Investigating PTG in Cancer Patients: The Role of Time Dimension in the Experience of Personal Growth
Abstract
:1. Introduction
- (1)
- If the defined domains saturated participants’ experiences as collected by narratives and how participants’ experiences related to each of them;
- (2)
- If other domains of growth emerged with consideration to the specific context of oncological disease.
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Procedures and Measures
2.3. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Time Dimension
“[…] When you live the disease on your skin you realize that everything else doesn’t matter. I mean, I live day by day […]. Yes, I do. Because when you have dealt with the beast every day of your life for a while, then every month, every year, for you is like newfound time […]”.
“We [she and her family] have learned to live intensely every day, because life is so fast! Every moment of life is fragile and wonderful […]”.
3.1.1. Tracing a New Temporal Rhythm
“I learned to capture moments and seconds and taking pictures in my mind to remember my family united and happy. I’m always so scared about cancer, but I live day by day and I enjoy every smile life gives me […]”.(Participant #8)
“What has really changed in me is my perception of time. I mean, many things are changed and I really feel a different person. But cancer has certainly changed my priorities and firstly my perception of time passing”.
3.1.2. The Value of Deserved Time
“Through illness, I have learned to give me time too; time that before I didn’t have, that most of times I should have “steal” from other more important things. Now I have no alternative: what has to be done for me, I must find the time for it”.(Participant #6)
“At the beginning I felt the strong impulse to always have to do something, almost a sense of suffocation if I didn’t do something. I never had time, because I had to do, do and do, thinking that life is short. Then I started to spend my energy by trying to use it in a constructive way and devoting more time to myself. I asked for part-time at work, I devoted more time to children, myself and my partner. I feel that time belongs to me now”.
3.1.3. Facing the Caducity of Life
“What has really changed in me is the perception of time. Facing with the possibility of dying, I suddenly realized how many things I would wanted to do and say and it helped me to grow”.
“It is true that the second life begins when you realize you only have one. Time is now!”
3.1.4. A View on the Future
“The disease led me to think some really important things I simply was used to connect to a time far from me. Will I see my daughter in her white dress? It’s all uncertain now, but I found the strength to imagine future time”.
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Presence | Absence | N | |
---|---|---|---|
Personal strengths | 36 | 33 | 69 |
Appreciation of life | 37 | 32 | 69 |
New opportunities | 15 | 54 | 69 |
Relationships with others | 27 | 42 | 69 |
Spiritual change | 4 | 65 | 69 |
Presence | Absence | N | |
---|---|---|---|
Tracing a new temporal rhythm | 11 | 58 | 69 |
The value of deserved time | 8 | 61 | 69 |
Facing the caducity of life | 5 | 64 | 69 |
A view on the future | 3 | 65 | 69 |
Total occurrence in narratives | - | - | 26 |
Co-occurrence of sub-themes in narratives | - | - | 1 |
Personal Strengths | Appreciation of Life | New Opportunities | Relationships with Others | Spiritual Changes | Time Dimension | Tracing a New Temporal Rhythm | The Value of Deserved Time | Facing the CaduCity of Life | A View on the Future | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Personal strengths | ______ | −0.180 | 0.223 | 0.0540 | 0.113 | −0.094 | −0.138 | −0.070 | 0.044 | −0.800 |
Appreciation of life | ________ | 0.067 | 0.091 | 0.106 | 0.183 | 0.405 ** | 0.059 | 0.148 | −0.087 | |
New opportunities | 0.223 | −0.180 | _________ | 0.225 | −0.131 | 0.047 | 0.058 | 0.136 | 0.124 | −0.0112 |
Relationships with others | 0.0540 | 0.091 | 0.225 | _________ | -0.072 | −0.011 | −0.025 | 0.182 | 0.005 | −0.120 |
Spiritual changes | 0.113 | 0.106 | −0.131 | −0.072 | _____ | 0.063 | 0.061 | 0.103 | −0.069 | −0.053 |
Time dimension | −0.094 | 0.183 | −047 | −0.011 | 0.063 | ______ | 0.560 *** | 0.479 ** | 0.244 * | −0.274 * |
Tracing a new temporal rhythm | −0.138 | 0.405 ** | 0.058 | −0.025 | 0.061 | 0.560 *** | ______ | 0.087 | 0.031 | 0.101 |
The value of deserved time | −0.070 | 0.059 | 0.136 | 0.182 | 0.103 | 0.479 ** | 0.087 | ______ | 0.072 | 0.144 |
Facing the caducity of life | 0.044 | 0.148 | 0.124 | 0.005 | −0.069 | 0.244 * | 0.031 | 0.072 | ______ | 0.077 |
A view on the future | −0.800 | −0.087 | −0.112 | −0.120 | −0.053 | −0.274 * | 0.101 | 0.144 | 0.077 | ____ |
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Fioretti, C.; Vinciarelli, V.; Faggi, D.; Caligiani, L.; Tessitore, F.; Castelnuovo, G.; Cozzolino, M. Investigating PTG in Cancer Patients: The Role of Time Dimension in the Experience of Personal Growth. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19, 9619. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159619
Fioretti C, Vinciarelli V, Faggi D, Caligiani L, Tessitore F, Castelnuovo G, Cozzolino M. Investigating PTG in Cancer Patients: The Role of Time Dimension in the Experience of Personal Growth. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2022; 19(15):9619. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159619
Chicago/Turabian StyleFioretti, Chiara, Viola Vinciarelli, David Faggi, Lucia Caligiani, Francesca Tessitore, Gianluca Castelnuovo, and Mauro Cozzolino. 2022. "Investigating PTG in Cancer Patients: The Role of Time Dimension in the Experience of Personal Growth" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19, no. 15: 9619. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159619