When did u tell your work?

I told my manager after I had my diagnosis. I didn’t mention anything before that. I had lifting restrictions after my first biopsy but just told her I had a procedure done. I will say that when I slowly started telling my coworkers I was in awe of the love and support I felt from them. I understand what you are saying about it being stressful for them to know. I felt like some days it was a struggle to manage my own emotions, so I guess I didn’t think I could handle many questions I did not have the answers to.

I had my biopsy yesterday and await results. Right now, a few of my closest teammates know and my department chair (I am a teacher). I explained to my department chair why I had 3 absences in the last 1.5 weeks because I typically NEVER call out and hate missing school. I felt she should know there was a significant reason why and that I couldn't NOT miss those days.

I will only fill in my admin if the results are bad since they'll need to know at that point though I have zero intention of leaving my job. I will be requesting this thing get taken out even if I am lucky and it is benign so I will at least update them on the need for surgery. But until then, I'm keeping it close to my chest (pardon the pun).

I told mine right away, but I am close to them, even though they are 90% men, and knew they would be supportive. Last time I was in the parking lot of work when I got the news, so they knew before my family.

I was upfront with my boss from the time I was diagnosed, though I didn't tell many coworkers (or many other people in general, and still haven't). I'm a contract worker and was working at that moment on a difficult project that was not going well (and my workload and stress levels were extremely high), so I wanted to be honest with them from the get-go, for the sake of the project and my reputation - in my industry, where everyone is replaceable, taking too much time off, for any reason, is seen as being unreliable, and since I'd worked hard to prove that I WAS reliable, I didn't want this diagnosis to ruin my career. I needed them to know that it was very serious, that I wasn't just being flaky and letting them down. I told my boss immediately when I had appointments, when my surgery was scheduled, etc., and while he was decent about it, not everyone was, though I think that makes me the exception to the rule.

(This whole mess has been a nightmare for me, work-wise, but that has far more to do with the nature of my work and the particular company I was working for, and not the diagnosis itself.)

Like another poster on here said, once it's out, it's out, so just be aware of that when/if you decide you need to tell anyone anything. Of course, I'm sure we're all hoping that, once you've had your next couple of appointments, you'll find out that you've got nothing at all to worry about and then there won't be anything to tell anyway, but on the off chance that they do find something, you know how information travels, be clear with who you speak with and what you tell them, and if you would prefer that they keep the information on the down-low. Maybe if you absolutely HAVE to say something now, you could just say that you've got some medical appointments - if nothing comes of it (fingers crossed!), then that's all that needs to be said, and if something does come of it, then you can provide more information to your employer as necessary.

Just some thoughts.

I told them right away, like the day after my lump was found. It was easier because I literally have no poker face. I wanted them to know why I was walking around looking so awful. My boss was with me when I got the diagnosis phone call. We're a small and close knit office, mostly ladies.