New employee assistance program hopes to reduce cancer by 30 per cent
The situation is bad and likely to get worse. Every week this year, 2,690 Canadians were diagnosed with cancer and another 1,296 died.
In the multi-front war on cancer there have been both victories and set backs in recent years. Overall incidence rates are down but for some cancers the news is bad. Lung cancer for women and prostate cancer for men are both up 30 per cent since 1988, and because cancer incidence increases with age, the large baby boom generation is moving into the prime danger age zone. New cases of cancer will increase by as much as 70 per cent over the next 15 years, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. If things don’t change, cancer will inflict one-third of all Canadians in the next 15 years.
And as the public health-care system creaks at its already bulging seams, there are real concerns about the quality of care being provided to the victims and families of the disease.
The devastating prevalence of the disease affects workplaces in a dramatic fashion. A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine concluded cancer accounts for more than 65 per cent of workplace impairment and the highest number of sick days. Aside from the direct impact of sick employees, there are the residual impacts on morale among co-workers, all of which can translate into a serious hit on productivity and performance.
Many organizations have felt the impact on business, particularly when senior executives, who are usually older and therefore at a higher risk, contract cancer, says Eric Cousineau, chief operating officer of C.A.R.E. Path Inc, a new Ontario-based employee assistance program designed specifically to reduce the risk and harm of cancer.
Employers can minimize the impact on the organization by assisting employees in two ways, he says.
The first area is in counselling and prevention. The Canadian Cancer Society says at least 50 per cent of all cancer can be prevented through the adoption of healthy lifestyles. C.A.R.E. Path Inc claims it can reduce the cancer rate in organizations by 30 per cent.
“We are offering advice on how to protect yourself from cancer,” says William Hryniuk, medical director, who has also served as the director of major cancer care centres in Canada and the United States.
An organization’s employees are put through a rigorous screening process to determine personal risk levels and specific precautions that need to be taken to reduce risks. Hryniuk thinks help from experts would point workers to smoking cessation programs that have better quit rates than the 10 per cent of typical programs.
As another example, a good diet is absolutely imperative for anyone with a history of colorectal cancer, says Cousineau. “Most people in high-paced careers don’t think about things like diet. If you are an executive who is travelling you don’t think twice about what you eat or where you eat.”
C.A.R.E. Path also assists employees who are affected by cancer — be it their own or that of a family member — by helping them navigate the complex and often overwhelming treatment system.
Right now in Ontario, most people who are diagnosed with cancer wait up to eight weeks to get treatment, says Hryniuk. “That is because they don’t know the system and because the system is underfunded and overloaded.”
When people first find out they have cancer, it’s very difficult for them to make decisions and figure out what is going on and what they need to do. “For the first couple of weeks their mind is just numb. Their anxiety is just terrible. They need knowledge and advice and support.”
Having experts who know exactly what services are available, and where, can significantly improve the time to access diagnostic and treatment services, says Hryniuk.
The cancer care system, particularly in Ontario, has some serious problems, says Cousineau.
The nurses and doctors are really dedicated but they simply don’t have the time to hold hands and guide people through the system and explain how everything works.
Anyone who has been through the trials and tribulations of a cancer diagnosis knows how much time it can take to figure out options and get basic questions answered, he says. In talking with companies about the problem, he was told the president of one company missed six months while trying to get care for his wife. “Think about losing your president for six months. The productivity impact is huge.”
In another case, an executive was missing work after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. “They were just trying to figure out what it meant. What they could do, what their options are and so on. He’d go with his wife to the doctor, wait around for three hours and have a few minutes with the doctor. He’d be on question two and the doctor would say, ‘Sorry, I gotta move on.’”
People want to be able to go to one place and get all of the questions answered and all of their options explained.
Rather than being handled through a call centre, C.A.R.E. Path clients are assigned a clinical nurse oncologist so that everyone has a single point of contact, every time. The nurse helps clients navigate the system.
So far, C.A.R.E. Path only has two clients, both in Ontario, but has plans to expand across the country in the next 18 months. One client only covers its top five executives but is looking at extending it to the top 43. The second client is still finalizing coverage details.
Customer organizations can pay an annual flat fee per person. For organizations looking to cover a broader segment of the employee population, the service can be offered as part of the health-care spending account or through a funded pool model, where services are offered to the entire employee population up to a maximum number of hours.
In the health-care spending account model, the cost would be about $1,500 per employee. It isn’t cheap, he admits, but adds that he thinks there’s a demand for it.
In the multi-front war on cancer there have been both victories and set backs in recent years. Overall incidence rates are down but for some cancers the news is bad. Lung cancer for women and prostate cancer for men are both up 30 per cent since 1988, and because cancer incidence increases with age, the large baby boom generation is moving into the prime danger age zone. New cases of cancer will increase by as much as 70 per cent over the next 15 years, according to the Canadian Cancer Society. If things don’t change, cancer will inflict one-third of all Canadians in the next 15 years.
And as the public health-care system creaks at its already bulging seams, there are real concerns about the quality of care being provided to the victims and families of the disease.
The devastating prevalence of the disease affects workplaces in a dramatic fashion. A study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine concluded cancer accounts for more than 65 per cent of workplace impairment and the highest number of sick days. Aside from the direct impact of sick employees, there are the residual impacts on morale among co-workers, all of which can translate into a serious hit on productivity and performance.
Many organizations have felt the impact on business, particularly when senior executives, who are usually older and therefore at a higher risk, contract cancer, says Eric Cousineau, chief operating officer of C.A.R.E. Path Inc, a new Ontario-based employee assistance program designed specifically to reduce the risk and harm of cancer.
Employers can minimize the impact on the organization by assisting employees in two ways, he says.
The first area is in counselling and prevention. The Canadian Cancer Society says at least 50 per cent of all cancer can be prevented through the adoption of healthy lifestyles. C.A.R.E. Path Inc claims it can reduce the cancer rate in organizations by 30 per cent.
“We are offering advice on how to protect yourself from cancer,” says William Hryniuk, medical director, who has also served as the director of major cancer care centres in Canada and the United States.
An organization’s employees are put through a rigorous screening process to determine personal risk levels and specific precautions that need to be taken to reduce risks. Hryniuk thinks help from experts would point workers to smoking cessation programs that have better quit rates than the 10 per cent of typical programs.
As another example, a good diet is absolutely imperative for anyone with a history of colorectal cancer, says Cousineau. “Most people in high-paced careers don’t think about things like diet. If you are an executive who is travelling you don’t think twice about what you eat or where you eat.”
C.A.R.E. Path also assists employees who are affected by cancer — be it their own or that of a family member — by helping them navigate the complex and often overwhelming treatment system.
Right now in Ontario, most people who are diagnosed with cancer wait up to eight weeks to get treatment, says Hryniuk. “That is because they don’t know the system and because the system is underfunded and overloaded.”
When people first find out they have cancer, it’s very difficult for them to make decisions and figure out what is going on and what they need to do. “For the first couple of weeks their mind is just numb. Their anxiety is just terrible. They need knowledge and advice and support.”
Having experts who know exactly what services are available, and where, can significantly improve the time to access diagnostic and treatment services, says Hryniuk.
The cancer care system, particularly in Ontario, has some serious problems, says Cousineau.
The nurses and doctors are really dedicated but they simply don’t have the time to hold hands and guide people through the system and explain how everything works.
Anyone who has been through the trials and tribulations of a cancer diagnosis knows how much time it can take to figure out options and get basic questions answered, he says. In talking with companies about the problem, he was told the president of one company missed six months while trying to get care for his wife. “Think about losing your president for six months. The productivity impact is huge.”
In another case, an executive was missing work after his wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. “They were just trying to figure out what it meant. What they could do, what their options are and so on. He’d go with his wife to the doctor, wait around for three hours and have a few minutes with the doctor. He’d be on question two and the doctor would say, ‘Sorry, I gotta move on.’”
People want to be able to go to one place and get all of the questions answered and all of their options explained.
Rather than being handled through a call centre, C.A.R.E. Path clients are assigned a clinical nurse oncologist so that everyone has a single point of contact, every time. The nurse helps clients navigate the system.
So far, C.A.R.E. Path only has two clients, both in Ontario, but has plans to expand across the country in the next 18 months. One client only covers its top five executives but is looking at extending it to the top 43. The second client is still finalizing coverage details.
Customer organizations can pay an annual flat fee per person. For organizations looking to cover a broader segment of the employee population, the service can be offered as part of the health-care spending account or through a funded pool model, where services are offered to the entire employee population up to a maximum number of hours.
In the health-care spending account model, the cost would be about $1,500 per employee. It isn’t cheap, he admits, but adds that he thinks there’s a demand for it.
