I once sat in Committee Room 14 in the Houses of Parliament. It's the room where the futures of prime ministers get fought over.
That evening, it held a different fight: breast cancer.
A breast cancer consultant told us that the first question every patient asks isn't about treatment. It's "Is this going to kill me?"
Then: "How do I tell my kids?"
Then: "How do I tell my colleagues?"
Then: "How am I going to pay the mortgage?"
Almost every one of those questions went through my mind when I was diagnosed. Two of the four are about work. That tells you how much an employer shapes what happens next.
Real progress, and the gaps it hides
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK. Around 1 in 7 women will develop it in their lifetime, and there are around 59,000 new cases every year.
The progress is real, and I'm grateful for it. In the early 1970s, around 4 in 10 women with breast cancer survived for ten years or more. Today it's almost 8 in 10.
But more people surviving means more people living with cancer while they work. Around one in three people living with cancer in the UK are of working age, and breast cancer is the biggest killer of working-age women. This isn't a rare situation your policy will meet once a decade. It's already in your organisation.
And behind the headline figures are gaps that are hard to ignore:
The person who looks well. Around 61,000 people in the UK are living with incurable secondary breast cancer. Many look fine, so colleagues assume they are fine.
The 40-year-old at the peak of her career. Many people take hormone therapy for five to ten years after treatment, often with side effects like fatigue, joint pain and poor concentration. Recovery doesn't end when treatment does.
The carer. The person quietly risking their job to get someone to chemotherapy, often using annual leave or calling in sick.
The self-employed parent. No sick pay at all, and no employer to ask for flexibility.
Black women. Analysis by Cancer Research UK and NHS Digital found that Black African and Black Caribbean women in England are more likely than White women to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a later stage. Too often, Black women aren't believed when they raise concerns, and some carry silences about family history that make early conversations harder.
The consultant told us he writes to employers almost every week about how his patients are being treated at work.
Every week.
What the law says, and why it isn't enough
Every employer should know the legal baseline:
Cancer is a disability from the day of diagnosis under the Equality Act 2010. Employees are protected from discrimination, and employers must make reasonable adjustments.
Statutory Sick Pay is paid from the first day of sickness since April 2026, and lower earners now qualify. It's still the lower of 80% of earnings or the statutory weekly rate.
Carers can take one week of unpaid carer's leave a year, from their first day in a job.
That's the floor. It isn't what good looks like.
So here's my question for leaders. Does your policy describe what support looks like, or only what you're legally obliged to do?
They aren't the same thing.
What compassionate support looks like in practice
One line from that evening has stayed with me: "Research saves lives. But it's compassion that saves people."
Compassion can't be left to whichever manager you happen to get. It has to be designed into how the organisation works.
Train your managers before they need it. The first conversation after a diagnosis shapes everything that follows. Managers need to know what to say, what not to ask, and where to point people.
Design returns to work with the person, not for them. Phased hours, flexible working and remote options should be agreed together and reviewed regularly, not set once and forgotten.
Plan for the long tail. Years of hormone therapy, fatigue and follow-up appointments are part of recovery. Make sure absence triggers and performance processes take that into account.
Protect pay. Look at enhanced sick pay, how long it lasts, and what happens to bonuses and progression during treatment. Money worries slow recovery.
Remember the people you can't see. That includes colleagues with secondary cancer, colleagues caring for someone with cancer, and the self-employed contractors you rely on.
Build in equity. Listen properly when people raise concerns about their health. Make support culturally aware, and talk openly about screening and family history so it isn't left unsaid.
Make it easy to ask. Name a contact, write the support down, and share it before anyone needs it, not after.
If you're not sure where your organisation stands, start with the people who've been through it. Ask them what helped, and what they wish had been different. Their answers are your real policy review.
You might also find it helpful to read How you can provide REAL support to your employees with chronic illnesses.
Compassion has to be built in
Research is helping more people survive breast cancer than ever before. Whether they also keep their jobs, their income and their confidence depends on what happens at work.
That part is up to us.
How Aquaintz can help
Review what people actually experience. An Inclusive Culture Deep Dive looks at the gap between your policies and what colleagues live through, including during illness and caring.
Equip your leaders. The Organisational Inclusionist Leader coaching helps senior leaders handle these conversations with confidence and care.
Start with the basics. Download our free guide, 10 Steps to Ensure Workplace Inclusivity.
Want to talk about how your organisation supports people through cancer? Book a free 30-minute call.
Sources
Cancer Research UK, Breast cancer statistics
Cancer Research UK, Breast cancer survival statistics
Breast Cancer Now, About Breast Cancer Now
Macmillan Cancer Support, quoted in Employee Benefits
Cancer Research UK, New analysis reveals Black women in England more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer (2023)
Cancer Research UK, Staying on oestrogen-blocking drugs for five extra years prevents more breast cancers returning (2016)
GOV.UK, Definition of disability under the Equality Act 2010
Carers UK, The Carer’s Leave Act 2023
With thanks to G100 for convening the event in Parliament, to Francisca Beloso García MBA FCIPD CMgr for the invitation, and to every speaker who shared their expertise and their story.