Sickness absence and return to work rates in women with breast cancer

Most women are diagnosed with breast cancer when they are of working age. How long are breast cancer patients absent? How many of them return to work? ArboNed Occupational Health Services documents sickness absence data of 1 million workers of whom 40% were women. Between 2001 and 2005, 2,259 women had 2,361 episodes of sickness absence due to breast cancer. These absence episodes were followed for 2 years using Kaplan-Meier analysis. The mean +/- A standard error of mean duration of absence due to breast cancer was 349 +/- A 5 days. Thirty-seven percent of absences lasted longer than one year and 12% of absences lasted longer than 2 years particularly in women aged 25-34 years. The mean duration of sickness absence due to breast cancer was nearly a year, but most women returned to work. The results of the study can be used as a reference for return to work of women following breast cancer.