Cancer and Employment: the numbers and implications

By Stephanie Nutt

Due to recent improvements in cancer detection and treatment, more cancer survivors are living through and beyond cancer than ever before. Additionally, these improvements in treatment have often made it more possible for survivors to work during and immediately following their treatment. A cancer diagnosis and cancer treatment can impact survivors’ employment in both positive and negative ways. Cancer survivors face decisions and issues such as:

  • Deciding whether they can (and want to) continue working, take time off, retire, or change their job schedule or roles
  • Considering whether, when, and how to talk to their employer and co-workers about their condition
  • Maintaining their health insurance and other benefits when they are not working
  • Getting needed support from their employer and co-workers
  • Understanding federal protection laws.

In 2012, the LIVESTRONG Foundation surveyed survivors to ask them about their experiences during and after treatment. Among the many topics covered in the survey, survivors were asked numerous questions about how cancer and its treatment affected their employment. Out of the 4,900 survivors who took the survey and were diagnosed since 2002, about 80% of them had worked since their cancer diagnosis.

Most cancer survivors who had worked since their diagnosis report that cancer interfered with their ability to perform work-related physical (67%) and mental (61%) tasks; 72% said they were less productive at work. Women were more likely than men to report a negative impact on their work productivity (75% vs. 67%). Women were also more likely than men to report a negative impact on their ability to perform work-related physical (71% vs. 61%) and mental tasks (67% vs. 52%).

The majority of survivors (78%) who had been employed made a change to their work hours, duties, or employment status because of cancer, its treatment, or its lasting effects. Women were less likely than men to take extended paid time off and were more likely to take unpaid time off. Survivors were most likely to make changes to their work status during the course of treatment. About 88% of survivors took extended time off, 80% took unpaid time off, and 65% switched from full- to part-time status while they were in treatment for cancer.

The figure below shows the effects on survivors’ work status by their age at diagnosis. The most common changes made were taking paid and unpaid time off.

Werk & Kanker

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Moreover, many survivors worry about being forced to retire or quit before they are ready. Other survivors made decisions about their career paths. A third of survivors decided not to pursue an advancement or promotion at work due to their cancer experience.

While many of the employment effects that a survivor might experience would be considered negative, survivors indicate that they did experience some positive effects and support. For instance, the majority of survivors (60%) indicate that their co-workers supported them during and after their cancer diagnosis by doing things such as donating sick time or picking up extra duties for them. Overall, an equal percentage of survivors report mostly negative and mostly positive impacts on their work life and career. Interestingly, survivors who were younger at the time of diagnosis and male survivors tended to report more positive impacts on their work lives.

The LIVESTRONG Foundation has additional information and resource about cancer and employment. If you want to learn more about the findings from the 2012 LIVESTRONG Survey, please download the PDF HERE.

 Bron: LIVESTRONG

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