Journal

Advances in Modern Oncology Research

Year

2016

Background

Few studies have examined the impact of cancer diagnosis on employment among breastcancer patients. We aim to gain an in-depth understanding on the employment issues faced by breast cancer patients aswell as their financial coping strategies in a multi-ethnic Asian setting.

Materials & Methods

Six focus group discussions (FGDs)were carried out with breast cancer patients, representing various ethnicities and socioeconomic backgrounds, who wererecruited from Hospital Kuala Lumpur, a public hospital, and University Malaya Medical Centre, a public academichospital. All FGDs were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic content analysis was carried out using theNVivo software.

Results

Majority of breast cancer patients quitted their jobs upon diagnosis of breast cancer, withmany describing that their bosses were not understanding in terms of their cancer diagnosis. Those who wereself-employed meanwhile reported less productivity. Patterns of financial coping strategies due to employment changeswere diverse. Some patients chose to do light weight part time jobs, while others described the important role ofhusbands and relatives in coping with income loss. There were mixed responses regarding return to work, in whichmoney was the major reason to return to work, while stress was cited as a barrier to not return to work. However, manyreported barriers in finding a job after cancer due to discrimination against their cancer and their age.

Conclusion

It isevident that a breast cancer diagnosis brings about adverse impact on employment. Multidisciplinary interventions areurgently required in Malaysia to improve the employment status of our cancer survivors including legislative reforms toprevent discrimination.

Resources and Links

Phone Number: +603 2781 4519 / +603 2781 4520

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