Job and housework during radiotherapy: Comparisons between leaving out activities and disease treatment

Cristiane Helena Gallasch, Neusa Maria Costa Alexandre, Sergio Carlos Barros Esteves

Department of Tocogynecology, CAISM Hospital of Women Dr. José Aristodemo Pinotti, State University of Campinas, S?o Paulo, Brazil.
Faculty of Nursing, State University of Campinas, S?o Paulo, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/health.2013.56142                

Abstract

Background: Researches about work limitations related to cancer treatment and survival are recent. This study describes the characteristics of patients who keep their work and house work activities during radiotherapy, and comparison between some disease data and leaving out those activities. Methods: Data were collected from medical records of patients admitted in a Brazilian Radiotherapy Private Health Service. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed, as hypotheses texts, Chi-square and Fisher’s exact test. Results: Data of 111 individuals were presented; being 65.77% of workers of paid activities and 34.34% of careers of home. Between employees, 50.7% kept their job activities, and 92.1% between house workers. The association between absence from work activities and tumor type (primary or metastasis) and between absence and KPS (p < 0.05) were observed. Discussion: It is observed that breast, brain and lung tumors significantly affect employees’ performance, causing the withdrawal of workers from their activities. Data from the literature review clearly demonstrated the importance of work activities in social support of the worker, but his overall performance may be impaired. Implications for cancer survivors: The study indicates the need for assessment of the individual, work or activity environment and required as well as the continuity research aiming at the development and validation of evaluation tools such as questionnaires or scales.

Keywords

Radiation Therapy; Cancer Survivorship; Return to Work; Occupational Health Nursing

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1]	Yelin, E. and Calahan, L.F. (1995) The economic cost and social and psychological impact of musculoskeletal conditions. Arthritis & Rheumatism, 38, 1351-1362. doi:10.1002/art.1780381002
[2]	Lidgren B. (1998) The economic impact of musculoskeletal disorders. Acta Orthopaedica Scandinavica, 69, 58-60.
[3]	Courtney, T.K. and Webster, B.S. (1999) Disabling occupational morbidity in the United States. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 41, 60-69. doi:10.1097/00043764-199901000-00010
[4]	Amick, B.C., Lerner, D., Rogers, W.H., Rooney, T. and Katz, J. (2000) A review of health-related work outcome measures and their uses, and recommended measures. Spine, 25, 3152-3160. doi:10.1097/00007632-200012150-00010
[5]	Feuerstein, M. (2005) Introduction: The world challenge of work disability. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 15, 451-452. doi:10.1007/s10926-005-8026-z
[6]	Instituto Nacional do Cancer (2009) Estimativa 2010: Incidência de cancer no Brasil. Ministério da Saúde, Rio de Janeiro.
[7]	Feuerstein, M. (2007) Defining cancer survivorship. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 1, 5-7.
[8]	Hoffmen, B. (2005) Cancer survivors at work: A generation of progress. Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 55, 271- 280. doi:10.3322/canjclin.55.5.271
[9]	Todd, B.L., Feuerstein, E.L. and Feuerstein M. (2011) When breast cancer survivors report cognitive problems at work. The International Journal of Psychiatry in Medicine, 42, 279-294. doi:10.2190/PM.42.3.d
[10]	Gudbergsson, S.B., Torp, S., Floten, T., Fossa, S.D., Nielsen, R. and Dahl, A.A. (2011) A comparative study of cancer patients tiwh short and long sick leave after primary treatment. Acta Oncologica, 50, 381-9. doi:10.3109/0284186X.2010.500298
[11]	Yabroff, R., Lawrence, W.F., Clauser, S., Davis, W.W. and Brown, M.L. (2004) Burden of illness in cancer survivors: Findings from a population-based national sample. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 96, 1322-1330. doi:10.1093/jnci/djh255
[12]	Feuerstein, M., Hansen, J.A., Calvio, L.C., Johnson, L. and Ronquillo, J.G. (2007) Work productivity in brain tumor survivors. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 49, 803-811. doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e318095a458
[13]	Hansen, J.A., Feuerstein, M., Calvio, L.C. and Olsen, C.H. (2008) Breast cancer survivors at work. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 50, 777-784. doi:10.1097/JOM.0b013e318165159e
[14]	Perez, C.A. (1999) Perspectivas futuras em radioterapia. In: Salvajoli, J.V., Souhami, L. and Faria, S.L. Eds., Radioterapia em Oncologia, Medsi, Sao Paulo, 1933.
[15]	Ringborg, U., Bergqvist, D., Brorsson, B., Cavallin-Stahl, E., Ceberg, J., Einhorn, N., et al. (2003) The Swedish Council on Technology Assessment in Health Care (SBU) systematic overview of radiotherapy for cancer including a prospective survey of radiotherapy practice in Sweden 2001—Summary and conclusions. Acta Oncologica, 42, 357-365. doi:10.1080/02841860310010826
[16]	Sawada, N.O., Dias, A.M. and Zago, M.M.F. (2006) The radiotherapy effect on the quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer. Revista Brasileira de Cancerologia, 52, 323-329.
[17]	Gallasch, C.H., Alexandre, N.M.C. and Amick III, B.C. (2007) Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability and validity of the work role functioning questionnaire to Brazilian Portuguese. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 17, 701-711. doi:10.1007/s10926-007-9103-2
[18]	Hébert, F. (1996) Indicators of injury: Health and safety at work: Analysis by economic activity sector 1991. Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé em Santé et Sécurité au Travail, Montreaul.
[19]	Durand, M.J., Vachon, B., Hong, Q.N., Imbeau, D., Amick III, B.C. and Loisel, P. (2004) The cross-cultural adaptation of the work role functioning questionnaire in canadian french. International Journal of Rehabilitation Research, 27, 261-268. doi:10.1097/00004356-200412000-00002
[20]	Simöes, J.C. (2008) Princípios do estadiamento em oncologia. In: Simöes, J.C., Gama, R.R. and Winheski, M.R., Eds., Cancer Estadiamento e Tratamento, Lemar, Sao Paulo.
[21]	Soares, J.F. and Siqueira, A.L. (1999) Introduçao à estatística médica. Departamento de Estatística UFMG, Belo Horizonte.
[22]	Pryce, J., Munir, F. and Haslam, C. (2007) Cancer survivorship and work: Symptoms, supervisor response, coworker disclosure and work adjustment. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 17, 83-92. doi:10.1007/s10926-006-9040-5
[23]	Feuerstein, M. (2009) Cancer survivors need evidence on how optimize physical function. Journal of Cancer Survivorship, 3, 73-74. doi:10.1007/s11764-009-0090-5
[24]	Bocchi, S.C.M. and Angelo, M. (2008) Between freedom and reclusion: Social support as a quality-of-life component in the family caregiver-dependent person binomial. Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem, 16, 15-23. doi:10.1590/S0104-11692008000100003
[25]	Gotay C. (2010) Cancer survivorship: Today and tomorrow. Book review. European Journal of Cancer Care, 357, 2209-2210.
[26]	Johnsson, A., Fornander, T., Rutqvist, L.E. and Olsson, M. (2010) Factors influencing return to work: A narrative study of women treated for breast cancer. European Journal of Cancer Care, 19, 317-323. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2354.2008.01043.x
[27]	Munir, F., Yarker, J. and McDermott, H. (2009) Employment and the common cancers: Correlates of work ability during or following cancer treatment. Occupational Medicine, 59, 381-389. doi:10.1093/occmed/kqp088
[28]	Ohguri, T., Narai, R., Funahashi, A., Nishiura, C., Yamashita, T., Yarita, K. and Korogi, Y. (2009) Limitations on work and attendance rates after employees with cancer returned to work at a single manufacturing company in Japan. Journal of Occupational Health, 51, 267-272. doi:10.1539/joh.O8013
[29]	Kennedy, F., Haslam, C., Munir, F. and Pryce, J. (2007) Returning to work following cancer: A qualitative exploratory study into the experience of returning to work following cancer. European Journal of Cancer Care, 16, 17-25. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2354.2007.00729.x
[30]	Grunfeld, E.A., Ruxon, L., Eaton, E. and Cooper, A.F. (2008) The organizational perspective on the return to work of employees following treatment for cancer. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 18, 381-388. doi:10.1007/s10926-008-9152-1