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What to Expect When an Employee Has Cancer (Basics) What to Expect When an Employee Has Cancer (Basics) Experts estimate that 1.3 million new cases of cancer will be diagnosed this year in the United States. For each of these people, the process of diagnosis, treatment, and recovery will be unique. There are many different kinds of cancer - over 100 types have been identified - and the outcome of treatment depends on the type of cancer, its location, its stage, and the employee's overall general health. Although cancer can be life-threatening, advances in early detection and treatment have improved survival rates for people with common cancers such as breast, prostate and colon cancer. Physicians also point to many hopeful signs in the search for cancer cures:
Even with more advanced cancers, new treatments are helping people live longer after diagnosis than ever before. As a result, many cancer specialists (oncologists) now view most cancer as a chronic rather than an acute illness. Still, coping with cancer presents a challenge to any employee. Most people with early cancer do not feel (or look) sick in the usual sense, so their initial diagnosis may come to them as a shock. For instance, a routine blood test done as part of an annual health exam may reveal a high white blood cell count, indicating possible leukemia. During her yearly mammogram, an employee may be told that a tiny, painless lump in her breast - which she probably cannot feel - requires a biopsy. Furthermore, obtaining a definitive diagnosis and treatment plan can often take days to weeks. The employee must wait for test results, undergo repeat tests, or schedule appointments with several specialists, all of which can increase his or her anxiety. Understanding time frames for common diagnostic tests, treatments and expected recovery times can help you and your employee with cancer successfully manage this difficult period. The word "cancer describes a process rather than one single illness. Inside certain cells, an alteration in the DNA code sends a message telling cells to keep growing beyond their normal life cycles. In general, cancer is a slow-growing disease. Tumors start at the microscopic level, growing for years before they become noticeable. Cancers are named according to the part of the body in which the tumor originates. Detailed information about the types, causes, and treatment of cancer is available at the American Cancer Society's website: www.cancer.org, and at the website of the National Cancer Institute: www.nci.nih.gov. Some of the causes of cancer are known. For instance, exposure to some toxic substances can trigger these DNA mutations, and scientists also believe that age contributes to cell dysfunction. We now understand that smoking cigarettes can lead to lung cancer; that excess sun exposure increases your chances of developing skin cancer; and that cancer in close relatives can also mean you are more likely to develop the condition yourself. But in many instances, we simply do not yet know what causes a particular cancer to develop. Employees with cancer must be encouraged not to blame themselves or to think that something they did or thought caused the cancer to grow. Whether your employee visits her physician because of symptoms she is having, or simply schedules a routine checkup, diagnosis of cancer brings normal routines to a screeching halt. Worry may be a constant companion as your worker schedules diagnostic procedures and then has to wait for results. These tests range from a brief and simple blood test to a colonoscopy. This latter procedure, performed to detect tumors in the colon, may require at least one and a half days time off -- one full day for the preparation, during which the employee must take very strong laxatives, and then a half day for the procedure, when the person is usually given intravenous sedation to assure she is comfortable during the procedure. Some of these tests are designed to stage the cancer, or determine its extent of growth and whether it has spread. Results will help the oncologist determine the best treatment approach. Other common tests for diagnosis and staging of cancer:
The goal of cancer treatment is to eliminate the disease. To do this, oncologists employ a range of treatments, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation treatment and newer vaccines as well as biologic and targeted therapies. Often surgery is the first step, to remove the tumor and any surrounding tissue that may be affected. To make sure that cancer cells do not move through the bloodstream to affect other parts of the body, chemotherapy or radiation may follow. For cancers of the blood and lymph system, such as Hodgkin's disease, chemotherapy alone has become the standard of treatment. For some cancers, the person may receive chemotherapy or radiation treatments to shrink the tumor before surgery is performed. Recovery from surgery can range from one to four weeks, depending upon the extent of the procedure. Removal of an early melanoma skin cancer and surrounding tissue may require a few days' recovery, while abdominal surgery to remove a section of the colon can necessitate a month of recovery before the employee feels fit to return to work. Chemotherapy treatments can also be time-consuming, both during their administration and in dealing with both early and delayed side effects. A typical course of chemotherapy for breast cancer lasts eight months. Depending upon the recommended treatment, the employee may receive treatments once a week or every other week. She may or may not experience fatigue and nausea, two of the most common side effects of chemotherapy. More aggressive treatments produce hair loss as well. Scheduling treatments at the end of the week can be helpful, as this gives the employee the weekend during which to recover from the side effects. Recovering from each round of chemotherapy takes a little longer as the treatments go on, since the body becomes less able to "bounce back from the toxic regimen. Still, some people tolerate chemotherapy well and continue to work right through the treatment period. Depending upon the type of cancer, your employee may continue to take additional medications to prevent the cancer from returning. This is especially true with breast cancer which is hormone-dependent. Anti-estrogens are typically given for at least five years following the end of treatment. Nearly two-thirds of all new cancer patients can expect to live at least five years or more beyond their diagnoses. Most recurrences, when the tumor comes back or spreads to another part of the body, happen within the first two years. Cancer survivors who reach important markers, such as a two-year, five-year or ten-year anniversary without a recurrence are understandably relieved. As time goes by, the threat of recurrence diminishes and employees begin to feel less anxious and distracted. Nevertheless, the process of dealing with her cancer definitely takes an emotional toll, one which the employee will continue to process even as she returns to full functioning. |
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