Elise Anna Harris, 59, has faced early breast cancer more than once. In 2002, she was diagnosed and treated with radiation and chemotherapy for stage I triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma. In 2018, she was diagnosed again, this time at stage II. She had a lumpectomy and six rounds of chemotherapy. She says she’s now healed and doing well.
In February 2025, Maria Arteaga-Beltran, now 44, was diagnosed with stage IA triple-positive invasive ductal carcinoma after her first mammogram. She had a bilateral mastectomy followed by 10 weeks of chemotherapy and a year of targeted therapy. She’ll continue hormone therapy for the next 10 years.
Here, Harris and Arteaga-Beltran discuss medical leave, financial stress, workplace rights, and what it can feel like to return to work after breast cancer treatment.
When Cancer and Work Collide
Elise: When I got the call that I had breast cancer, my manager wasn’t around. But there was another manager, and I told her. I almost passed out from the initial shock. My co-workers ended up taking me home.
Beyond the shock, I was thinking: How are my bills going to get paid? Am I going to have someone to take me through the chemo treatments? What’s it going to be like returning to work after treatment?
After my first diagnosis, I had radiation and chemotherapy. I went back to work with no real issues. I just couldn’t lift anything heavy for a while. The second time, I had surgery to remove calcifications from my breast. No chemo. No radiation.
But this third time has been so different. The chemo was way more aggressive because the cancer was more aggressive, and I had surgery to remove the lump. I took paid leave for about two months — thank goodness for FMLA — but going back to work was way harder physically and mentally than the first two times.
After my third diagnosis, there were times after a chemo appointment when I would come in and feel like crap. I might be able to work for a little while before I’d need to go home. And there were days, of course, when I just called off.
When I would make mistakes at work, my manager would pull me aside and tell me, “You need to be at this level here, and you’re down here.” And I’m freaking out because I’m going through chemo, and again I’m thinking about my bills while trying to balance everything.
About a year after my third diagnosis, I was laid off from that job.
In the workplace, there needs to be way more compassion for people going through cancer treatment. You’re just trying to hold on and do your job to the best of your ability. But it was hard.
Maria: All of that resonates with me.
When I told my interim CEO I had breast cancer, he was like, “Well, what does that mean for us? How long are you going to be out?” He even made one comment like, “Ooh, new boobs, right?”
I was like, wait a minute, friend. That is not what I wanted.
I’m an operations director, so I know HR. I knew some of those comments weren’t appropriate. But it was difficult to handle. And then some unexpected changes popped up.
At first, we thought I was HER2-negative, so I was told I would have the mastectomy, go on hormone therapy, and be done. I wouldn’t need chemo or radiation. Then they told me I was actually HER2-positive and needed more treatment.
I was one week away from coming back to work after recovering from surgery, and I had to call and say, “I actually can’t come back because I need to do chemo.”
I worked for a month and then went back out. I asked if I could work part time, and I was told to go ahead and take the time off.
Then, two days after my FMLA ended, I got an email from my boss asking about mutually separating. That was hard to hear because I was already trying to deal with treatment and everything else, and now I had to worry about what was going to happen with my job.
While some of the conversations around my leave and my job were harder than they should’ve been, many of the people I worked closely with were great. They sent me stuff for my birthday. I felt very supported by my co-workers.
How Am I Going to Pay for That?
Elise: When I came to work during cancer treatment, I thought a lot about keeping my job so I’d have health insurance, which I needed so I could keep getting treatment.
I remember looking at the bill for my last surgery, and it was $40,000. I was relieved when a nurse told me insurance would cover it.
But it seemed like every time I went to the doctor’s office, they would tell me I had some kind of balance. There was even a point when I chose not to go to the doctor’s office because I had a balance.
Maria: At the beginning of my diagnosis, there was a lot of fear, too. How am I going to pay my bills? How can I get financial support?
I live in California, and I was able to apply for disability benefits. That really helped me. But there was still the question of: How do I keep everything going for the time I’m off work? California is extremely expensive.
But being off work was hard in a different way. I felt like I didn’t have a purpose. I felt like I was sitting around for a year, not doing anything. But people would remind me, no, you’re healing. This is part of the process. This is what you’re supposed to be doing.
Getting Help With Leave and Benefits
Elise: My doctor’s office helped with the paperwork. I filled out part, and they filled out the other half. But if I didn’t fill everything out by a certain time, I wouldn’t get the full payment.
Maria, did you ever experience something like that?
Maria: My doctor’s office was really helpful in getting the paperwork in for me, and disability insurance came through fairly quickly. But there were waiting periods where I had to advocate a little bit harder.
Elise: And meanwhile, the bills just keep coming.
Maria: The bills didn’t stop.
Elise: No, they didn’t. My family stepped in when I needed them, thank God. You can’t do this by yourself, or you shouldn’t have to. It’s just too much.
Maria: I think it’s important to know the law, what protections you have in place, and who you can go to for support.
Look for organizations that specifically work with people dealing with employment and cancer, like Triage Cancer. Having those kinds of resources helped me understand what my options were.
I had a lawyer ready if I needed one. I’d been gone a year, so I wasn’t sure how smoothly things would go. But on the day I was due back, I just showed up. I wanted to make it clear that I was ready to work and prepared to advocate for myself if I needed to.
Look for Help Beyond Your Workplace
Elise: Contact your insurance company and look for other resources too. I know some people tell you not to go online, but you may need to find resources beyond your care team. There were things I needed that my social worker wasn’t able to help me with, so I had to look elsewhere.
The American Cancer Society is a reliable resource, and so is Susan G. Komen.
Maria: For the Breast of Us has been a good resource for me. That’s a breast cancer community for women of color, and I’m an ambassador for them. I also work with The Breasties, a group geared toward anyone impacted by breast or gynecological cancer.
The organizations I participate in have helped me learn how to speak up for myself, where to reach out for help, and that I’m not alone.
Coming Back to Work May Feel Different
Maria: I really did want to work. I thought I could’ve worked part-time, but I ended up being off for a year. I came back in May. But I’m tired. I’m really tired.
I completely understand what you were saying, Elise, about things taking longer to process. Sometimes I stop and tell people, “Look, my brain is just buffering. Just give me a minute.”
My mental capability is still here. It just takes me a little bit longer sometimes. Coming back has also been hard on my body.
Elise: To this day, I still have to take things at a slower pace, and I’ve made a habit of letting people know I’m a breast cancer survivor.
At one job, I was being trained in a doctor’s office, and everything was going really, really fast. I told them that everybody’s learning speed is different and the training should have taken that into account.
A Supportive Workplace Makes a Difference
Maria: Luckily, we have new leadership now, and things are OK. They saw what I could do and had heard about my track record and my work ethic.
I’m in the nonprofit sector, and I thought I’d helped create a culture where we share compassion for each other and help each other out. Most of the folks I work with have been supportive, and that’s still the case.
I can come in and say, “Hey, I need a moment,” or “My body hurts,” or “Today I’m feeling this way or that way.”
I’m flat and I can come into the office and feel safe enough that I don’t have to wear prostheses or feel like I have to be covered up. And being able to come into a safe space like that really does affect my mental health and how I show up.
Sometimes you just have to remind people that you need grace. Whether it’s cancer, another surgery, mental health issues, whatever — when people come back from medical leave, they need grace.
Elise: I want people to ask themselves: If that was one of your family members, how would you treat them? If that was your mother, your sister, your niece, or one of your friends, would you treat them that way?
Like you said, Maria, just some grace.
Maria: If you or one of your loved ones is already having to deal with cancer, they shouldn’t also have to deal with tension at work or fear that they’re going to lose their job.
Show Sources
Photo Credit: E+/Getty Images
SOURCES:
Elise Anna Harris, breast cancer survivor and advocate, Detroit, Michigan.
Maria Arteaga-Beltran, breast cancer survivor and advocate, San Fernando Valley, California.
U.S. Department of Labor: “Workplace Protections for Individuals Impacted by Cancer.”
American Cancer Society: “Working During Cancer Treatment.”
