Mark McIntyre said he believes he was dismissed from the job because of his medical condition. (CBC)An Amherst, N.S., man says he believes he was laid off from his job because of his ongoing battle with cancer.

Mark McIntyre said he returned to work at EMCO, a plumbing supply company, in late September after a sick leave to fight bladder cancer.

He said his doctor had told him to take another month off work after his chemotherapy treatment was completed, but McIntyre said he believed his workplace was short-handed.

"At the time, I thought it would be better to get back to work and get your mind off things," he told CBC News Friday.

McIntyre said one week after he returned to work, he was pulled aside by a supervisor and fired.

"He just said, 'You're no longer working for EMCO,'" he recalled. "I asked him why I was being terminated, he said, 'It's a business decision,' and that was the end of it. And he escorted me out the door."

McIntyre's wife, Michelle Hicks, said she was in disbelief when she heard the news. She said the couple believe McIntyre was dismissed because of his medical condition.

"There's been study after study about what stress does to a body, so we know that it impacts a body," she said. "We don't know at this point … how much it's impacting his recovery. Or if it's set his recovery back, which is a concern for me."

When contacted by CBC News, EMCO declined to comment on why McIntyre was let go.

Dave Allan, a local contractor, said he's standing behind his friend. Allan said he requested a meeting with the regional manager of EMCO and was surprised by what he was told.

A Facebook page supporting Mark McIntyre. (CBC)"Poor counter skills, not good with the public, ordering the wrong materials," he said. "Which I found to be exactly opposite to the Mark that I knew."

Allan said he is upset about the dismissal and is now looking for another company to supply him with more than $300,000 worth of equipment.

A community group supporting McIntyre has been created on the social networking site Facebook and has several hundred members.

"We as a community need to send a strong message that Amherst won't stand for treating one of our own like this," reads one post.

McIntyre said he has hired a lawyer to see if he has a case for wrongful dismissal.