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Niranjala Siriwardena: The Hidden Work of Advocating for Your Rights After Cancer

Niranjala Siriwardena/LinkedIn

Aug 17, 2025, 08:01

Niranjala Siriwardena: The Hidden Work of Advocating for Your Rights After Cancer

Niranjala Siriwardena, Cancer Survivor and Former Manager at PwC Australia, shared on LinkedIn:

“Fighting for Your Rights After Cancer Isn’t Just Exhausting — It’s a Second Full-Time Job and a PhD You Never Signed Up For.

When I returned to work after thyroid cancer surgery, I never imagined I’d need to become:

A legal researcher
A procedural strategist
An evidence archivist

Yet here I am — navigating workplace injury law, anti-discrimination law, and human rights law, all while trying to recover and heal.

It’s like doing a PhD you never signed up for except the cost is your health, your finances, and your peace of mind.

The reality:

• Employers have HR teams and in-house lawyers.
• Workers are expected to self-navigate multiple systems — WorkCover, Human Rights, Fair Work and each with its own rules, deadlines, and language.
• These systems rarely coordinate, leaving survivors fighting parallel battles with no central support.

The result? A system that protects the powerful and wears down the vulnerable.

If someone like me — educated and determined, finds this process unbearable, imagine those with limited literacy or English. Most simply give up. And injustice wins.

Survivors deserve dignity, not bureaucracy. That’s why I’ll keep speaking out — until change comes.

This post reflects my personal experience and broader advocacy for systemic reform. It does not comment on any specific employer or ongoing case.”

More posts featuring Niranjala Siriwardena on OncoDaily.