It's unclear how many cancer patients lose employment because they're not ready to return to work. But studies show that just 40 percent are back at work within six months.
Months after surgeons removed part of her jawbone due to cancer, Adrienne Frank was still recovering. She needed a feeding tube because she couldn’t eat, had trouble speaking and was suffering a lot of pain.
And more treatment was on the horizon: She had received her sixth oral cancer diagnosis in 11 years when doctors found that the cancer had spread to her soft palate.
But Frank’s 12-week employee medical leave, guaranteed by the same federal law that provides time off for parents of newborns, was about to end. And Frank knew she couldn’t perform the administrative duties required of her job in higher education.
“I wanted to go back to work,” said Frank, 35. “I was begging them, please give me more time so I can get a handle on all this.”
Instead, she was fired. Frank lost her income and her health insurance. She was stunned, but also saddened, she said in a recent interview. “I was more hurt, I think, to have someone say: We don’t care enough about you to help you through this.”
As cancer survival rates improve with advances in detection and treatment, advocates say workplace laws have not kept pace with the needs of patients and the demands of medical care. Surgery can leave patients with short-term disabilities, while chemotherapy and radiation can produce side effects such as “chemo-brain,” a difficulty with concentration.
In a tight labor market, many employers have an incentive to keep employees on the job, especially because recruiting and training replacements is so costly, said Deb Krause, a vice president with the Minnesota Health Action Group, an organization of employers that educates and advocates on health care issues.
“The reality today is more people live with cancer than die from cancer,” said Krause. “It does make sense for them to invest in their employees and to help them get back to work and to be healthy.”
More employers are investing in cancer detection and prevention efforts, for example, or helping workers get second opinions or treatment at centers of excellence. Some give time off to caregivers and offer voluntary critical-illness benefits that help pay bills, Krause said.