Work and Illness: The Cancer Patient

Is the cancer patient an object of job discrimination? Are the discriminatory claims of AIDS patients and patients of other chronic diseases accurate? According to this book the question is a moot one for its occurrence is an inevitable consequence of our social system and the characteristics of the disease. Work and Illness starts with the premise that work is a principle determinant in the quality of one's life particularly in the presence of a chronic illness. This book forcefully concludes that the study of the impact of chronic diseases on the labor market is not only a legitimate economic study but a social imperative to action. Ivan Barofsky, who in his position at the National Cancer Institute has focused on the quality of life of the cancer patient for the last ten years, takes the first step in this process. He has compiled the best available text on what is becoming a major social concern. The book, divided into two major sections, first provides an in-depth review of the available data on the work history of the cancer patient. The second section provides specific recommendations for future research and policy issues. In addition, the book discusses: work and insurance experiences of the cancer patient; the failure of the NCI sponsored Work-able Project; research agenda; policy objectives.

Table of Contents:
Preface Background Data Work: Issues and Concepts Inquiries into Work Experiences of Recovered Cancer Patients: The California Experience Socioeconomic Sequelae of Childhood and Adolescent Cancer Survival Insurance Experiences of Childhood Cancer Survivors Illness and Nonillness Causes of Work-related Problems Among Persons with Cancer Work Patterns Among Long-term Survivors of Hodgkin's Disease Information About Work from Studies with the Cancer Inventory of Problem Situations (CIPS) Conclusions Maximizing the Productive Activities of the Cancer Patient: Research Issues Maximizing the Productive Activities of the Cancer Patient: Policy Issues Subject Index Author Index

About the Author :
IVAN BAROFSKY is a psychologist whose career includes teaching, research, and government service. Work and Illness: The Cancer Patient is his fifth publication.

Review :
?Experts from oncology, behavioral sciences, public health, radiology, biometry, medicine, and nursing serve as contributors to this volume. Editor Barofsky is a psychologist whose career includes teaching, research, and government service. He has edited or coedited four books, most recently Rehabilitation and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer (with Eugene Meyers and Jerome W. Yates, 1986), and has published numerous research papers. The purpose of this collection is to begin to examine issues relevant to job discrimination of the cancer patient. The book is divided into two major sections. The first reviews tha available data on the work history of the cancer patient; the second makes specific recommendations concerning future research and policy issues. The presentation of a theoretical perspective on work provides a basis for understanding work and its relationship to the cancer patient. Research studies examining the work performance of cancer patients are described and their results are presented. The unique experiences of Hodgkin's disease patients and adult survivors of childhood cancers are also described, and research-based conclusions are discussed. Highly data-based with a comprehensive mix of research studies, this volume provides insight into the work experiences of cancer patients and addresses unique policy issues. University and professional collections.?-Choice ?Interest in the studies of job discrimination of work-able cancer patients formally started in 1973 when Dr. McKenna's report summarized the experiences of his patients. Since then the work history of the cancer patient has become the subject of a continuing series of studies, some of which are summarized in the chapters of this book. The beginning chapter provides an informational background to the topic of job discrimination of the cancer patient. It is followed by considering the work experiences of recovered cancer patients and the socioeconomic sequels of childhood and adolescent cancer survival. Chapters examine the insurance of childhood cancer survivors and the illness and non-illness causes of work-related problems among persons with cancer. Work patients are surveyed among long-term survivors of Hodgkin's disease. Part two of the book gives specific recommendations concerning future research and policy issues when considering the productive activities of the cancer patient.?-American Journal of Public Health. "Interest in the studies of job discrimination of work-able cancer patients formally started in 1973 when Dr. McKenna's report summarized the experiences of his patients. Since then the work history of the cancer patient has become the subject of a continuing series of studies, some of which are summarized in the chapters of this book. The beginning chapter provides an informational background to the topic of job discrimination of the cancer patient. It is followed by considering the work experiences of recovered cancer patients and the socioeconomic sequels of childhood and adolescent cancer survival. Chapters examine the insurance of childhood cancer survivors and the illness and non-illness causes of work-related problems among persons with cancer. Work patients are surveyed among long-term survivors of Hodgkin's disease. Part two of the book gives specific recommendations concerning future research and policy issues when considering the productive activities of the cancer patient."-American Journal of Public Health. "Experts from oncology, behavioral sciences, public health, radiology, biometry, medicine, and nursing serve as contributors to this volume. Editor Barofsky is a psychologist whose career includes teaching, research, and government service. He has edited or coedited four books, most recently Rehabilitation and Treatment of Head and Neck Cancer (with Eugene Meyers and Jerome W. Yates, 1986), and has published numerous research papers. The purpose of this collection is to begin to examine issues relevant to job discrimination of the cancer patient. The book is divided into two major sections. The first reviews tha available data on the work history of the cancer patient; the second makes specific recommendations concerning future research and policy issues. The presentation of a theoretical perspective on work provides a basis for understanding work and its relationship to the cancer patient. Research studies examining the work performance of cancer patients are described and their results are presented. The unique experiences of Hodgkin's disease patients and adult survivors of childhood cancers are also described, and research-based conclusions are discussed. Highly data-based with a comprehensive mix of research studies, this volume provides insight into the work experiences of cancer patients and addresses unique policy issues. University and professional collections."-Choice