Skip Navigation



Occupational Medicine Advance Access published online on July 30, 2008
Occupational Medicine, doi:10.1093/occmed/kqn092
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
58/7/509    most recent
kqn092v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Molina Villaverde, R.
Right arrow Articles by Gonzalez Baron, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Molina Villaverde, R.
Right arrow Articles by Gonzalez Baron, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Short Report

Employment in a cohort of breast cancer patients

R. Molina Villaverde1, J. Feliu Batlle2, A. Villalba Yllan3, A. M. Jiménez Gordo2, A. Redondo Sánchez2, B. San Jose Valiente4 and M. Gonzalez Baron2

1 Department of Oncology, Hospital Principe de Asturias, Madrid, Spain
2 Department of Oncology, Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain
3 Department of Rheumatology, Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain
4 Department of Statistic, Hospital La Paz, Madrid, Spain

Background Breast cancer survivors can have problems in returning to work. However, the importance of work to cancer survivors has until recently received little attention.

Aims To investigate employment- and work-related disability in a cohort of breast cancer patients to identify possible discrimination and other obstacles to remaining in work.

Methods Questionnaire study of breast cancer patients employed at diagnosis and where diagnosis had been confirmed at least 6 months before the interview. Participants completed a questionnaire concerning cancer-related symptoms and work-related factors and clinical details were obtained from their medical records.

Results The study included 96 consecutive patients with breast cancer aged between 18 and 65 years. In total, 80% of patients were unable to work after diagnosis, but 56% returned to work at the end of treatment. The sequelae of the disease or its treatment and the stage of disease were independently associated with the ability to work after the end of treatment. Only one patient did not tell his/her employers and coworkers about his/her disease. In total, 29% noticed changes in their relation with co-workers and managers, usually in the sense that they tried to be helpful. None reported job discrimination.

Conclusion Breast cancer survivors in this study encountered some problems in returning to work, mainly linked to the sequelae of their disease and its treatment rather than to discrimination by employers or colleagues.

Keywords      Cancer; occupation; rehabilitation; return to work

Correspondence to: Raquel Molina Villaverde, Departamento de Oncología Médica, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, Hospital Universitario Principe de Asturias, Carretera Alcalá-Meco s/n, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Madrid, Spain. Tel: +34 918878100 ext 2363; Fax: +34 915791279; e-mail: mvraq{at}hotmail.com


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.