Nobody should. But that’s what I’m worried about. People are so curious.

You can't stop people being nosey. The first bullet point in my answer is a subtle hint that they shouldn't be asking and the quote at the end is a less subtle hint. If they continue to not take the hint, just tell them straight that they are asking an inappropriate question.

sadly that doesn’t sound like an interview that ends with an offer.

@Kaz why? You are not really making a point here backed up by anything said so far.

@KMSTR The point is that you can't have both of 'refuse to give details about your treatment' and 'stop the interviewer holding it against you if you do'. You can be polite and direct, which helps, but ultimately there are no guarantees.

I disagree with putting a "due to health" entry in your resume timeline. Instead, you just show the timeline up to the point where you were laid off, and leave the "why" part for the interview.

@JoeStrazzere You should post your own answer then :-)

@PhilipKendall But that answer might not get upvoted. If Joe puts it in a comment, he doesn't have to worry about quality control.

@PhilipKendall - there is already an answer that expresses my thoughts well enough.

@Anonymoot - I don't need any upvotes. And I've never worried about quality control (at least not here).

I think with that particular sample timeline, where the medical leave is in 2020, most people would assume it was COVID-19 and likely not ask any further. If OP's cancer was before 2020, that may not apply to them, but having large resume gaps due to medical issues will become increasingly common in the next few years.

Why say "health issues" when "cancer" is already self-explanatory and can have a positive message of overcoming life challenges behind it?

@SnakeDoc That's what I was thinking. They might even give you a break because they feel sorry for you. If someone holds cancer against you, they're a-holes and I wouldn't want to work for them.

@Barmar Additionally, the vagueness of "health issues" could potentially make someone pass on hiring you, since there could be a very real risk to impacting the business based off some medical issues you have. Illegal as that might be in the US... it's reality. Everyone understands Cancer and how dreadfully awful it is... but it clearly would not impact the business.

@SnakeDoc Right -- being explicitly vague tends to invite the reader to assume the worst, on the theory that you would disclose something that isn't impacting.

@KMSTR I don't see any reasonable employer asking follow up questions to listing "health issues". Like others have stated, they risk a lawsuit in most areas. Plus, even if it raises a red flag to the interviewer, it's probably an indication the employer doesn't respect the health of their employees, and frankly you dodged a bullet by not working for them.

@KMSTR speaking from personal experience, as someone who dealt with health issues that prevented me from completing college, I was often asked in interviews why I didn't have a degree. Simply saying it was because of health or personal issues didn't invite anymore questions.

I am not a hire interviewer but if I saw "health issue which is now resolved" I would surely ask. People often lie in their resumes or minimize flaws, I would doubt it is actually resolved, and would know if this issue can affect the job I offer. This is probably not the best solution to avoid questions being asked. And I would see no reason for the OP not to answer it was cancer, avoid an answer here can lead to assumptions it was something that can cause problems in jobs and wants to hide, like mental health issues for example

If I saw “health issue“ for a whole year without further explanation I’d assume depression or maybe even a drug or alcohol addiction. It would be wrong to exclude somebody for such a reason but I could still see it happening. Better and easier to just write cancer.