How to Support Employees Through Their Cancer Journey
Cancer and tumour growth are among the top two medical conditions driving medical plan costs in Asia Pacific, according to Aon’s 2024 Global Medical Trend Rates Report. Additionally, cancer rates are rising among younger people, with 40% of diagnoses occurring within working aged individuals between 25 and 64 years old7 who have some of the highest survival rates among cohorts8. Yet, despite cancer being a key driver of insurance claims in the region, many companies lack the skills and resources to support employees after a cancer diagnosis.
Key Points
- There is a clinical gap in workplace support for employees with a cancer diagnosis
- Employees face significant mental and physical health challenges after a cancer diagnosis, often impacting their ability to remain in work
- Raising awareness and promoting preventative and screening measures can play a crucial role in reducing the incidence of cancer and supporting early detection
- Personalised support programs and management training can significantly improve quality of life, wellbeing, and return-to-work outcomes for employees
According to Dr. Raghav Murali-Ganesh, co-founder and CEO of Osara Health, there is a growing trend for self-management in cancer care2, which suggests cancer patients are usually left to struggle with the physical, emotional and practical challenges of cancer on their own. Without sufficient guidance and resources, this lack of support can have significant impacts, including slower recovery and feelings of isolation among employees. So, investing in comprehensive benefits and workplace support for employees should be a priority for organisations that are looking to drive better health and wellbeing outcomes to encourage retention and more productive workforce participation.
Challenges faced by cancer patients in the workplace
Prior to co-founding Osara Health in 2016, Dr. Murali-Ganesh spent years working as an oncologist, gaining insight into the challenges faced by cancer patients. He observed that patients often feel unsure of next steps and have difficulty accurately tracking their symptoms between appointments, leading to a less effective treatment process and delayed resumption of everyday activities, including work.
“As doctors, we want to see a trend in symptoms and how they have changed over time. By educating patients and giving them the tools to help them record their symptoms, we can more easily recommend suitable treatments. Being able to accurately log symptoms in the home environment is essential because patients don’t typically have the appropriate tools, coaching or understanding of certain concepts before they are diagnosed”, says Dr. Raghav Murali-Ganesh, co-founder and CEO of Osara Health.
Using technology and personalised digital solutions to transform cancer support
Seeking to better address the needs of cancer patients, Dr. Murali-Ganesh co-founded Osara Health, a digital platform that combines technology with personalised coaching, allowing patients to manage aspects of their health, such as nutrition and sleep, through different modules.
Dr Murali-Ganesh noted that before developing one key aspect of Osara’s digital platform, the mobile app, the traditional method for logging symptoms meant patients bringing him scribbled pieces of paper that were difficult to comprehend. This prompted him to explore more reliable and convenient solutions. However, he quickly learned that technology alone was not enough to drive engagement.
“Our first-generation product was an app with a fantastic interface that delivered a positive user experience (UX). However, there was no social contract involved, so engagement rates dropped by 95% within a week3. Then we added a social contract in the form of personalised cancer coaching, whereby the coach talks to the patient and checks that they have done a specific task. Overnight, we went from 5% to 51% engagement, and now our numbers are at 91%4”, added Dr. Murali-Ganesh.
Providing human connection is also important when delivering cancer support. In a recent study, the team at Osara Health divided patients into two groups to compare those who went through their program with those who didn’t.
"Providing employee benefits and support should be a priority for organisations that want to drive better health and wellbeing outcomes or improve retention and productivity"
Dr Raghav Murali-Ganesh, Osara Health
The thesis was that fatigue caused by chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment is a common barrier that prevents patients from returning to work. As the antidote to fatigue is exercise, Osara Health increased the amount of exercise recommended by the program and followed these patients over the course of 18 months. Compared to the control group5, participants who accessed support from Osara Health returned to work 16.5 weeks faster on average.
Practical steps to support employees through their cancer journey
“While digital platforms like Osara Health can have a profoundly positive impact on employees with cancer, it is also important to cultivate a culture of understanding and accommodation at work,” notes Dr. Murali-Ganesh. As the incidence of cancer is around 0.6% annualised, with higher risk for working age females and older workforce cohorts6, being aware of an organisation’s demographics and data is of utmost importance when it comes to offering the right support for specific employees.
“Some companies find that identifying the right experts and tools for their needs can be challenging,” says Alan Oates, head of advisory & specialty for Health Solutions, Asia Pacific, at Aon. “Aon’s vendor management solutions can help simplify that process and reduce the time and risk involved in vendor management, so HR leaders can focus on their day-to-day priorities. Meanwhile, using analytics, our team can measure the impact of all their health and wellbeing programs across multiple vendors, generating data-driven insights that can improve performance and value over time.”
Aon can help reduce the time and risk involved in vendor management, so HR leaders can focus on their day-to-day priorities
As well as implementing third-party solutions, organisations can take practical steps to improve the experience of employees with cancer, including raising awareness through workshops, webinars and training for leaders. Combining personalised support with awareness programs can also yield improvements in business productivity, employee retention, and morale.
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This webinar was the second event in our Resilient Conversations series for 2024. View other webinars from the series here.
Source
1The Global Medical Trend Rates Report 2024 | Aon
2Howell D, Mayer DK, Fielding R, Eicher M, Verdonck-de Leeuw IM et al; Global Partners for Self-Management in Cancer. Management of Cancer and Health After the Clinic Visit: A Call to Action for Self-Management in Cancer Care. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2021 May 4;113(5):523-531. doi: 10.1093/jnci/djaa083. PMID: 32525530; PMCID: PMC8096367.
3Internal Osara Health data, 2024
4Osara Health. (2023). Customer Engagemnent Analysis: Internal unpublished raw data.
5A retrospective cohort analysis of return-to-work outcomes for cancer survivors using a digital coaching intervention. Aung et al Journal of Clinical Oncology 2022 40:16_suppl, 1566-1566
6Cancer in Australia, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2021
7Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Cancer series no 101 cat no CAN 100. Canberra: AIHW; 2017. Cancer in Australia 2017.
8Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2023) Cancer data in Australia, AIHW, Australian Government, accessed 03 June 2024.