Iran Occupational Health

Backgroundand amis: Working women who treated for breast cancer have reported a variety of problems following their return to work, however, in our country, information about the experience of returning to work after breast cancer are not reported. This study investigated the experience of returning to work in paid employed women survived from breast cancer.

 Methods: This qualitative research with purposive sampling of content analysis was performed on 20 employed women who survived from breast cancer and had the experience of returning to work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. To confirm the accuracy of the data, the opinions of teachers and fellow participants were used. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis by Lundman and Graneheim methods.

 Results: Experiences of women in relation to return to work following breast cancer were classified in four categories of attitude to work, return to work issues, problems at work environment and advice of experts about return to work after breast cancer. Women in various occupations experienced job loss, demotion, unwanted changes in tasks, problems with boss and colleagues, changes in attitude to work and decreasing physical ability.

 Conclusion: The findings of this study can be beneficial for health care professionals, patients and colleagues in providing social support for working women who survived from breast cancer