Cancer Treatment Comes With a Heavy Time Cost That Most Studies Have Missed
Cancer care is usually discussed in terms of medical outcomes, side effects, and financial expenses. What is talked about far less is the sheer amount of time patients must devote to managing their illness. A new study from researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Alabama at Birmingham brings this hidden burden into focus, showing that cancer treatment often functions like a part-time job, even outside the hospital walls.
The research reveals that patients undergoing treatment for advanced cancers spend hundreds of minutes every week not only in clinics but also traveling, waiting, managing medications, handling paperwork, and organizing their care at home. These demands add up quickly and significantly affect daily life, yet they are rarely captured in traditional healthcare data.
Why Time Burden in Cancer Care Is Often Overlooked
Most previous research on cancer-related time burden has relied on hospital administrative records and medical charts. While these sources document appointment lengths and treatment sessions, they miss large portions of the patient experience. Travel time, waiting rooms, prescription management, insurance paperwork, symptom monitoring, and care coordination at home are largely invisible in official records.
Patients have long reported that managing cancer feels exhausting and disruptive, but until now, there has been limited objective data to quantify how much time this really takes. This study aimed to close that gap by tracking patients’ real-world activities both inside and outside clinical settings.
How the Study Was Conducted
The study followed 60 adults receiving systemic therapy for either metastatic breast cancer or advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Participants were monitored over a 28-day period using a smartphone app that automatically tracked their location and activity through GPS and phone sensors.
Each day, participants reviewed and corrected their activity logs to ensure accuracy. They also completed short in-app surveys to report cancer-related tasks that happened outside the clinic, such as managing medications or arranging transportation.
This approach allowed researchers to capture a far more complete picture of how patients actually spend their time while undergoing cancer treatment. The study was published in JAMA Network Open in December 2025.
The Overall Time Commitment Is Substantial
One of the most striking findings was the total weekly time burden. Patients devoted a median of 400 minutes per week—more than six and a half hours—to cancer-related activities. Importantly, this number includes not just medical treatment but all the surrounding tasks that make treatment possible.
For many patients, this level of time commitment is deeply disruptive, especially for those who are still working, caring for family members, or managing other health conditions.
Travel and Waiting Often Take More Time Than Treatment
A key insight from the study is that travel and waiting frequently exceeded the time spent receiving actual medical care. Getting to appointments, finding parking, checking in, and sitting in waiting rooms consumed a large share of patients’ time.
This finding challenges the common assumption that treatment time alone reflects the true burden of cancer care. Even when clinical visits are relatively short, the surrounding logistics can stretch the total commitment far beyond what patients expect.
Home-Based Cancer Care Is a Major Time Drain
The study also highlighted the significant amount of time patients spend on home-based cancer-related tasks. Participants reported a median of 209 minutes per week—nearly three and a half hours—dedicated to activities such as:
- Managing and organizing medications
- Scheduling appointments and follow-ups
- Handling medical bills and insurance paperwork
- Monitoring symptoms and side effects
- Arranging transportation or caregiving help
These tasks are essential but often invisible, and they place an ongoing cognitive and emotional load on patients long after clinic visits end.
Who Participated in the Study
The participants had a median age of 59 years. About half were being treated for metastatic breast cancer, while the rest had advanced-stage ovarian cancer. Roughly one-third were employed full-time, meaning they had to balance treatment demands with work responsibilities.
Over the 28-day study period, participants averaged just over four out-of-home cancer care episodes, demonstrating how frequently patients must engage with the healthcare system even within a single month.
Why This Matters for Patients and Families
The findings confirm what many patients and caregivers already know from experience: cancer care extends far beyond the infusion chair or exam room. The time burden affects quality of life, mental health, employment stability, and financial well-being.
Family members and caregivers often share this burden, assisting with transportation, paperwork, and daily care tasks. Yet their time is rarely acknowledged or measured in healthcare planning.
Understanding the Concept of Time Toxicity
Researchers increasingly refer to this issue as time toxicity, a term that parallels financial toxicity. Just as medical costs can strain patients financially, time demands can erode personal freedom, rest, and emotional resilience.
Time toxicity is especially challenging for patients who live far from treatment centers, lack reliable transportation, or have limited social support. For them, even a single appointment can consume most of a day.
What Healthcare Systems Can Learn From This
Recognizing time burden as a real cost of cancer care opens the door to meaningful improvements. Health systems could:
- Reduce unnecessary waiting times
- Coordinate appointments to limit repeated travel
- Expand telehealth options when appropriate
- Simplify administrative processes
- Provide better logistical support for patients and caregivers
Designing care around patients’ lives—not just clinical efficiency—could significantly reduce the hidden strain revealed by this study.
Directions for Future Research
The researchers emphasize that this work is only a starting point. Future studies should explore which demographic and clinical factors predict higher time burdens and how time demands differ across cancer types and treatment stages.
There is also a need to examine how time burden affects long-term outcomes, including job loss, financial hardship, and overall well-being. Better measurement tools could help integrate time considerations into treatment planning and policy decisions.
A Clearer Picture of the True Cost of Cancer Care
This study provides strong evidence that cancer treatment demands far more time than most people realize. By capturing the full scope of patients’ daily experiences, it challenges healthcare providers and policymakers to rethink what supportive, patient-centered care really means.
Time, like money, is a limited resource. Recognizing how much of it cancer care consumes is a crucial step toward reducing unnecessary strain and helping patients live better during treatment.
Research Reference:
https://jamanetworkopen.ama-assn.org/article.aspx?doi=10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.49957
