Press Releases

FACT SHEET
Nationwide Cancer and Careers Survey Findings

January 16, 2007

Amgen, in collaboration with The Wellness Community (TWC) and the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship (NCCS), recently commissioned a nationwide survey to examine the effect of cancer on the careers of patients and caregivers alike. The survey is one part of the overall Breakaway from Cancer™ initiative, a fundraising initiative to raise awareness of and support for free services and programs that help patients and caregivers affected by cancer.

Approximately 40 percent of the more than one million Americans diagnosed with some form of cancer each year are working-age adults, and nearly 10 million Americans have a history of cancer. Overall, the survey findings reveal that both groups — cancer patients and caregivers — report surprising similarities in terms of employer support and perception of career sacrifices. Key highlights from the survey include:

Overview/General

• Three out of four (73 percent) cancer patients who were working while undergoing treatment say they had a caregiver. In most cases these caregivers are family members.
• Single parents and individuals who are no longer married are at a disadvantage; these two groups are among the most likely to fight cancer without any sort of caregiver (41 and 37 percent respectively)
• The most common side effects reported include fatigue (63 percent), loss of sex drive (38 percent), hair loss (38 percent) and nausea/vomiting (37 percent)
• Commutes to patients’ cancer treatment facilities from home are comparable to commutes to cancer treatment facilities from work.

Employer support of cancer patients and caregivers is strong; yet missed treatments are prevalent,

• One in five cancer patients say they missed a scheduled treatment due to a work-related conflict, and 50 percent of those patients say they missed or postponed three or more treatments
• Yet 75 and 79 percent of cancer patients and caregivers, respectively, said their employer was supportive and accommodating of their needs during the illness
• Both patients and caregivers rank time off for doctor’s appointments at 55 percent as the most requested — and granted — accommodation from employers
• Other frequently granted requests included flexible work hours, telecommuting arrangements and the ability to rest during the day
• Six out of 10 respondents said they received support from their colleagues ranging from random acts of kindness to being the recipient of donated vacation time
• Caregivers are just as likely — and in some cases more likely — than patients to take certain actions like take days off without pay or use vacation days as sick days

Work is a key motivator for many respondents; however, overall work reduction and career sacrifice was common on both sides of the patient/caregiver equation.

• Two-thirds of both cancer patients and caregivers report their job helped them maintain emotional stability during the treatment period
• 34 percent of patients said they kept working because they wanted to; not because they had to
• 25 percent of both cancer patients and caregivers report missing five to 15 days of work, and the average number of hours per week decreased considerably for both groups, with patients averaging 10 fewer hours of work each week, and caregivers working nearly seven hours less per week.
• 35 percent of cancer patients say their caregivers made significant career sacrifices while caring for them during the illness, and the same percentage of caregivers concurred with the statement (Nine times out of 10 a caregiver is a family member to the cancer patient)
• 68 percent of patients who had health insurance through their employer said it was a factor in their decision to keep working
• One-third felt they could not leave their job because they might not be able to obtain health insurance elsewhere

About the survey

The Breakaway from Cancer survey investigated the effects of cancer on the careers and workplace environment for both cancer patients/survivors and caregivers throughout the United States. The study, conducted October 12-22, 2006, consisted of online surveys of more than one-thousand individuals (504 working patients/500 working caregivers). The majority of respondents were between the ages of 18 to 64 and all either had cancer or served in the caregiver role within the past five years. Conducted by Fleishman-Hillard Research, with data collection managed by Greenfield Online, the study was funded by Amgen and developed in close collaboration with the National Coalition for Cancer Survivorship and The Wellness Community.

For more information about the survey findings, valuable services and programs offered by TWC and NCCS, as well as ways to support the Breakaway from Cancer initiative, visit www.breakawayfromcancer.com.