Work task disability in employed breast and prostate cancer patients

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Occupational Health
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Cancer survivors represent a significant portion of the working-age population.
• Work-related disabilities are a critical concern for cancer survivors' return to employment.
• This study focuses on employed breast and prostate cancer patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To estimate work-related physical and cognitive disability.
• To assess disability at 12 and 18 months post-diagnosis and treatment.
• To examine the impact of disability on employment status.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 447 breast and 267 prostate cancer patients from the Metropolitan Detroit Cancer Surveillance System.
• Conducted telephone interviews at 12 and 18 months post-diagnosis.
• Defined disability by work task activity limitation and analyzed employment data.

Main Results:

• At 12 months, 60% of women and 29% of men reported physical disability, decreasing to 36% and 17% by 18 months.
• Cognitive disability affected 34% of women and 12% of men at 12 months, reducing to 22% and 7% by 18 months.
• Individuals with disabilities were more likely to leave the workforce.

Conclusions:

• A substantial number of breast and prostate cancer patients face work-related disabilities over a year post-treatment.
• Physical disabilities were reported more frequently than cognitive disabilities.
• These findings highlight the need for supportive interventions for working cancer survivors.