Dealing with a cancer diagnosis is tough—and when an employee gets the bad news, there are difficult times ahead for both employee and boss, particularly if the employer doesn’t know how to handle the situation.

A report from the Society for Human Resource Management offers suggestions on employer dos and don’ts when an employee has been diagnosed with cancer. It cites Heidi Bimrose, director of health and productivity at insurance provider Unum Group, who got the bad news herself and learned firsthand how important the employer’s behavior can be.

Bimrose, who works with large employers to identify trends and workforce solutions related to disability and absence, including strategies that focus on accommodating employees who have illnesses such as cancer, says that employers should let employees decide whether or not news of the diagnosis should be shared with coworkers. In the report, she’s quoted saying, “[It] is that employee’s decision to make about what they want to reveal to their coworkers.”