At this point, everyone at work who needs to know about your cancer diagnosis probably does. Now you need a game plan for taking time off successfully. Here are some points to consider, depending on how much time you have before starting treatment:

Look at the Workload

• Consider the workload. Note which projects you're responsible for, their current status and deadlines, and which ones you can feasibly complete, suggests Aruna Vadgama, an independent human resources consultant.
• Be honest. Are you suffering from the 'They can't go on without me' syndrome? Vadgama says that's common, especially among women, since we sometimes feel that if we're responsible for a project, it means 'in sickness and in health.' Instead, think big picture: the work needs to get done, but not necessarily by you. Everyone has their limits, and the sooner you realize you can't do it alone, the better it will be for both you and the company.
• Reassign and delegate. If necessary, get input from your supervisor about how to divvy up the workload. You might consider assigning one project or client per co-worker, or you may feel more comfortable having just one person cover for you. If you are the supervisor, dividing assignments as equitably as possible among your workers is usually a good idea. What's important to realize is that there's no right or wrong way. For instance, Alever J., 50, a parole supervisor with the California Department of Corrections who was diagnosed in 1998 with breast cancer found that passing her workload off to a fellow supervisor worked best. "My coworker, who did the same job, took over supervising my staff," she says. Another breast cancer survivor, Karen P., discovered that many co-workers willingly pitched in when she went on medical leave. "They simply covered for me on everything," she says.

Name a Point Person
Even if you've divided up the work and left easy-to-understand notes, there are bound to be questions. A "point person" can help you manage the interaction with the office once you are on medical leave, suggests Anne Pasley-Stuart, a human resources consultant. Instead of getting a zillion phone calls, you and your point person can decide how often he/she will call you with updates and questions.

• Pick your point person wisely. Choose someone you trust, says Pasley-Stuart. "It doesn't have to be someone who does your exact job. It can be an administrative assistant."
• Let co-workers and clients know who your point person is and how best to contact him or her.
• Review the details of each project or each client before you leave so your point person will know what to expect.

Manage the Paperwork
In your absence, the paper will still flow and the mail will arrive. How to manage the onslaught of paper?

• Explain your system for keeping track of information, including telephone numbers and e-mail, to your point person. Consider color-coding project files, recommends Pasley-Stuart, so your point person (who, after all, is doing at least a job-and-a-half) doesn't have to spend the entire morning hunting down information but can just search for, say, the green files for the O'Brien account.
• Figure out what you'll do about the mail. Perhaps your point person can forward what he/she thinks you might want to see, file the non-urgent mail for later and give the urgent stuff to a co-worker.

Working From Home
If you decide to keep working, when possible, from home or hospital:

• Let your co-workers, your point person and/or your boss know when you will check in and your approximate timetable for completing projects. Keeping a hand in work won't just help out the office; it can provide you with a sense of connection that can balance the sometimes surreal world of cancer treatments.
• Ask your point person to gather all messages and relay the important ones to you promptly. Together, decide on a system for you to retrieve the non-urgent information at your leisure.

Making a Clean Break
Sometimes, it may be best to turn over all your work. That was the case for Alever J. She met with her supervisor and told him she wanted to devote all her time to getting better. She knew she faced surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. "He told me, 'You just get well.' When I left, that was it," she says. It was nine months before she returned. "I felt it would compromise [my health] if I worked too. I needed to take the time off to allow my mind and body to heal."

In the interim, however, her co-workers wanted to know how she was doing. She left an outgoing message on her office voice-mail to update them on her progress. Just hearing her voice, she says, gave them comfort, they told her after her recovery.

Bottom line? You should expect support and understanding, says Susan Scherr, 58, a two-time cancer survivor who now works for the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. She found her second medical leave much easier to take than her first, citing more enlightened attitudes about cancer and recovery. The second time around, says Scherr, "My co-workers were wonderful. They all pitched in."