Hi Regan,

First off, congratulations on your new job!

Disclosure is a common concern for cancer patients and survivors. In terms of disclosing, please keep in mind that in general you are under no legal obligation to disclose your medical condition to your prospective or current employer.  There are some exceptions to that, for instance if you need access to a reasonable accommodation you may need to provide some information about your health issue to show you are eligible—that said it doesn’t necessarily mean you need to discuss all the details. If you do decide to share information about your health status, it's a good idea to carefully think through and plan out any conversation(s) you're likely to have. To learn more about key cosiderations when it comes to disclosure, we recommend taking a look at this archived webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/2020-webinar-online 

Your concerns about job performance and not fulfilling your responsibilities are valid, but it is important to recognize that you don’t actually know what your treatment plan will be. It is a good idea to speak with your healthcare team, get a sense of what the options are, what you can expect from treatment, common side effects, timeline, etc. Gathering relevant information can aid you in developing a practical plan for managing treatment and work. Getting a full understanding of your options is also important prior to making any big moves.

I also encourage you to look at some of our resources in addition to the webinar mentioned above, so you are better able to make informed decisions.

• Blog on gathering information before disclosure: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/blog/gathering-information-before-d
  


• Take a look at some of our articles on Getting Organized: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/where-to-start/getting-organized and Creating an Action Plan: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/where-to-start/creating-an-action-plan
  


• Our archived webinar titled, Newly Diagnosed: Getting Started: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/diagnosed 

As for the health insurance aspect, again I’d recommend doing some research and information gathering. Speak with your healthcare team about anticipated costs, speak with HR about any options they have for interim care while you wait for your insurance to go into effect, speak with your current plan to see if they may have an extension option. It can also be helpful to speak with a patient financial advisor or social worker at your hospital to see if they can assist you in finding coverage.

I hope that this is helpful, but if you have any further questions or would like more information, don’t hesitate to contact us directly at cancerandcareers@cew.org or by calling 646-929-8032.

Kind Regards,

Nicole Jarvis, LMSW

Senior Manager of Programs

Cancer and Careers