MADRID, 17 One. (EUROPA PRESS) –
According to a survey carried out by the Spanish Federation of Breast Cancer (FECMA) within the framework of the campaign Dias with Breast Cancer, in which 562 women gave their opinion on the matter.
The few measures of adaptation to the job (66.5%), the problems when accessing medical tests, sick leaves, little empathy or the possibility of finding another job (18.9%) and having less income (14 .5%) represent some of the most common problems that patients face after their diagnosis.
The survey was presented in the webinar Day by day in breast cancer: labor aspects framed in the ‘Days with breast cancer’ campaign, an initiative launched by FECMA to accompany women with breast cancer to find out which are the unmet needs and to reiterate the importance of research, among other aspects
During the meeting, it was revealed that there is still, for example, no system that regulates the patient’s progressive return to work (such as the option of reducing the working day or combining face-to-face work with work at distance), which would benefit women who may not be in a position to take on a full day at first, but who really can dedicate a few hours to work.
Thus, the experts have advocated the need to improve the training of professionals and allocate resources so that patients have access to quality advice programs in labor matters and have highlighted the important role that patient associations play today in the face of the lack of specific programs.
Among the women who do consider that patients are protected in their work environment (19.2%), 83.3 percent mention that information about the disease allows greater empathy on the part of their colleagues, and 11.1 percent believe that telecommuting is an option that allows them to maintain an activity without having to travel.
ADAPTATION PROBLEMS IN THE WORK ENVIRONMENT
With regard to the impact on the work environment, 51.6 percent of those surveyed considered that the disease had consequences in their work environment, while 48.4 percent considered that it did not.
Of those who think that it did affect them, 44.5 percent associate it with having to take time off work or not being able to continue because they are self-employed. On the other hand, 20.5 per cent had to leave their jobs, 13 per cent were unable to carry on their activity and were changed jobs, 11 per cent were fired and another 11 per cent lost their chances of promotion.
Experts have pointed out that it is essential to establish differences on the influence of the disease at work. That is, it must be seen case by case because the circumstances are variable and the diagnosis implies different clinical situations.
“For example, while there are patients who need a longer sick leave, there are others who want to return to work because emotionally it brings them more benefits, for their well-being. And, of course, they alluded to the variability of the work environment in which they work. find, since a job that requires physical effort is not the same as a job profile that allows them to adapt to a certain degree, such as teleworking”, they have detailed.
The campaign has the institutional support of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM) and the cooperative breast cancer research groups GEICAM and SOLTI, as well as the collaboration of Pfizer, Roche, Samsung, Sanofi, Lilly and Novartis.
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