Researchers from Inserm studied 1900 women under the age of 57, affected by breast cancer, employed at the time of their diagnosis. They realized that 1 in 5 women struggled to return to work a year after stopping treatment, for multiple reasons.
Returning to work is generally complicated for women in remission from breast cancer. Researchers explain this in different ways:the stage of the disease, the general state of health of women at the time of diagnosis of the disease including the presence of other pathologies such as musculoskeletal disorders, toxicities and side effects of treatments, quality of life, different types fatigue, depending on whether it is physical, emotional or cognitive, anxiety, depression as well as socio-demographic (age, life as a couple, etc.) and socio-professional characteristics.“
Variable depending on the toxicity of the treatment
The study isolated the three main obstacles to resuming a professional activity: the difficulty of manual work, depressive symptoms and the toxicity of the treatment used. Indeed, all chemotherapies are not dosed in the same way, and their impact on the body is in fact variable. Some treatments leave more side effects that lead to physical and/or psychological fatigue.
The press release points out:Overall, the researchers found that 21% of women did not return to work; among these women, 74% were on sick leave, 9% looking for a job and 17% were in another situation.“
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