Articles
Blogs and articles written for various organisations about managing work and cancer. We have organised these according to whether you are: someone who has/has had cancer; an HR professional or a policy maker about managing cancer in the workplace; a line manager; a carer, colleague or supporter of someone with cancer. Choose from the options below:
Or, click here to view a full list of articles.
Black Spot
Posted: 27th June 2024
Our regular contributor, Harmer Parr, is now on palliative care, designed to make his last months as comfortable as possible. In this article, he reflects on his cancer diagnoses and treatments over the years and his palliative journey.
Palliative Perceptions
Posted: 2nd May 2024
In this second article, Harmer Parr writes about his palliative care, which is often rather misunderstood, and how he and his family are adapting to this new stage in his life.
I’ve been on palliative care for two months now. As I revealed in my last article, I was transferred for hospital to hospice. While death is a long-established taboo subject, I’ve discovered that the words ‘hospice’ and ‘palliative’ create their own frisson as well. Can friends send you a message asking simply how you are? Do they wonder if this implies the question: ‘are you dead yet? ’Well, the answer to that question is that I’m still around. I was told to ‘think months not years’ and I’m determined not to be short-changed.’
How to navigate the transition from cancer treatment to the workplace
Posted: 4th April 2024
An article by our founder, Barbara Wilson, about how to navigate the transition from cancer treatment to the workplace recently appeared in UNLEASH magazine. ‘Cancer isn’t just a concern for individuals, it is also a risk for organizations. More and more people of working age are getting cancer, and it is high time that employers step… [Read More]
Home Straight
Posted: 19th March 2024
WWC regular contributor, Harmer Parr, has previously updated us about his advanced cancer, Melvyn the Melanoma. Harmer is now, as he puts it, on the ‘home straight’ having been discharged from the hospital and having further treatment, and now in the hands of his hospice team and excellent GP.
Cancer Survival – Why Staying Positive is Never Enough
Posted: 24th October 2023
Stephen Bevan, Principal Associate at the Institute of Employment Studies and an Ambassador for Working With Cancer, offers an insight into his quest to stay upbeat for those around him since his terminal cancer diagnosis.
Aorta: A Good News Story
Posted: 24th October 2023
WWC regular contributor, Harmer Parr, has previously updated us about Melvyn the Melanoma, but in this article he shares the story of a new ‘private assassin’ – his aorta. Don’t know what that is and what it does? Read on.
Anxiety and returning to work
Posted: 1st August 2023
In this article our Associate Genevie Isaacson, an Employment Lawyer, offers some good practice guidelines for employers to support their employees in making a successful return to work.
Sharing my experience with breast cancer
Posted: 27th April 2023
In this article, our Ambassador, Gail Kenny, shares her experience of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis.
A Last Hurrah? Reflections on a Terminal Diagnosis
Posted: 3rd April 2023
WWC Ambassador Stephen Bevan, head of HR Research Development for the Institute of Employment Studies (IES), offers a personal reflection on the emotional impact of a terminal cancer diagnosis for him and his family.
Moving Melvyn: a cautionary tale?
Posted: 12th October 2022
Our regular contributor, Harmer Parr, provides us with the latest news on Melvyn the Melanoma.