Temporality and timework: Danish endometrial cancer patients’ experiences of an accelerated cancer patient pathway

Abstract

Early diagnosis and rapid treatment are deemed essential in relation to cancer. In 2007, Denmark implemented accelerated cancer patient pathways with predetermined time frames to reduce waiting time. In this article, based on fieldwork with observations at two hospitals and ethnographic interviews, we examine temporal experiences of the cancer patient pathway for endometrial cancer of the uterus at stage I. Results show that while the cancer patient pathway helps suspend thoughts of death it also brings a sense of timely confusion and concerns about whether disease has spread. This ambivalence is linked to a political discourse of cancer in general as acute and a clinical, biomedical framing of endometrial cancer in particular as “good” due to its slow growth. We demonstrate how women customize their temporal experiences to accelerate or decelerate time and argue that waiting is not necessarily a passive state. We emphasize the need for professionals to be aware that the cancer patient pathway time and subjective patient time are not always synchronized.

‘Hey lovely! Don’t miss this opportunity!’ Digital temporalities of wellness culture, email marketing, and the promise of abundance

“…Platforms remediate earlier tensions between everyday temporalities, presence and absence at school, home, and in public spaces (Lasén, 2015). Smith and Copland (2021, p. 24), for example, engage with Lefebvre’s (2004) rhythmanalysis to examine how ‘the logic of speed’ underpins digital life, where speed not only refers to user experiences but also how content, like memes, spreads and amplifies across social media.…”

Between diagnostic precision and rapid decision‐making: Using institutional ethnography to explore diagnostic work in the context of Cancer Patient Pathways in Norway

“…early detection, precision medicine, efficiency and logistics, and defensive medicine). (Sidenius et al, 2020). Zerubavel (1987) highlights the diverse value placed on time in society, and how the amount of time vested in certain social relationships and activities signifies different meanings in different contexts.…”