The rhythm of chemotherapy and the felt experience of time: a front-loaded phenomenological retrospective cohort study

Abstract

It is well-known that chemotherapy brings about various adverse physical effects such as fatigue, nausea, or vomiting, and that it lowers mental well-being. It is less known that it desynchronizes patients with social environment. This study explores the temporal aspects and challenges of chemotherapy. Three groups equal in size and distinguished according to weekly, biweekly, and triweekly treatment schemes, each independently representative in terms of sex and age of the cancer population (total N = 440) were compared. The study found that chemotherapy sessions, regardless of their frequency, patients’ age, and the overall length of treatment, have a very large effect on changing the felt pace of time from flying to dragging (Cohen’s d = 1.6655). Most patients pay more attention to the passing of time than before treatment (59.3%), which has to do with the disease (77.4%). They also experience the loss of control over time, which they subsequently attempt to regain. The patients’ actual activities before and after chemotherapy, however, are mostly the same. All these aspects create a unique 'chemo-rhythm', in which the significance of the type of cancer and demographic variables is negligible, and the mere rhythmic nature of treatment plays a central role. In conclusion, patients find the ‘chemo-rhythm’ stressful, unpleasant and difficult to control. It is vital to prepare them for it and help to reduce its adverse effects.

Past Happiness and Broken Future Horizon of Oncological Patients during Chemotherapy—A Quantitative Exploration of a Phenomenological Hypothesis

“…This was because, except for our previous studies, there is no research on the effect of chemotherapy length and treatment rhythm on cancer patients’ felt sense of time. In contrast, our previous studies showed that the treatment rhythm (rather than linear time) is critical to the experience of time [ 10 , 16 , 30 ].…”

“…In the absence of positive or negative stimuli, there is usually no awareness of the passing of time, so it ceases to be explicitly felt, while a person experiencing positive emotions might have the sense of time accelerating or, when experiencing negative emotions or exposed to unpleasant events, the sense of time dragging. A disturbed sense of time may translate into increased stress and discomfort and affect recovery [ 10 , 16 ].…”

“…From the moment of diagnosis to daily struggle with the disease, patients experience a wide range of emotions that affect their well-being, including sadness, anxiety, anger, frustration, and uncertainty about the future. Chronic oncological conditions disrupt the sense of time and reorganize its experience, also due to the rhythmic nature of treatment [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11].…”