Many wellness programs do a good job at dealing with — and controlling the long-term costs of — lifestyle-related health problems.  

But what about health conditions that changing one’s diet and exercise routines won’t necessarily help to prevent?

Specifically, there’s no other employee health threat that costs organizations more – in both financial and human terms – than cancer.  The average expected employer cost for a newly diagnosed cancer patient’s treatment is $83,084.

What’s more, typical wellness programs have little effect on preventing cancer. And cancer is also the No. 1 cause of employee absences of 30 or more days.

Some good news

Employers nationwide have put their heads together and issued a series of four concrete action steps any firm can use to fight cancer among employees and their dependents. The employer coalition, called the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, recommends:

• Employee health-risk assessments. This is the most important first stept of getting any cancer-prevention program off the ground. The assessments should look both at family history and lifestyle issues such as smoking.
• Cancer screenings. Best practice is to pay the cost for your at-risk employees to get screened for everything from skin to colorectal cancer. If even a single case is diagnosed early, it can prove to be a big money - and grief - saver in a very short period.
• Employee cancer education. Companies need to let employees know cancer prevention is a major goal for everyone at the company. Employee education has a cumulative effect, so plug your cancer-prevention resources early and often, and
• Selective use of health coaches. If you can’t afford a wellness program that gives everyone access to a health coach, consider a coach for people with three or more risk factors on
  a health-risk assessment.

Whatever you’d pay for these services would be far cheaper than a single preventable cancer case at your organization, finds the coalition.

Consider accreditation program

In conjunction with the American Cancer Society, the CEO Rountable coalition created a “Gold Standard” accreditation for firms that establish and enforce these and other key prevention policies.

Other key steps: banning smoking on your premises and having smoking cessation, diet and nutrition programs. Long-term, accredited firms could enjoy premium discounts as health insurers begin to recognize the certification.