Hi Sandra,

Thanks for writing to us. Your questions on disclosure are ones that we often receive from cancer survivors, which highlight their importance. 

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.  However, since you are seeking access a reasonable accommodation you may have to disclose some information to show you are entitled to it, but you may choose not to disclose during the interview process and instead wait until you receive an offer to request any reasonable accommodation or even wait until you have started the job. Typically, you won’t really know what to ask for until you have started the job and get a better of how your treatment schedule could align with your work schedule/required hours. 

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.  

Although disclosing is ultimately a personal decision, I would recommend watching our webinar to get a better understanding on issues around disclosure: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/2016-webinar-online.  Our recorded Working Through Treatment webinar also has some useful advice on arranging useful accommodations in the workplace: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/2016-webinar-treatment

Some other resources that I recommend checking out are:

• Interviewing information: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/looking-for-work/interviewing
  


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


• 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)


• Recording of Job Search Webinar: http://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/job-search
  

Lastly, often we 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 comes first, but you may find that your treatment could be administered before or after work hours or on the weekend with no impact on its efficacy, so asking is key.

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

Best of luck,

Nicole Franklin, MPH

Manager of Programs

Cancer and Careers