Understanding the impact of cancer on the experience of time is crucial in the context of hope and recovery. This study, a follow-up to a previous qualitative study of ovarian cancer patients – explored two types of such experiences—the memory of past happiness and the limited future planning. A sociodemographic questionnaire with nine questions about the experience of time was used on a convenience sample of 202 patients with various cancers, predominantly women with breast, ovarian, and cervical cancer. It was found that the respondents experienced increased focus on the present, decreased focus on the future, and a sense of unpredictability, with a relatively short temporal horizon measured in weeks and months, not years. Almost half of the respondents (46%) measured time during treatment by the rhythm of chemotherapy and check-ups, which thus appeared as the most meaningful events. The increase in the frequency with which patients underwent chemotherapy mildly affected their focus on the present (R = 0.25,p< 0.05), likely because of the discomfort of the side effects. The correlations between age and time in treatment, on the one hand, and the experience of time, on the other, were negligible. Changed temporal experience during chemotherapy is a factor that can have an impact on patients’ well-being and ability to cope with the disease. It thus should be taken into account when planning oncology care.
理解癌症对时间体验的影响，在希望与康复的语境中至关重要。本研究作为先前一项针对卵巢癌患者的质性研究的后续，探讨了两种类型的时间体验——对过往幸福的记忆与有限的未来规划。研究采用包含九个时间体验问题的社会人口学问卷，对202名各类癌症患者（主要为乳腺癌、卵巢癌及宫颈癌女性患者）进行了便利抽样调查。研究发现，受访者对当下的关注度增加，对未来的关注度降低，并伴有强烈的不确定感；其时间视野相对缩短，以周和月而非年为单位进行衡量。近半数受访者（46%）依据化疗周期与复查节奏来度量治疗期间的时间，这些节点因而成为最具意义的事件。患者化疗频率的增加对其当下关注度产生轻微影响（R=0.25，p<0.05），这可能源于副作用带来的不适感。年龄、治疗时长与时间体验之间的相关性可忽略不计。化疗期间时间体验的改变是影响患者身心健康及疾病应对能力的重要因素，因此在规划肿瘤诊疗方案时应予以充分考虑。
肿瘤(癌症)患者之家