Cancer patients lose time, study says

A new study from the National Cancer Institute about how much time is spent by cancer patients in getting care and treatment. Only the travel time to and fro plus the actual wait times and treatment hours were included.

What a hoot! Yes, of course we all understand that this sort of medical treatment is very time consuming. And the folks who were studied were only retirees, which makes their time less valuable in terms of dollars and cents. In my case, being a breast cancer patient while being the primary wage earner in a family of 5, the amount of time spent is absolutely staggering!

But the study protocol did NOT include adding up all the time spent resting, praying to God to feel a little bit better by the time dinner is ready. Then there's the time spent being unable to care for yourself let alone others, which leads us to the time spent organizing your own care not to mention the care of others in your household. Arranging rides to and from school for kids can be daunting, considering that most parents who pick up their own children from school treasure that time alone with them.

While I was lucky enough to be collecting state disability payments during the long 10 months I was in treatment, it didn't begin to cover those every day expenses that my paycheck barely covered. So how do cancer patients with no support system in place, either financial, emotional or practical, really manage?

It's pleasing to know that the NCI folks are addressing the issue of lost time. Considering that life is not a dress rehearsal and there are no do-overs, why not expand the study to include all the REST of the time that's lost to cancer. Especially when the cancer patient is a parent. Missed soccer games and school plays . . . the list can go on and on.