More than 700,000 people of working age are living with cancer in Britain and 109,000 are diagnosed each year.
But the disease and treatment results in one in five of those in work at the time of their diagnosis changing jobs or falling out of work altogether, according to research from the charity Macmillan Cancer Support.
It believes employers are often to blame. More than half of line managers (53 per cent) are not aware that cancer is covered under the Disability Discrimination Act, or more recently the Equality Act, which means patients have the right to change their working hours or make other “reasonable” changes to their responsibilities.
Now a new pilot project has been designed to help patients negotiate time off with their boss or agree new working patterns once treatment is over. It also advises on legal action if employers break the law and dismiss or pressurise staff, or it can help patients to find a new, more suitable job.
It is run by the Shaw Trust, a specialist employment charity, in partnership with Macmillan and is based in The Christie hospital in Greater Manchester.
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If its results after one year show a measurable impact on employment rates of cancer patients, it will be put into effect elsewhere in the country.
“There was no employment service for people with cancer,” said Sally Burton, chief executive of the Shaw Trust. “We are hoping to fill that gap.”
She also wants medical professionals to give more practical guidance about employment. In 60 per cent of cases it is not discussed, so patients are left clueless about how much time to ask to have off.
“At the moment if you get an illness like cancer, work is not mentioned. We want to see it built much more actively into a care plan to help them to stay in work or return to work,” she said.
Richard Hunt, a case manager for the Shaw Trust who works on the Christie’s wards, has advised more than 150 patients since he started working on the project in July.
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“People come in panicking. They have been off work for six to 12 months then receive a letter saying unless they can give a date when they are going to come back their contract will be terminated. Employers can’t do that.”
He assures patients that everyone has the right to return to work, while employers are bound by law to make reasonable adjustments to allow them to go on working as much as they can. These can be simple changes such as flexible working hours or passing on duties to a colleague.
Sometimes younger patients have often had their career halted before it has even begun. For them it is about finding training or voluntary work to get started again.
Mohammed Rahman was 20 when he was told he had leukaemia. “I was thinking of going back to college to study social work. Before I could hand in the application I was diagnosed. It was such a shock,” he said. Three years later he is still undergoing chemotherapy, but is in remission and the signs are good.
The Shaw Trust helped him to find a volunteer position in Oldham, working with teenage carers to give them respite.
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Work has made him feel much more positive about the future. He is volunteering one day a week but hoping to increase the hours. “I feel independent for the first time since my diagnosis,” he said.