Study Identifies Economic Benefit of Early Detection

The study of 1,433 cancer survivors found that breast cancer survivors are among the most likely to go back to work or remain on the job several years after treatment. The reason, according to the researchers, is that mammography detects breast cancer early, when treatments are most effective.

Lead researcher Pamela Farley Short of Penn State University told Reuters news service that "…the success of public health efforts to increase the percentage of women who get mammograms means that more women are diagnosed earlier, when they don't have to be treated as aggressively and the treatment is more likely to be successful."

The study, which explored the impact of various types of cancer on employment, found that 4 out of 5 cancer survivors either continued working or returned to their jobs within several years of their treatment. Those patients with breast cancer, cancer of the uterus, melanoma, and thyroid cancer were most likely to return to work, while those with cancers of the central nervous system, blood, head and neck, and late stage lymphoma were less likely.

• The study underscored a key fact: That returning to work is a significant outcome measurement in determining the success of treatment. "For society, the total economic burden of cancer is increased by the lost productivity of survivors who quit working, reduce their hours, or have disabilities that limit the kind of work they can do," said the researchers.

1. "Employment Pathways in a Large Cohort of Adult Cancer Survivors," Short PM, Vasey JJ, Tunceli K, Cancer, March 15, 2005, Volume 103, Number 6; 1292-1301.
   
2. "Most Cancer Survivors Able to Stay on the Job," Norton A, Reuters Health, March 28, 2005.
   
3. Cancer, pp. 1292-1293.