Papers of the Week

Given the chronicity of cancer, its related treatments and sequalae, more attention has been paid to questioning the living conditions of cancer survivors. In the early 2000s, research have highlighted the occupational difficulties faced by cancer survivors in the first two years after diagnosis. In the line of these, this article aims to provide clinicians with information on the situation within the five years following cancer diagnosis, based on results of the VICAN5 survey. We explored three main themes: the differences between salaried and self-employed workers, the main sequelae related to the disease or the treatments, having an impact on the working lives of people concerned, and finally, the workstation layouts and their effect on job retention. The main objective is to make clinicians, who may be involved in supporting professionally active patients, aware of the difficulties that these later may encounter. Clinicians need to keep in mind the specific constraint faced by self-employed individuals since they are more likely to reduce their sick leave for financial reasons or for the functioning of their company. They also need to pay more attention to the patient-reported sequalae in order to ensure an adequate care, especially for fatigue and chronic neuropathic pain that can strongly affect his/her professional life. Finally, the clinician who is aware of the effectiveness of workstation layouts will be able to inform and to support his/her patient more precisely.