Metastatic breast cancer advocate Charmaine Tyson shares how she opened up about her diagnosis at work and the key factors to consider before telling your employer.

Charmaine Tyson is a 55-year-old metastatic breast cancer thriver who learned she had breast cancer that had spread to her liver in 2013. She was working in a sales role that required regular travel between New York and North Carolina. She decided to disclose her diagnosis to managers at work and took time off for treatment.

Charmaine had a breast cancer recurrence in 2016, at which point she decided to resign from her job in sales and moved full-time to North Carolina. She had a second recurrence in 2021, and following treatment, she’s now living with no evidence of disease.

Charmaine now works as a Care Manager at Carolina Breast Friends, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and community support to people affected by breast cancer in North Carolina. She also serves as a patient advocate with Susan G. Komen.

We asked Charmaine about her experiences telling people at work about her diagnosis. Here’s what she had to say.

This interview has been edited for brevity, length, and clarity.

When I first got diagnosed with breast cancer, I was working in corporate America. I told some of my close friends who worked with me, as well as Human Resources, my sales director, and the VP of the company.

They were pretty supportive during that time. I’d been with the company for about 6 years and was well known in the organization, so they were very lenient.

I had good healthcare insurance coverage and was able to go on short-term disability for about 3 months, while I got through surgery and chemo. After I had my reconstructive surgery, I went back to work, and they allowed me to work remotely from Charlotte, where I was being treated.

It took at least 7 months before I went back to work full-time.

I always encourage people with breast cancer to be transparent with their employers, as much as they can, so if there’s some way they can help them, they’ll be able to work with them on that.

But that’s a personal choice.

I thought about: How long will this take? Will they be supportive? What if I need more time off? Will I still have a job?

With this diagnosis, I needed my healthcare insurance, and I needed to continue to work to cover the cost of whatever was coming. Those were my big concerns when I got diagnosed and was deciding how much I wanted to tell my employer at the time.

I’ve talked with a lot of ladies who couldn’t afford to take time off. Whatever time they had to take off was without pay, so they had to continue to work through their treatments.

I’ve also met people who, because of their situation, didn’t want to tell their employers at all. If they worked from home, they had the flexibility to maneuver treatment while working remotely, so they didn’t feel it necessary to draw attention to themselves.

I leaned on the nurse navigator at my oncology office, who was there to help me navigate the whole process. They helped me understand what my rights were as a metastatic breast cancer survivor and thriver.

Another place I contacted at the beginning was the Department of Labor. I had heard horror stories where people were out sick, and if they didn’t come back at a certain time, they were maybe laid off or things like that. So, I wanted to know what my rights were.

I also went to some of the national platforms, like Susan G. Komen and CancerCare.

And 13 years ago, I walked through the doors at Carolina Breast Friends as a young survivor. I met women and men of all ages and ethnic backgrounds, who were just starting their journey like me or were already on it. I heard survivorship stories, all about survivors and thrivers, that helped me navigate through my own journey.

One of the features we have here is our mentoring program. Our mentors are everyday survivors and thrivers who understand the journey all too well.

I was matched with a metastatic breast cancer thriver, who at that time was already a 5-year thriver. She gave me hope and inspiration to take it one day at a time, which I did.

And here I am, 13 years out from my initial diagnosis as a metastatic thriver.

And my mentor is now 18 years out, living with metastatic disease.

When I was referred here, I had a sigh of relief. I’m not saying this was a club that I wanted to be part of, but it was good to know I was no longer alone.

Charmaine Tyson is a three-time metastatic breast cancer thriver, motivational speaker, mentor, Susan G. Komen MBC Patient Advocate, and Care Manager for Carolina Breast Friends, a nonprofit organization serving the local breast cancer community in North Carolina. With support from family, friends, and her medical team, she made it through metastatic breast cancer in 2013, 2016, and 2021. She lives each day encouraging others and sharing her story to give hope and inspiration.