El tiempo en el cuidador del paciente con cáncer, un abordaje cualitativo

Abstract

The time as a physical magnitude in its most classical conception, is for the human being, a construction and a subjective mental representation that molds its perception related to its velocity. From there it is susceptible to variation according to the multiplicity of concepts, including beliefs, the state of mind and the perception of physical and mental health. Similarly, the past, the future and the present are subjective representations that depend on factors such as time perception, culture and biological time of each person. Based on this, the objective of this article was to refl ect on the concept of time and its importance for the caregiver of a patient diagnosed with cancer, during the phases of the disease. To accomplish this objective a qualitative research was performed though the narrative, the bibliographical story, and the intertextual reading, relying on the book “The Dreams of Einstein”. It was found that a unique form to measure time as a rigid, lineal, and sequential measure does not exist, but that each person defines and lives its own concept of time throughout their own experiences and temporal history, with the processes of health-disease being a possible determinant. It is concluded, then, that the perception of time is constructed through the interaction of external time, the events throughout life and the internal time that allows the human being to adapt and face the daily challenges.

Keywords

• Time
• Caregivers
• Disease
• Perception