Dear Prudence,
I’m a woman in my late 20s, and I’m finishing my graduate degree this spring. Late last year, I was diagnosed with a scary but slow-growing and very treatable form of cancer. I have a pretty generous timeline for surgery, and it’s scheduled for after I graduate in May, since I’m scrambling to finish my dissertation. I’m in the process of applying for jobs, many of them remote positions, which raises the question: Do I need to disclose my health and upcoming surgery to potential employers? My instinct is that I don’t, but the start date for many of the jobs I seek would coincide with my planned surgery. And while the recovery period for the surgery is at most two weeks, I don’t want employers to think I’m being deceitful. What should I do?
—Worried About Disclosure