Although the rate of breast cancer diagnoses are rising in Europe, a higher proportion of women are surviving the form of cancer - but returning to everyday aspects of life prove challenging; with many survivors unable to return to work, due to a lack of support and consideration by employers. A new report by The Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by Pfizer, investigates the challenges involved in returning to employment for a growing number of breast cancer patients and survivors of a working age.
There is substantial variation in national return-to-work rates across European Union countries. This suggests room for improvement in policies and practices to support those who wish to return to work.
The feeling of not being able to work and isolation can be devastating for most patients and survivors, re-entering employment is crucial to returning back to normality and getting their life back. However not all who wish to return to work succeed, the side effects of breast cancer and treatment make returning to work harder, but these are far from the only issues. Important non-medical barriers also impede return to work, including:
• Lack of employer or colleague support
• The extent to which work is physically demanding
• Socio-demographic including level of education, marital status, financial dependence
For details on the report, please see below for a full press release, including a release taiolred for each country involved in the study.
Countries involved include: UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Finland, Denmark, Netherlands & Belgium