Cancer: How Employers Can Help With Early Diagnosis

Cancer is high in the news headlines at the moment, and it is clear it can reach people of all ages and in all social groups.

Everyone who receives a cancer diagnosis hopes for a full recovery, and we are aware that early diagnosis increases the likelihood of survival.

One way of reducing the risk of cancer is by understanding and managing risk factors, the basics of which aren't rocket science.

Making good lifestyle choices, maintaining a healthy diet, and staying physically active are important, but another critical way is by getting appropriate cancer screenings.

According to Cancer Research UK, a new cancer diagnosis occurs in the UK every two minutes. There are around 375,000 new cancer cases in the UK every year; that's around 1,000 every day. Macmillan estimates that there are over 3 million people living with cancer in the UK. They predict this number will rise to nearly 3.5 million by 2025, 4 million by 2030, and 5.3 million by 2040.

Anecdotally, we hear of employees who are too scared to ask for time off work for cancer screening, and even employers who are reluctant to allow their employees time to attend screening appointments.

Cancer screening is the process of looking for cancer before a person has any symptoms. Some types of screenings can detect cancer early (e.g., mammography for breast cancer and low-dose CT for lung cancer). Others can detect cancer early as well as detect cancer precursors, which can prompt action to prevent the development of cancer (e.g., colonoscopy screening for colorectal cancer and Pap smears and/or HPV testing for cervical cancer).

Preventing cancer is a large benefit in itself because it can reduce the many burdens for patients associated with a cancer diagnosis.

There are ways in which employers can be supportive of employees by encouraging screening, guaranteeing their staff paid time off, or providing flexible working arrangements to attend NHS cancer screening appointments.

Employers can raise the profile of health and wellbeing in the workplace and encourage their staff to talk about cancer and the importance of screening.

Early detection can prevent one in three cancers. Cancer screening saves lives!

Supporting cancer screening in the workplace has a number of benefits, including:

Caught early, cancer interventions are less traumatic, require less treatment, and cost employers less.

Staff feel more valued, helping with recruitment, employee retention, and satisfaction.

Has a relatively small cost for the business in relation to the potential positive impact.

Screening can reduce sickness absence, improve retention, and improve productivity.

It demonstrates to clients and customers that you are a socially conscious and responsible employer who supports the NHS. This could help to win contracts and attract new customers.

If you are looking for help with how to handle cancer in the workplace, look no further than Maggie’s Cancer Centres.

Maggie’s has centres in 27 locations in the UK, including Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Oldham, and the Wirral. Maggie's Centres are a network of drop-in centres across the United Kingdom that aim to help anyone who has been affected by cancer and their family and friends.

Importantly for employers, Maggie’s run ‘Cancer in the Workplace’ workshops, which cover the emotional and physical needs of people with cancer, the impact on families, friends, and colleagues, and the journey experienced by people that extends beyond treatment and recovery.

The focus of the workshop is to help employers understand some of the things that people go through with cancer and their treatment experiences.

If you're interested in attending a workshop at your nearest Maggie's centre, please get in touch with the local centre: https://www.maggies.org/cancer-support/our-support/cancer-workplace-workshops/

Ian Garner is a retired Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI) and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (FIoD).

Ian is a board member of Maggie’s Yorkshire. Maggie’s provides emotional and practical cancer support and information in centres across the UK and online, with their centre in Leeds based at St James’s Hospital.

He is the founder and director of Practical Solutions Management, a strategic consulting practice, and is skilled in developing strategy and providing strategic direction, specialising in business growth and leadership.