Colleagues with cancer on the rise

Cancer is not just a “disease of the old people”, with experts warning the number of working-age cases is set to rise. Picture: Thinkstock
Source: news.com.au

AUSTRALIAN workplaces should prepare for a spike in the number of staff who get cancer, the Cancer Council warns.

More than 40 per cent of cancer cases occur in people of working age (18-65) and about 7.7 million sick days will be lost to prostate and breast cancer in NSW alone over the next 10 years.

Cancer Council NSW director of information Gillian Batt said Australians often think of cancer as being a "disease of the old people".

"But we are picking up prostate and breast cancer much earlier, we are actually identifying it while people are still working," Ms Batt said.

Ms Batt said employers should take the mindset that cancer is just another disease.

“Survival rates are very, very good, it's actually a case of helping someone go through their treatment," she said.

Ms Batt added that often people work throughout their treatments.

"Chemotherapy doesn't necessarily mean you can't go to work," she said.

And of those that take time off, most people are able to go back to work in a similar role that they had before.

Bosses should talk about the impact on working hours and be open to flexibility, Ms Batt said.

"It's about reassuring someone that we can work through this, we can look at how to rearrange your role," she said.

Ms Batt added that some people will want to keep the fact that they have cancer away from their colleagues, while others will be more open.

"And then you have to talk to their colleagues who will also be affected," she said.

"It's not rocket science but actually people are very, very scared of talking about it."

The most recent Cancer Council figures show that in NSW in 2007, breast cancer prevalence among females aged 18-65 sat at 26,786, while the number of 18 to 65-year-old men with prostate cancer sat at 10,735.

Bosses and employees wanting more information about how to manage cancer in the workplace can go to www.cancercouncil.com.au/workplaces, or call the Cancer Council Helpline in 13 11 20.