I love my job, and I suppose I never would have had my job or met my colleagues if cancer hadn’t happened. I think it’s a great charity and a great project that I work for so that’s a massive positive.”

 – Trish, cancer survivor.

Work has many benefits. Not only does it improve your wealth and material standing, but it impacts on sense of identity and social status. Unemployment is associated with worse physical and mental health and greater health services utilisation. Work after illness promotes recovery and rehabilitation, improves quality of life and wellbeing and reduces long term disability.   Work after cancer carries with it similar benefits – better income, better social connection, sense of identity and meaning.

Want to know more?

To learn more about benefits of work see the Royal Australasian College of Physicians Australasian Consensus Statement on the Health Benefits of Work. Or for a brief overview see the video on the Health Benefits of Work.

You  may also like to see the paper from the UK McMillan Cancer Support – Can we talk about work? Encouraging health and social care professionals to talk positively about work to people affected by cancer .