In this open and honest essay for WebMD Blog, Megan-Claire Chase shares her experience working with a cancer diagnosis, from active treatment to survivorship.

Megan notes, “Too many employers don’t understand the toll any type of cancer can have on a person’s physical and mental health.”

Within, she details the pressure to work, unsupportive coworkers and supervisors, the challenges of insurance being so deeply tied to employment and the personal decisions she has made regarding when to share a diagnosis with a new employer.

“Although I have so much to celebrate professionally because I now work within the cancer space and I’m officially a 5-year breast cancer warrior,” she says, “I still have that fear and anxiety in the back of my mind because I can’t function without health insurance and a steady salary. The medical bills never seem to end, thanks to more chronic health issues stemming from my original cancer diagnosis and other long-term side effects that unexpectedly sprout up.”

To read Megan’s full essay on WebMD, click here..

To learn more about Megan and read more of her writing, visit her blog: Life on the Cancer Train.