How to Support a Colleague or Coworker With Breast Cancer

How can I support a colleague with breast cancer?

In brief

Follow their lead on privacy, keep treating them as a valued colleague, and ask what would help rather than guessing. Managers should agree reasonable adjustments, such as flexible hours or a phased return. In Great Britain, cancer counts as a disability under the Equality Act from diagnosis; in the US, the ADA usually applies.

By Kaiser Khan, Breast Cancer Charity · Updated 22 October 2026

Quick facts

Equality Act 2010 (Great Britain): Cancer meets the definition of disability from the day of diagnosis; Source: GOV.UK: definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010
Reasonable adjustments: Employers must make them, for example flexible hours, part-time work or a phased return; Source: GOV.UK: reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions
United States: People with cancer should easily be found to have a disability under the ADA; Source: US EEOC: cancer in the workplace and the ADA
Medical information (US): Employers must keep it confidential, with limited exceptions; Source: US EEOC: cancer in the workplace and the ADA

Key takeaways

It is their news. Do not share it unless they have asked you to.
Ask what would help, and keep including them unless they say otherwise.
Managers should talk privately, agree adjustments and write them down. (GOV.UK: reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions)
In Great Britain, cancer is a disability under the Equality Act from the day of diagnosis. (GOV.UK: definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010)

What can I say to a colleague who has breast cancer?

Keep it short and kind: “I’m sorry to hear your news. If there’s anything I can do at work, just say.” Then take your cue from them. Some people want work to be the one place cancer is not discussed; others are happy to talk. Both are fine.

Never pass the news on, or speculate about their health with others, unless they have asked you to share it.

How can a team help in practical ways?

Keep inviting them to meetings, chats and social events, and let them choose.
Offer to cover a task only once it has been agreed with them and their manager, so they do not feel sidelined.
Be flexible about meeting times around appointments.
Send a team card or message. Our guide to card messages has wording for colleagues.
Ask before organising a pink day or fundraiser in their name.

What should a manager do?

Arrange a private conversation, ask what they would like colleagues to know, and agree how you will keep in touch during any time off. Keep health information confidential.

Employers must make reasonable adjustments so that workers with disabilities or health conditions are not substantially disadvantaged. Examples on GOV.UK include doing things another way, changing equipment and a phased return to work with flexible hours or part-time working. Agree adjustments together, write them down and review them as treatment changes.

In England, Scotland and Wales, a person with cancer meets the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability from the day they are diagnosed. The Act does not apply in Northern Ireland, which has its own law. In the United States, the EEOC says people with cancer, or cancer in remission, should easily be found to have a disability under the ADA, which covers employers with 15 or more staff, and medical information must be kept confidential.

Sources: GOV.UK: reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions; GOV.UK: definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010; US EEOC: cancer in the workplace and the ADA

How can we help when they come back to work?

A phased return, with fewer hours or days at first, is a common adjustment. Side effects of treatment can continue after it ends, and some only start later, so keep checking in rather than assuming everything is back to normal.

Ask how they would like their return to be handled: some people want a quiet first day, others a welcome-back coffee.

Sources: GOV.UK: reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions; NHS: chemotherapy

Frequently asked questions

Should I tell other colleagues?

Not unless your colleague has asked you to. It is their health information. In the US, the EEOC says employers must keep medical information confidential, with limited exceptions; good practice everywhere is to let the person decide who knows.

Source: US EEOC: cancer in the workplace and the ADA

Is breast cancer a disability at work in the UK?

In Great Britain, yes. Under the Equality Act 2010, you meet the definition of disability from the day you are diagnosed with cancer, so the law on discrimination and reasonable adjustments applies. Northern Ireland has separate law.

Source: GOV.UK: definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010

What adjustments could help a colleague with breast cancer?

Flexible hours, part-time working or a phased return after time off are all examples GOV.UK gives of reasonable adjustments. Others might include working from home on treatment days or changing tasks for a while.

Source: GOV.UK: reasonable adjustments for workers with disabilities or health conditions

What should we write in a card from the team?

Keep it warm and low-pressure, for example “Thinking of you. Take all the time you need, we’ve got things covered.” Avoid mentioning details they have not shared with everyone.

Sources and references

This page is general information, not medical advice. A GP or doctor can advise on your own situation. Source links do not imply endorsement by the NHS or another organisation. See our editorial policy.