Carreer perspective

Question

Is it possible for a CF-patient to work, and how does a career for such a person looks like?

Answer

Dear questioner,
Whether an adult with CF is able to work and how his professional future will look like, depends on several factors. It’s obvious that first of all his or her health condition and its evolution play an important role in the possibility to be able (or not) to work or to continue to work. Also your family situation (e.g. children), your education, the sector and the attitude of your employer are important factors in finding, keeping and growing into a job. Social incentives, such as employment fees, established by the government can make a job (more) feasible for the employee with CF and the employer.

Answers to questions such as “is it possible for a CF-patient to work?” and “how does a career for such a person looks like?” remain vague because they differ from patient to patient. So, a lot of adults with CF work, either part-time or fulltime. Adults with CF work as teachers, lawyers, accountants, labourer, etc. On the other hand, there are also adults with CF who are not able to work (any more), due to their health condition or some other reason that’s linked with CF. To prove this with some data: in 2006 in Belgium, 38 % of the adults with CF worked and 49 % of the adults with CF didn’t work (for 13 % the work situation was unknown).

Do you have a concrete question about work, decreasing work or stop working, about employment measures from the authorities, etc., then it’s best to contact a CF team and/or a patient association ,…).

U. Pypops

24.11.2009