questions, since the first one is legal, I would say that you should pose it to a legal organization, as they would be able to more accurately answer based on the various factors in your circumstance. Triage Cancer (www.triagecancer.org) would be a valuable resource regarding this question and understanding your protections a bit better. As for the disclosure piece, that is going to be a personal decision, and one that may change based on the information you gather from a legal organization. We have a number of articles and materials regarding disclosure on our website, as it is a particularly sensitive topic and decisions about telling work can vary from person to person, it’s a highly personal choice.

• Managing Disclosure When Looking for a Job


• Sharing the News


• Deciding Whether to Work

Regarding your relationship with your former mentor who hired you, as I mentioned, gathering information and learning more about your rights and protections can significantly impact your ability to make an informed decision. With that said, it’s possible she may be able to advocate for you, so it’s worth keeping her in mind as a confidant. She may also be able to provide you with insights on the flexibility of the position. Perhaps a more gradual start so you can ease into the role while receiving treatment (if that is what you end up deciding on) or helping to identify the best approach to holding the position for you if you decide not to work during treatment.

Overall, I encourage you to get as much information regarding your treatment plan, timeline, anticipated side effects, prior to making any decisions or having nay conversations. You could also do some light digging on the flexibility of the company in general, an understanding of the start date and from there can better anticipate what type of arrangement may work and may not.

Happy to chat further if you’d like! Please reach out to cancerandcareers@cew.org to schedule a time to talk.

Warm regards,

Nicole

Assistant Director of Programs

Cancer and Careers / CEW Foundation