‘It's an uncomfortable subject that doesn't often get talked about, and it's the uncomfortable subjects that absolutely need to be spoken about,’ says Alan King
While employers have invested heavily in programs addressing cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and mental health, cancer remains a workplace blind spot, particularly when it comes to the benefits landscape.
Alan King, CEO and president of Workplace Options, believes the nature of the illness itself contributes to this disparity.
"These are chronic conditions that individuals live with, whereas cancer is episodic," said King, who's also senior vice president at TELUS Health Employer Solutions. “The nature of the illness is different. Several of those chronic situations can be mitigated by behavioral changes in diet and health. And even heart conditions, for instance, have a lot to do with how someone's overall health is. Whereas, for cancer, there's very little that someone can do to effectively hold off something that may in fact be hereditary for someone.”
According to King, cancer comes with a psychological barrier too. He believes it frightens people, and when confronted with something traumatic, they often don't know what to say.
"We don't use words. We ignore and try to hide from the things we're afraid of, as opposed to directly taking them on. I think cancer falls into this category,” he noted.
King’s comments come as Canada observes World Cancer Day on Feb. 4. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, cancer incidence is declining as rates are down -1.2 per cent annually for males since 2011 and -0.4 per cent annually for females since 2012.
Additionally, mortality rates for all cancers combined peaked in 1988 and have been declining ever since - decreasing 42 per cent in males and 28 per cent in females. Meanwhile, 64 per cent of people diagnosed with cancer in Canada today are expected to survive 5 years or more compared to only 25 per cent in the 1940s.
While Canada's national health system covers much of the basic benefit, which means employer-sponsored plans are supplemental, these supplemental benefits have not risen to the level where they effectively support employees dealing with cancer, argues King.
When asked whether employers grasp the full impact of cancer in the workplace, he sees growing awareness that a diagnosis affects more than just the employee. Notably, it reaches spouses, partners, children, and extended family. Employers are starting to recognize that impact needs to be measured beyond the person with the illness.
The gaps in employer-sponsored benefits fall into two categories. First, there's insufficient emphasis on the emotional side of treatment. A person's mental state directly influences their ability to be resilient through chemotherapy and affects treatment outcomes. In Canada, where the national health system covers much of the basic benefit, employer plans are supplemental – and those supplements haven't caught up to what's needed.
Second, the workplace environment around someone with cancer is often neglected. Supervisors, leaders, and team members need help understanding what a colleague is going through.
"When we say we don't want to make the person feel uncomfortable, what we're really saying is we also don't want ourselves to feel uncomfortable," King said, adding programs that train employees on how to be supportive remain rare. Simple accommodations – like not scheduling a meeting the day after someone's chemotherapy – happen in very few instances.
Additionally, King believes any benefit an employer can layer on adds value. While employee assistance programs (EAPs) already exist in most Canadian workplaces, King believes they offer more than most people realize. They can help employees find resources, support families navigating a member's illness, and provide assistance when the person with cancer is the family's breadwinner.
"At a very, very base level, there's a tremendous amount of resources that are available through EAP programs that most employees, I don't think, fully understand," he says. Employers, too, fail to extract full value from what they've already purchased.
The gap between what employers spend and what helps employees stay employed or return to work successfully is often about communication, not money.
"Just having the benefit, whether it's EAP or whatever other supplemental benefit is out there, that's less valuable than understanding it's there and understanding how it can help," said King.
The persistent gap lies in the emotional impact of illness on people beyond the employee who is sick. When organizations measure healthcare spending, they focus on productivity impacts tied to their direct employee. If that employee isn't the one with cancer but is instead caring for a spouse, partner, or family member, there's no measurement, no recognition, and no support.
Still, King doesn't see any particular cancer type rising above the rest in terms of employer attention as he acknowledged the broader movement is toward general awareness and early detection.
For example, breast cancer received sustained attention over the years, which reshaped research funding and pushed prevention and early diagnosis into the spotlight, he sees a similar pattern emerging around men's health, particularly prostate cancer.
"It's an uncomfortable subject that doesn't often get talked about, and it's the uncomfortable subjects that absolutely need to be spoken about," he said, emphasizing that real progress lies in normalizing early screening tools that can improve survivability.
On the benefits side, companies are developing more targeted support for a range of medical conditions, including cancer. Digital and AI-driven tools are multiplying as well, narrowing the gap between individuals and the information or caregivers they need.
For tech-savvy employees, these platforms also open doors to peer-support networks – connecting people who are facing the same illness. Emotional support around serious medical issues is increasingly delivered through digital channels.
While King believes all supports matter, he emphasized the foundation rests in developing workplace protocols.
"The one thing that's missing from all the resources is an action plan that says this is what we do when something happens," he said, adding training that reinforces the process is equally absent.
Currently, these situations unfold as one-offs. A manager contacts HR after learning about a team member's diagnosis, arrangements get made in isolation, and there's no broader organizational process to guide the response, he noted.
King underscored the depth and quality of benefits become irrelevant without an environment that allows them to be accessed and activated. For him, the missing ingredient is planning and process, for both employees who have cancer, and for those affected by someone who does.
"The richness of benefits is completely lost if there's not an environment in which they can be used and understood and triggered in an effective way," he added.
