When looking at the risks and benefits of treatments, time toxicity is the newest kid on the block. This refers to all the time spent visiting health care facilities (clinics, urgent cares, hospitals) for treatments, follow-up visits and tests, side effects, and complications. That includes travel time, wait time, and the time spent coordinating care.
The push to pay attention to the time-related burden of treatment began in the setting of caring for patients with advanced disease who are looking at limited life expectancy. From an article in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, “…a patient may view treatments differently if they knew that, on average, 3 of their remaining estimated 9 months alive would be spent away from home (eg, in infusions and in the hospital) if they pursue treatment option A, but that all of their estimated remaining 7 months would be spent at home if they pursued option B.”
Deciding whether to stop treatment or continue is tough. If time toxicity is not addressed, some patients may make a decision they come to regret.
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