Cancer survivors to support patients as part of senior employment program

The Korea Employment Agency for the Elderly signed an MOU with the National Cancer Center on Monday at its training center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, to promote cancer patient care and create jobs for older adults.

Under the agreement, the two institutions plan to build and strengthen a cooperative framework to develop and expand programs — including identifying age-appropriate roles for seniors in community-based cancer care, providing training support, and advancing employment initiatives for older cancer survivors.

As one of the agreement's first initiatives, the two organizations will launch a pilot program this year called "Community-Based Senior Cancer Experience Care," a new employment model that pairs cancer survivors with cancer patients.

Senior cancer survivors with firsthand treatment experience will visit patients at home, accompany them to hospital appointments, share their own treatment journeys, offer emotional support, and assist with hospital procedures such as registration, consultations and medical tests.

Participants will work in pairs for five hours a day, three days a week, visiting households that have requested the service to help cancer patients with hospital visits.

Six participants will be recruited in Goyang for a three-month pilot running from July through September. The program will then be evaluated before a planned expansion in 2027 to 13 regional cancer centers nationwide.

Through the MOU, the agency also plans to survey demand at regional cancer centers across the country for its existing "Hospital Accompaniment Together" senior employment program, which launched this year, with an eye toward expanding it in 2027.

Currently, 90 seniors at the National Cancer Center assist visitors with tasks including appointment registration, physical measurements and mobility support.

"The collaborative program draws on the lived experience of cancer survivors to deliver services that patients genuinely need, making it a job with high community value," said Kim Su-young, president of the Korea Employment Agency for the Elderly. "We will continue to identify and expand high-quality senior employment opportunities with strong program effectiveness and scalability across a wide range of fields."