Cancer, Disability, and the Gaps in Care

This book looks closely at where cancer and disability meet, and what that means in real terms for people living through and beyond the disease. A cancer diagnosis and its treatment can leave lasting effects, whether physical, cognitive, or emotional, that do not simply disappear when treatment ends. As survival rates improve, these longer-term consequences are becoming harder to ignore, exposing gaps in rehabilitation, follow-up care, and the wider systems meant to support recovery. The chapters bring together perspectives from oncology, rehabilitation, psychology, public health, law, and global health to explore this space with some care. Cancer-related disability is considered not only as a direct outcome of disease, but also as something shaped by treatment, by access to care, and by the social conditions in which people live. The book moves through the different dimensions of this experience, from neurocognitive and psychological effects to questions of work, identity, and social participation.

It is structured in nine chapters. It begins by setting out the clinical and conceptual foundations of cancer as a disability experience, then turns to the neurological and psychological aftereffects of treatment. From there, it considers rehabilitation, the challenges of returning to work, and the ways disability intersects with broader social and economic factors. Later chapters look outward, examining cancer and disability in low-resource and humanitarian settings, as well as the legal and policy frameworks that shape access to care and rights. The final section reflects on where the field is heading, with attention to new approaches in service delivery and policy.

The overall aim is to offer a clearer way of thinking about cancer-related disability, and in doing so, to support more thoughtful care for those living with cancer and for those who continue to live with its consequences.

Explores cancer-related disability across clinical, psychological, legal, and global health dimensions Bridges oncology and disability studies to address care gaps in survivorship and rehabilitation Highlights disparities and proposes inclusive strategies for cancer care in underserved populations

Autorentext

Muhammad Hamza Shah is a Foundation Doctor with the Northern Ireland Medical and Dental Training Agency and a graduate of Queen's University Belfast. He completed an intercalated MSc in Clinical Anatomy with Distinction at the University of Edinburgh, where his dissertation focused on the neuroanatomical basis of the neuromuscular junction.

He has published over 50 peer-reviewed articles and contributed chapters to established medical textbooks, with work spanning medical education, global health, and neuro-oncology. His contributions have been recognized through several academic and research prizes. Alongside his clinical and academic work, he writes on equity in healthcare, with a particular focus on underserved and displaced populations, and maintains a strong interest in advancing oncology care in conflict and low-resource settings.

Inhalt

Chapter 1 Introduction Framing Cancer as a Disability Experience.- Chapter 2 Disability Arising from Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment- Chapter 3 Neurocognitive and Psychological Sequelae as Disability- Chapter 4 Rehabilitation Medicine and the Cancer Care Continuum- Chapter 5 Employment, Vocational Disability, and Return-to-Work Policies- Chapter 6 Social Determinants, Intersectionality, and Cancer Disability- Chapter 7 Cancer and Disability in Humanitarian and Low-Resource Settings- Chapter 8 Legal and Policy Frameworks Governing Cancer Disability- Chapter 9 Innovations and Future Directions in Cancer Disability Research and Care.