Perceived discrimination against cured cancer patients in the work force

To evaluate perceived discrimination against cured cancer patients in the work force in Montreal, in 1982-83 we surveyed 101 cured cancer patients and 101 control subjects who had never had cancer and who were matched for age, sex and neighbourhood of residence. In addition, 24 of the cured patients were randomly selected and paired with cancer patients with a poor prognosis who were matched for age and sex. Discrimination was slightly more common among cured patients (18%) than among control subjects (15%), and 21% of the cancer patients with a poor prognosis reported discrimination. Analysis of the comparisons between the cured and control groups indicated no statistically significant differences. The cured cancer patients reported the following problems faced by cancer patients returning to work: fatigue (30%), absenteeism (14%), psychologic problems (12%), social stigma (12%) and discrimination by an employer (10%).