Cancer Survivors Face Greater Likelihood of Unemployment
Cancer patients and survivors may find that apart from their battle with cancer, they may need to fight to regain or keep their employment. Whether based on an inability to work during treatment or termination due to a discriminatory bias by an employer, persons diagnosed with cancer may have difficulty holding on to employment. In a system where health insurance is linked directly to employment, the loss of a job can significantly impact health care. For persons looking for work when diagnosed with cancer, the situation can be much more difficult.
A recent report by The Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that cancer survivors in the United States and Europe were 37 percent more likely to be unemployed than their healthy counterparts. The perception that cancer patients are disabled and unable to work may play a significant role in that figure.
While the law is not perfect, it does afford protections for cancer patients and survivors. The Americans with Disabilities Act and other similar laws clearly find cancer to be a disability, so that employees with cancer are protected against employment discrimination. Even if a patient is cancer-free, the law protects discrimination against employees based on a history of cancer.
