8 causes of cancer in the workplace that two-thirds of UK employees are unaware of

• Hazel Sheffield

One in ten people said they had had to rearrange a GP appointment relating to cancer symptoms to because of work Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Two-thirds of UK employees are unaware that they could be increasing their risk of cancer in the workplace, according to research.

AXA PPP healthcare conducted a study of 1000 workers in October and found that two-thirds of employees have never considered that they could be increasing their risk of cancer in the worldplace.
AXA listed nine causes of cancer in the workplace:

1. Hair dyes
2. Sitting down all day
3. Arsenic
4. Cleaning fluids 
5. Car exhaust
6. X-rays or radiation 
7. Asbestos
8. Passive smoke inhalation

Of these, almost three-quarters of people didn't know that sitting down all day can be a leading cause of cancer. According to an Australian study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, people who spent 10 or more years in sedentary work had almost twice the risk of developing distal colon cancer, regardless of how active they were outside of working hours.
Just under half of people didn't know that arsenic and cleaning products are carcinogenic, while 62 per cent said they didn't know that hair dyes were a risk.
One in ten people said they had had to rearrange a GP appointment relating to cancer symptoms to because of work, while two thirds said that they worried about getting time off to go to the doctor with cancer symptoms.
“If your job brings you into contact with any of these substances, it is important to be aware of the potential health risks and take appropriate steps to manage them. And, if you should notice a change in your body that worries you, seek medical help as soon as you can," Sharon Lidstone, AXA PPP healthcare’s head of clinical services, said.

Business news in pictures

• 13 show all

Lidstone added that key symptoms to look out for include unusual lumps and swellings, abnormal bleeding, breathlessness, unexplained weight loss and persistent bloating.
"Although there may be an innocent explanation, it is important to get these symptoms checked by a doctor and it’s worrying to see that so many people are putting this off," she said.