Returning to Work After Treatment for a Hematological Malignancy

Many individuals diagnosed with cancer can experience a crisis associated with the challenge of returning to work posttreatment. To date, there is limited work on this topic. This article makes a contribution to this area by providing a subset of findings from a qualitative study that documents the role of the employer during posttreatment return to work from the perspective of individuals diagnosed with a hematological cancer. The study involved 45 in-depth interviews with individuals diagnosed with a hematology cancer that were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, coded and thematically analyzed. The findings indicate that the crisis posed by return to work after treatment for a hematological malignancy was ameliorated for individuals with supportive links to prior employers. There are a number of strategies that supportive employers used to facilitate the return to work, including keeping the position open, staging the return, and changing the work role if necessary. The practical implications of the findings for posttreatment supportive care are explored

Family medicine · Hematologic malignancy · Malignancy · Qualitative research · Sociology · Cancer survivorship and care · Family Support in Illness · Medicine · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology · Hematology · Internal Medicine

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