Employment Policy for the Chronically Ill: Cancer Patients and Survivors in the Workplace

Cancer may require considerable time off for treatment and post-treatment fatigue may make it difficult to maintain productivity. Our research looks at men and women workers who have been diagnosed with cancer and its impact on their working life. Although first cancer diagnosis may be dealt with sympathetically in the workplace, prolonged treatments or cancer recurrence may lead to impatience and various workplace sanctions including harassment and loss of employment. For marginal workers and casual workers in particular, chronic illness may have a catastrophic impact on their employment prospects. The vast majority of our interviewees wish to continue working and we propose some ways in which this may be facilitated.