How Are Those Treated For Cancer Treated At Work? More Survivors Inspire Study Focused On Employers, Work Environment

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Also Included In: Breast Cancer;  Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma
Article Date: 02 Jun 2007 - 1:00 PDT

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It's estimated there are now 10 million cancer survivors in this country… a number that has tripled in just the last 30 years.*

While a lot of research goes into saving their lives, not quite as much attention is paid to the quality of their lives, especially when it comes to the workplace. A new study is underway to change that.

As a young assistant manager for a national drug store chain, Bradley Kinn was eager to climb the corporate ladder. But it was the ladders he climbed in the stockroom that slowed him down.

"I couldn't keep up with my usual duties. I was just having a problem. I would be winded just bending over picking stuff up," says Kinn.

At only 25 years old, Kinn was diagnosed with leukemia, and he became part of a growing number of cancer patients who are still going to work after going through treatment.

"64% of people diagnosed with cancer will become long-term survivors. That means they will survive 5 years or longer after their diagnosis. And half of that population will be of working age at the time of their diagnosis," says Janet DeMoor, Ph.D., at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

That's nearly four million people of working age who have cancer.** That's why DeMoor says it's time to take a look at how that's changing the face of the workforce. She's behind a new study that will look at how companies deal with cancer survivors, and if their needs are being considered.

The needs can include things such as needing some additional sick leave, or just having a flexible work schedule, or being allowed to work part time or move to a less physically-demanding job," says DeMoor.

Kinn says he was lucky. His company held his job and is letting him recover, and work, at his own pace. But the numbers suggest that's not always the case. Overall employment rates for cancer survivors are lower than those of people who've never had cancer. Researchers hope this study will help explain why.

DeMoor says lower employment rates of cancer survivors may be caused by a variety of reasons - some patients may simply choose not to work after their treatment. Some might be victims of discrimination. Her study will follow one hundred leukemia and lymphoma patients through their diagnosis and treatment.

*Cancer Survivorship Facts and Figures, National Cancer Institute, retrieved May 2007, www.cancer.gov
**The Impact of Cancer Survivors' Current Employment Opportunities, American Cancer Society, May 2007 www.cancer.org

Ohio State University Medical Center
June 2007
http://www.medicalcenter.osu.edu

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