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 Those numbers may be even higher for some, as they average the
experiences of people with various types and stages of cancer, and
those who started out working full-time along with those who were
not employed to begin with, the authors explain.
“This is average effects across the entire population and many are
retired or stay at home parents, so the effect is diluted,” said
lead author Anna Zajacova of the University of Wyoming.
“Five weeks is actually a huge blow when this is an average number,”
she told Reuters Health by phone.
The researchers used data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics
between 1999 and 2009, a nationally representative study involving
8,000 families, or about 17,000 adults, including about 1,000
individuals with a cancer diagnosis.
The researchers found that after a cancer diagnosis, hours worked
decreased by about 200 hours, or five full-time weeks.
Annual labor market earnings dropped 40 percent over the first two
years and remained lower than before cancer diagnosis, though total
family income often recovered within four years, the study team
reported in the journal Cancer
Income losses were driven by male cancer survivors more so than
female cancer survivors.
The adults without a cancer diagnosis had higher employment and
income levels overall.
“U.S. labor law and labor culture is among most severe compared to
almost every other developed country,” Zajacova said. “There are no
or very limited policies for sick leave or family leave, so the
effects are likely to be worse in the U.S. than other developed
countries.”
There are few protections in place for U.S. workers who are
diagnosed with cancer, she said.
The study was not large enough to compare the income impacts of
different types or stages of cancer, she said.
“We were looking at the average impact of cancer,” though one could
argue that advanced lung cancer would have a more devastating effect
than early breast cancer, Zajacova said.
“Some people just need a few days off for surgery for an early stage
cancer and then they’re done, while others would have longer and
more intensive treatments including chemotherapy and radiation,”
said Dr. Craig Earle of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research in
Canada, who was not part of the new study.
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Cancer diagnosis and treatment can have a significant impact on
ability to work, at least in Canada and the U.S., Earle told Reuters
Health by email.
Human resources departments may be able to help newly diagnosed
adults navigate the options of sick leave, short-term disability and
even early retirement, he said.
“In the U.S., the Family Medical Leave Act entitles eligible
employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave
for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group
health insurance coverage,” said Janet S. de Moor of the National
Cancer Institute.
The Cancer and Careers organization provides advice and tools to
help people with cancer be successful at work, de Moor told Reuters
Health by email.
Most household bankruptcies are caused by illness, Zajacova said.
Currently there are nearly 14 million cancer survivors in the U.S.
“What makes cancer particularly unique is it tends to strike fairly
suddenly and can be very severe,” making it almost impossible for
people to prepare for this kind of blow, she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1XtxSCh Cancer, online October 26, 2015.
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