KINGSTON, Jamaica — With the pressure that a cancer diagnosis places on employees, workplaces must stand ready to support rather than shun them, says Managing Director of the HEART Trust/NSTA Taneisha Ingleton.

“Employees battling breast cancer often face physical, emotional and financial stress, and as leaders, we miss it. We miss it, and we call it all kinds of things — we call it unruly, insubordination, silent protest. We call it so many different things,” she said.

Speaking at the launch of the Jamaica Reach to Recovery (JR2R) Pink Run on Tuesday, Ingleton maintained that workplace culture is important to the well-being of cancer patients.

“Oftentimes, we do not recognise that our survivors, individuals who are affected by breast cancer, there is a place called work that we have to go… how do managers deal with you? What is the posture of leadership? And what are the workplace policies? These, among all of the things that we’re discussing, cannot be ignored,” she said.

Ingleton maintained that with the reality of our temporary bodies, empathy is the expectation of humans, and when people are sick, empathy has to be raised extraordinarily high.

She cautioned that when some employees are forced to choose between their job and their health, the results can be devastating.

“It can wipe out your entire life savings…you sell everything to survive…And a lot of mothers, parents, grandparents, et cetera, they choose not to do that and to leave the inheritance and the monies for their children,” she said.

The managing director added that, on the other hand, a healthy workplace culture can positively impact marriages and homes.

“When husbands can have colleagues and friends where they’re in spaces where they’re encouraged to be that champion for [their] partner in terms of her breast, not just for the pleasure part…It makes such a difference mentally.”

She called on leaders in the workplace not to wait until they themselves become ill in the future to advocate for changes that they have the power to make now.

“I’m speaking to workplace leaders to ensure that workplaces… adopt flexible work hours, remote work options, wellness days, and extended sick leave; create a space where staff members feel comfortable, make it a daily conversation so that it does not become a stigma that is attached, and individuals are afraid to speak of it,” she said.

Ingleton lauded the organisers of the Pink Run, which raises proceeds for breast cancer patients, for playing their part not just to educate residents, but to provide financial assistance to affected men and women.

“This is why the Pink Run matters. When thousands take to the streets in pink, we are declaring that services exist. We are declaring that health matters, and we are saying that hope is stronger than fear. Every mile tells a story, and every finish line is a celebration of hope. And the spirit must endure beyond one day,” she said.