Hi Linda,

Thanks for writing to us. I’m so sorry that your employer laid off, especially so shortly after receiving news of your diagnosis. I can imagine how overwhelmed and frustrated you must feel right now, but you are thinking about and asking important questions as you start your job search.

The first thing to keep in mind is 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. It’s also important to remember that the interview phase is part of a strategy to get hired, and the first interview is just the beginning of a relationship. The goal is to impress the prospective employer and advance to the next phrase of the hiring process, so the first interview may not be the best time to share your cancer history.   As you move through the various rounds of the interviews if you do choose to disclose you'll want to pick a moment where you think the company is invested in you and likely to hire you, or wait until the offer comes through and then share this information as part of your discussion of salary, benefits and other related factors. 

One thing to note is that the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to eligible job applicants and employees of a private employer with fifteen or more employees, or a state or local government of any size, so you might want to think about the size of the company when reviewing positions.  Some states’ laws protect individuals working for employers with fewer than 15 employees. Our partner, Triage Cancer, has a Quick Guide to Cancer-Related Laws by State available at http://triagecancer.org/resources/quickguides.  

Disclosing is ultimately a personal decision, to help you think it through I would recommend watching our webinar to get a better understanding on the issues around disclosure: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/2019-webinar-online. Our recorded Working Through Treatment webinar also has some useful advice on arranging useful accommodations in the workplace: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/webinar-treatment.

Since you haven’t started treatment yet you won’t know how side effects will affect your ability to work yet.  Typically, you won't really know what you need until you have started a job and have a sense of how treatment may affect your job. We often find people forget to ask their healthcare team if there is any way to adjust their treatment schedule to better suit their work needs. Your health has to come first, but you may find that your chemo could be administered before or after work hours or on the weekend with no impact on its efficacy.

I would also recommend that you check out the following resources:

• Resume review service (free program where a professional coach will review your resume and provide feedback to help you refine it towards your current work goals): http://www.cancerandcareers.org/resume_reviews/new
  

• Resume & Cover Letter advice: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/resume_reviews/new
  

• Job Search webinar: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/job-search
  

• Job Search Toolkit (2nd Edition): http://www.cancerandcareers.org/publication_orders/new (features advice on improving resumes, cover letters; interview and networking tips and other useful tools to help you during a job search)

• Article on job-hunting after cancer treatment: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/looking-for-work/exploring-your-options/job-hunting-after-cancer-treatment
  

I hope this is helpful. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us at cancerandcareers@cew.org or 646-929-8032.

Kind regards,

Nicole Franklin, MPH

Senior Manager of Programs

Cancer and Careers