Hello,

Thanks for writing to us. I’m sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. I understand that starting a new position right after receiving that news can be super complicated, but it’s great that you’re weighing yor options and thinking critically about everything.

It’s important to remember that in general, you are under no legal obligation to disclose your medical condition to your prospective or current employer. That said you may have to disclose some information if you want to access a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to show you are entitled to it (more on that topic below). You may decide to have a conversation you’re your employer after you’ve started the job (in most cases you won’t really know what you need or what you need to ask for until you are actually in the role, experiencing the environment and the responsibilities of the job). CAC has a great deal of information about disclosure, and to start I recommend watching the following video: https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/2017-webinar-online

A reasonable accommodation may include things like a modified work schedule such as telecommuting or flex time (working the same number of hours but distributed differently over the course of a week so that you can go to your appointments) or changes to your workspace or access to technology. One thing to note is that the 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.  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/quickguide. Typically, you won’t really know what you need until you have started the job and have a sense of how side-effects and your treatment schedule will affect the job and vice versa (this is why is it also good to start this conversation with your healthcare team sooner than later). 

I've reached out to our career coaches for their insight as well, but in the meantime the following resources might be helpful:

• Webinar on Working Through Treatment:

https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/community/videos/bwc/webinar-treatment

• Article on Getting Organized:
  
  
  
  • https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/where-to-start
  
  
  
  

• Article on Creating an Action Plan:
  
  
  
  • https://www.cancerandcareers.org/en/at-work/where-to-start/creating-an-action-plan
  
  
  
  

• Living and Working with Cancer Workbook
  
  
  
  • https://www.cancerandcareers.org/publication_orders/new
  
  
  
  

A coach will be in touch soon!

Kind regards,

Nicole Franklin, MPH

Senior Manager of Programs

Cancer and Careers

Dear A,

I am so glad you reached out to us. The first thing that I thought of when reading your post was a HUGE Congratulations is in order for landing such an outstanding career opportunity. And, of course, that it has great insurance and is a remote position is the frosting on the cake. That said, your diagnosis was a devastating blow in the midst of such triumph, and I understand your consternation about how to handle all the uncertainty it brings. 

Please do look over the information and the links that Nicole posted for you. They provide some invaluable tools and guidance for just such situations. The legal resources and expert opinions on what and when to disclose your diagnosis are particularly important. From my own experience as a cancer survivor and career coach, I wholeheartedly endorse the advice given by C+C in this regard.

I would like to add just a bit of perspective to your thinking. Each person's cancer experience is unique to them. The treatments are now adjusted to your body and tumor type, the reactions you have or don't have to certain treatments are uniquely your own, and how you react to the uncertainty and emotional trauma of a diagnosis like yours are also unique to you. So, with that in mind, please give yourself time to see this unfold before making any decisions about that new job. Build trusting and transparent relationships with your treatment team; be sure that you have some trusted friends and or family members with whom you can confide as questions come up, and go forward into that new job with as much gusto as you can.

Since the firm that sought you out from a successful consulting gig already knows you and your work, trust that there is no question that you were right for the position in their mind. Take one step at a time, one day at a time and continue to do great work. Then, if you do find you need some reasonable accommodations, you will have added to the well of goodwill that you have already built up, so that the conversations may be more comfortable for you.  

This is going to be a journey of ups and downs, so you may need the flexibility that the virtual workplace may provide. As one who worked through chemo and radiation, I can say that working from my home office was a gift that I needed at the time. This new job provides you that opportunity. Beside remote work, I also needed the financial boost and insurance coverage, not to mention the truly important camaraderie of colleagues and the intellectual challenge of my profession to keep my mind off my cancer. (Work can be a sanctuary that way as long as you take care of yourself in the process.) Perhaps you will find these important to you, too, as you walk through these first few stages of treatment and recovery.

I know that the answers are not always clear, but I can say that many others have walked similar paths. Trust yourself and your instincts that have served you well so far, but do take to heart that there are some roadblocks and hurdles that others before you have knocked down. Their experiences inform the advice C+C gives.

Finally, I wish you a swift return to health and a long and productive career doing work you love, in an environment that brings out your strengths.

Blessings,

Kathy Flora, Career Coach