Disclosure of Cancer Diagnosis

les74
les74 Member Posts: 2
in Breast Cancer #1
I work for a large non-profit organization in South Carolina. My immediate supervisor disclosed to a client that I was going through cancer treatment. I spoke with HR about this however they have done nothing to repremand her - IN FACT, she has since been promoted to Director of our department. I don't know what to do about this and wondered if anyone can help. Thanks.

Comments

  • Gabe N Abby Mom
    Gabe N Abby Mom Member Posts: 2,413
    #2
    I'm not sure what you would
    I'm not sure what you would like to do about this...do you want an apology? Do you want her fired? Also, it's possible she was reprimanded and you were not informed of the reprimand. (You wouldn't want others in the dept to know about any reprimands you might have.) Regardless, you might check with Cancer Legal Resource Center.

    http://www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org/about/cancerlegalresource.cfm
  • les74
    les74 Member Posts: 2
    #3
    Gabe N Abby Mom said:

    I'm not sure what you would
    I'm not sure what you would like to do about this...do you want an apology? Do you want her fired? Also, it's possible she was reprimanded and you were not informed of the reprimand. (You wouldn't want others in the dept to know about any reprimands you might have.) Regardless, you might check with Cancer Legal Resource Center.

    http://www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org/about/cancerlegalresource.cfm

    Thanks
    Thanks so much for your help and you are very correct about the reprimand issue.
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #4
    Totally inappropriate - and illegal
    I don't really know who to tell you to talk to but you definately need to take it higher than the HR as it appears that her/bhis behavior is also inappropriate (at best). Your state should have an agency to deal with the problem - if not the federal government does have. Chyeck with the ADA site. A call to your local ACS should be able to give you sites.

    It is incrediable that a 'non-profit organization would do such! Wonder how much i8nfo is being passed on about clients?

    Winyan - The Power Within

    Susan
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #5
    Rague said:

    Totally inappropriate - and illegal
    I don't really know who to tell you to talk to but you definately need to take it higher than the HR as it appears that her/bhis behavior is also inappropriate (at best). Your state should have an agency to deal with the problem - if not the federal government does have. Chyeck with the ADA site. A call to your local ACS should be able to give you sites.

    It is incrediable that a 'non-profit organization would do such! Wonder how much i8nfo is being passed on about clients?

    Winyan - The Power Within

    Susan

    I am with the Sisters in PINK ... so
    inappropriate and unprofessional. Please check with cancer site, Linda suggested.

    It's your body, your story --- it belongs to you, and you alone.

    Your situation is nobody's business, unless you choose to share it.


    Vicki Sam
  • mom62
    mom62 Member Posts: 604 Member
    #6
    What I would do
    Hi,

    I'm a very straight forward person and at this point in my cancer I pretty much say what I want. I would confront her directly and tell her your diagnosis is a private matter and you would appreciate it if she kept it to herself. If you hear her spreading it more, talk to HR again.

    Terry
  • rallendorfer
    rallendorfer Member Posts: 244
    #7
    I don't understand
    Was the information shared because your supervisor wanted to hurt you, or was she sympathetic? If her motive was not bad, why would you get so upset? I guess I am just not on this wavelength because I have not kept it a secret. My boss did ask me after I told him if he were permitted to tell anyone else, and I told him: absolutely! tell anyone you like! And I have found great support and sympathetic help along the way because of it. That is just me and I know we are all different. I just would not want to hurt anyone that was not trying to do anything wrong.
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #8
    rallendorfer said:

    I don't understand
    Was the information shared because your supervisor wanted to hurt you, or was she sympathetic? If her motive was not bad, why would you get so upset? I guess I am just not on this wavelength because I have not kept it a secret. My boss did ask me after I told him if he were permitted to tell anyone else, and I told him: absolutely! tell anyone you like! And I have found great support and sympathetic help along the way because of it. That is just me and I know we are all different. I just would not want to hurt anyone that was not trying to do anything wrong.

    Same Thought....
    Is it possible that she told the client because the client noticed a change in you, in your appearance, or demeanor and was inquiring out concern?
    I think I would have to ask her directly as to her motive for telling the client...she maybe able to give you a satisfactory explanation...ask her to set aside a few minutes, that you'd like to talk to her...I can understand you're wanting to be private..but I would give her the chance to explain face to face....usually you can tell if she's lying....also ask her not to tell anyone else...it's not her business to divulge your health concerns..! And might possibly be illegal to do so......if she can't give a straight answer and you feel she was just being "gossipy" I'd take it as high as you can go in your organization!

    Keep us posted....
  • NancyJac
    NancyJac Member Posts: 91
    #9
    You may have spoken with the
    You may have spoken with the wrong person. In most companies, HR performs mostly administrative work and really doesn't do employee counseling. I would speak to the person's direct supervisor. It may also help to couch this as an indication of lack of professionalism or even an indication of a security risk, rather than a personal issue. Her boss is more likely to take action on those terms rather than you sounding like a disgruntled employee.

    And actually, she may have been reprimanded. Just as your cancer diagnosis shouldn't have been disclosed to a client, an employee's reprimand shouldn't be disclosed either. And as far as what to do about it, my recommendation would be to let it go. Words can't be unspoken and maintaining a vendetta against your boss is not going to benefit you in any way.
  • salls41
    salls41 Member Posts: 340
    #10
    My Boss told
    and I was shocked when at our Christmas Party the woman in charge of catering came up and introduced herself as a Breast Cancer survivor. She told me my boss shared my recent diagnosis and she wanted to hug me and let me know things would be ok. Well my boss is an older woman..78 so I wasn't really suprised she was telling people. But the more people that found out, the better I felt. I had prayers coming from every church in the valley! I don't think she told to be mean or gossippy or any of that, it was her way of dealing with my illness.
  • laughs_a_lot
    laughs_a_lot Member Posts: 1,368 Member
    #11
    I work in mental health as a direct care giver.
    When my supervisor was told I was concerned about what to say to the clients. There had been a recent death of another worker (by a different cause). He said to say nothing. Some of them figured it out when I was wearing all those hats and they actually kept it to themselves when I asked them to. It is your buisness to tell.

    One of the phrases I used to be able to mention my condition to my co workers without getting into details was "my wonderful health suprise". The clients are always trying to listen even when the office door is closed. This allowed me to say things that needed to be said but kept matters fairly generic.

    Again if the client noticed a change in you, it might have been necessary to explain depending on the circumstances. My explanation for baldness was "a bet with my son for a plane ticket to visit him if I went bald all summer."
  • Megan M
    Megan M Member Posts: 3,000
    #12
    Gabe N Abby Mom said:

    I'm not sure what you would
    I'm not sure what you would like to do about this...do you want an apology? Do you want her fired? Also, it's possible she was reprimanded and you were not informed of the reprimand. (You wouldn't want others in the dept to know about any reprimands you might have.) Regardless, you might check with Cancer Legal Resource Center.

    http://www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org/about/cancerlegalresource.cfm

    I don't know what you would
    I don't know what you would do about this either, but, it doesn't seem right and may not be legal. Linda posted a good site above my post that might help you. Let us know.


    Hugs, Megan
  • Kristin N
    Kristin N Member Posts: 1,968 Member
    #13
    VickiSam said:

    I am with the Sisters in PINK ... so
    inappropriate and unprofessional. Please check with cancer site, Linda suggested.

    It's your body, your story --- it belongs to you, and you alone.

    Your situation is nobody's business, unless you choose to share it.


    Vicki Sam

    Very wrong and very
    Very wrong and very inappropriate. Contact the ACS and see what they say.
  • survivorbc09
    survivorbc09 Member Posts: 4,374 Member
    #14
    MAJW said:

    Same Thought....
    Is it possible that she told the client because the client noticed a change in you, in your appearance, or demeanor and was inquiring out concern?
    I think I would have to ask her directly as to her motive for telling the client...she maybe able to give you a satisfactory explanation...ask her to set aside a few minutes, that you'd like to talk to her...I can understand you're wanting to be private..but I would give her the chance to explain face to face....usually you can tell if she's lying....also ask her not to tell anyone else...it's not her business to divulge your health concerns..! And might possibly be illegal to do so......if she can't give a straight answer and you feel she was just being "gossipy" I'd take it as high as you can go in your organization!

    Keep us posted....

    I think I would ask her too
    I think I would ask her too as to why she disclosed it. I really don't think she should have told the client unless there was a really good reason. And then I think she should have come straight to you and told you.


    Update us as to what happens,

    Jan

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