Recovered from breast cancer, Anne-Sophie Tuszynski founded Cancer@work to lift the taboo of cancer in the professional world. For her, “the consequences of the disease are insufficiently taken into account at work to allow the person to keep their job”. Interview.
(Updated January 18, 2023 at 10:21 a.m.] On January 17, 2023, the CEO of Publicis, Arthur Sadoun, called on large companies to “breaking the taboo of cancer at work”. Boss of the world’s third-largest communications group, he himself faced cancer in April 2022, at the age of 50, linked to the papillomavirus, from which he was cured. Arthur Sadoun announced the launch of “Working With Cancer” aimed at bringing together large companies so that they undertake to better support their employees in the event of illness and to facilitate their return to work. Among the partners of this initiative, the leaders’ club Cancer@work founded by Anne-Sophie Tuszynski. cured ofbreast cancer diagnosed in 2011, she has become patient expert in the world of work. In 2017, the author published “Cancer and work, I found my place! How to find yours” and in May 2022, “Cancer, illness and work, to improve the quality of life of all employees”. She has been working for several years to revolutionize the business world and allow people affected by a long-term illness to remain in employment and offer employers the keys to best support them. We met her in October 2022. Discover her exclusive interview for the Journal des Femmes.
Le Journal des Femmes: for whom did you publish your book “Cancer, illness and work, to improve the quality of life of all employees”?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: I published this guide for all people who are confronted with the disease in the professional world. Sick people but also those around them, their families, their managers, their colleagues, who sometimes also become professional caregivers.
Le Journal des Femmes: in your opinion, why is illness still taboo in the workplace?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: these situations often refer to painful personal stories, which complicates communication around these intimate subjects. But through the effect of numbers and the very porous links between personal life and professional life, these stories also become subjects at work. We tried to put up partitions between these two lives but obviously we can’t leave our work at the door. a subject as painful as a serious and/or chronic illness !
Le Journal des Femmes: with 1 in 3 people losing or quitting their job within 2 years of diagnosis, we are facing a social issue.
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: exactly. The reasons for this are multiple: the disease sometimes forces you to change jobs or invites you to rethink your professional life. But sometimes the consequences of the disease are insufficiently taken into account at work to enable the person to retain their position. If we don’t adapt the work to the consequences of the disease or the treatments, we end up with people who realize that they cannot go back to their work exactly as before and who wear themselves out trying to do it anyway.
“I was diagnosed with cancer at 39. I was a senior executive, married, three children”
Le Journal des Femmes: as before… what do you mean by that?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: we discover this great fatigue, sometimes nagging, difficulty concentrating, memory loss. We exhaust ourselves trying to do everything as before, to such an extent that psychic decompensations are not uncommon.
Le Journal des Femmes: to do well, should the return to work be integrated into the care pathway?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: it should actually integrating post-cancer into the recovery journey. In my opinion, it is even necessary preparing for the return to work as soon as the cancer is announced. The employee obviously has no obligation to talk about his illness, however, if we can organize his departure from the outset, keep a link with the collective and the company during his treatment so as not to be lost when he returns after a long sick leave, so this return is finally not even a subject anymore.
“The attention paid by managers and employers is a pillar of medical recovery”
Le Journal des Femmes: is that what you did when you were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: I was diagnosed cancer at 39. I was a senior executive, married, three children, with a nice suburban house. An image of Epinal. I felt a lump in my breast March 7 in the morning. That same evening, I was doing a mammogram and I was told that I had 95% chance of it being cancer. I then returned to the office, I met my boss and I announced to him immediately. It’s true that I had complete confidence in him, which is also why I was able to speak so freely and spontaneously. My team followed with me the results of all the examinations, the announcement of the diagnosis and the implementation of the protocol. I had three weeks to inform my clients, discuss with my teams and my manager to implement solutions during my absence, which, I knew right away, was going to last several months. I left very serene and I maintained regular contact with my teams and my clients for nine months. Back to work in January 2012, I recognized my company and found my place.
Le Journal des Femmes: your experience and other similar experiences, do you think they contribute to recovery?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: I believe so, and I share this belief with many doctors. Often, when patients lose their jobs, they feel they no longer have a place in society. Not to mention the financial loss that the loss of work causes. The attention given by managers and employers in general constitutes, in my opinion, a pillar of medical recovery, but also social and professional. This is why I want to accompany them on this path.
“15% of the working population is directly affected by a serious illness, but no one talks about it”
Le Journal des Femmes: what prompted you to devote yourself fully to this task?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: I touched on the subject with my finger in the waiting rooms of Gustave Roussy where I was being treated. We spend time there and talk a lot. When I said that I worked in human resources, I was asked for help, advice. Many had not talked about it, others were afraid of not finding their jobs. Then, when I got back to work, I received numerous requests from clients, colleagues, acquaintances… I was challenged, I dug and I realized that I was not alone, but that cancer remained a taboo subject, in society and at work. And if we extend to all chronic diseases – endometriosis, multiple sclerosis… – we end up with nearly 15% of the working population is directly affected by a serious illness, but no one talks about it. And this figure is expected to increase by another 10% by 2025, according to the Economic, Social and Environment Council (CESE). However, in the professional environment, we are either on sick leave and sick, or at work and in good health! At the time of the announcement of cancer approximately one in two people is in employment. Practically 1200 people learn every day that they have cancer and almost half work. The need for support for these people and businesses is therefore enormous!
Le Journal des Femmes: and you launched the employers’ club Cancer@work and more recently WeCare@work to achieve this.
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: yes Cancer@work is a business club that brings together managers and committed employees to examine the needs of workers affected by the disease. Wecare@work offers solutions to support companies, training for managers, various resources. We also launched Alex*an online support platform, the first in the world, to answer all the legal, practical and organizational questions you may have when you are confronted with the directly or indirectly.
Le Journal des Femmes: I believe that in your company Wecare@work, the profiles of people who have been ill or caregivers are particularly represented.
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: yes, with equal skills, we recruit people who have been sick or caregivers. We want to prove that reconciling sickness and work is possible and even a factor of human and economic performance. We therefore take it into account in our recruitment, because for us, having gone through these tests is a skill in its own right. These are skills that are in high demand in today’s business world: empathy, listening, sense of priorities, taking a step back…all those skills we call soft skills. When we are faced with an illness, we have increased opportunities to develop these types of skills. Going through such an ordeal is like accelerated training in certain areas. And it is very valuable for companies that are beginning to understand that it is people, and nothing else, that is essential to the success of an organization. When we discuss with our customers and their employees, we know what we are talking about, we know the difficulties that the disease imposes, but we also know all that it can bring to the company.
“I gained in audacity and sense of priorities”
Le Journal des Femmes: more than 10 years after your diagnosis, how do you view your cancer?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski: For me, it’s a life experience that remains painful and if I had to choose, I would not choose to live with cancer and to make those around me live with it, of course. But even so, it was an extremely enriching experience. She totally rid me of the fear of undertaking that I had until then. I gained in audacity, in sense of priorities, I learned to put things at their fair value. I am extremely serene, no one stops me!
Le Journal des Femmes: what advice to ensure a return to work with complete peace of mind?
Anne-Sophie Tuszynski : dialogue and anticipation. Too many people don’t talk about it, disappear overnight. They have the right. But if they do not engage in dialogue, we will not be able to put in place the support measures necessary for their return. And too often we prepare our return to work only a few days before. It’s far too late to rethink an organization, understand the consequences of your illness and put the odds on your side for it to work! That’s why all these people are leaving the company. If all situations are unique, it is in the dialogue that we manage to apprehend all these particularities. It’s not that complicated and it ultimately requires relatively little investment for a company, as long as you anticipate.
Thanks to Anne-Sophie Tuszynski, author of “Cancer, illnesses and work, to improve the quality of life of all employees”, Editions Eyrolles, May 2022. *The Alex platform offers free access for people affected by a serious illness or chronicle via the green number 0 800 400 310. Interview in October 2022.