I Am Woman, I Am Strong!

What the Law Says
Federal law and most state laws require an employer to provide an employee reason-
able accommodation. Reasonable accommodation is a change in job duties to help
you during the time you have breast cancer. It may be a change in actual job re-
sponsibilities or flexible working hours to allow for
chemotherapy or radiation therapy treatments.
For survivors, a routine or something close to normal
is a great help. Staying at work, or returning after a
medical leave, may provide stability and distraction
for us, but it may create a difficult situation at work.
How your colleagues respond to your condition and
the accommodations it requires may well depend on
the lead your superiors—both your immediate boss
and the management in general—take. If the office
staff thinks you’re contagious or under a death sen-
tence, or assumes that you’ll now be nonproductive
and a burden, you’re likely to feel quite uncomfort-
able at work.
If your boss or close co-workers avoid you or treat you
as nonproductive, so will the other employees. How-
ever, if they are understanding and knowledgeable,
your colleagues may well follow their lead. In addi-
tion, a boss who wants to educate his or her em-
ployees about breast cancer can do several things to
increase everyone’s understanding and to help you
ease back into your job responsibilities.
First of all, he or she can talk with you about what
“reasonable accommodations” would help. Reasonable
accommodations are temporary changes in your job,
such as flex time, time off, working from home, or job
share, during and/or after your cancer diagnosis and
treatment.
Second, he or she can bring in a healthcare professional to talk with the staff about
breast cancer and the treatments. You can help find such a professional through your
local support group or branch of the American Cancer Society.
Third, he or she can talk honestly and openly to you about what your capabilities
are. You, in turn, may want to talk with your boss and close co-workers, openly and
honestly, about things such as the reactions of more distant co-workers.
Knowledgeable and willing bosses also can act as a sounding board for employees
who now feel uncomfortable with you and uncertain of what to say. He or she can
offer them the right words—“I don’t know how or what you are feeling, but I want
you to know that I care and wonder if there is anything I can do to help?”—for in-
stance. This is a major improvement over saying nothing at all and avoiding you
completely.
Bosses can plan parties when you are finished with your treatments. They can suggest
that co-workers treat you as naturally as possible, which will include asking you out
to lunch (if they always did so in the past) or
bringing you coffee when they go for their own.
Remember, most people will want to help—they
just may not know what to do. You can help edu-
cate and increase understanding.
We have heard so many stories of people who had
such a good experience in going back to work. A
woman who was getting ready to opt for early re-
tirement decided to keep working. She was not pre-
pared for two major changes at the same time, and
her work helped her focus on something other
than her illness. One woman decided to take un-
paid leave time during her chemotherapy. All she
could do was think about how badly she felt. She
went back to work and felt better almost immedi-
ately.
No, you have not had a lobotomy and lost all of
your intelligence with a lumpectomy or a mastec-
tomy. No, all your job skills were not located in the
breast tissue that was removed. Yes, you want to
go back to work. Yes, you want to do, but do not
overdo.
As frustrating as it may be, your boss and your co-
workers may need you not only to guide them in
their responses to your needs, but also to educate
them in general about what having breast cancer
means—to a woman and to an employee. Take a
little extra time and make a bigger effort to ease
their minds. It’ll pay off in the long run!