EDUCATIONAL-ACHIEVEMENT, EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE EXPERIENCE OF ADULTSURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD-CANCER

Survivors of childhood cancer will comprise a progressively larger pro portion of the adult population of all developed countries in the next decade. In this study the educational achievement, employment status and workplace experience of 969 such survivors treated in three U.S. p ediatric cancer centers are examined and compared with the experience in the same areas of individual-matched control subjects. included wer e survivors who are now 20 or more years of age and are disease-free 2 or more years from the end of therapy. Pertinent medical and psychoso cial areas were included in a 356-item instrument, administered during an hour-long telephone interview. This report concentrates on the sub ject's educational, occupational and workplace experience. Cancer surv ivors had completed fewer years of education with an ultimate lower ed ucational achievement status, had higher rates of unemployment, had lo wer overall occupational status and had lower annual incomes than cont rol subjects. Survivors of central nervous system (CNS) tumors had sig nificantly reduced levels of both educational and employment achieveme nt when compared with non-CNS tumor survivors. Relative to their workp lace records, i.e., absenteeism disciplinary actions, requests for spe cial provisions at work, etc., the records of survivors and control su bjects were similar. Accomplishments of the adult survivors of childho od cancer remain significantly lower than those of control subjects in educational and economic areas. These differences are of much greater magnitude among the survivors of CNS tumors.