Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust has launched an app to support cancer patients, with funding supported by the West Midlands Cancer Alliance.
The MySunrise app is being introduced for patients from diagnosis and through their treatment plan, designed to become a patient’s personalised cancer companion. It provides information and support for patients and their families, such as where to go for appointments, what public transport is best to take, and videos sharing other cancer patient journeys.
Jenny Donovan, cancer services manager, commented on the launch: “The app has already been a fantastic support for our patients, allowing them to access information they need at the press of a button. If there are any developments in the service, we will be able to share these, as well as information about our new hospital, the Midland Met, and what they can expect if they are being treated at the new facility when it opens next year.”
Debra Palmer, senior programmemanager, from the West Midlands Cancer Alliance, added: “Working to improve pathways and the experience of anyone diagnosed with cancer is a priority for the West Midlands Cancer Alliance. We know that navigating your way through the cancer pathway can be really confusing and stressful. An app like MySunrise which brings all of the information you might need into one easily accessible place is so helpful to patients and their families at an incredibly hard time.”
In July, we highlighted the news of Dr Nina Fuller-Shavel and Dr Penny Kechagioglou launching an integrative oncology app, to support adult cancer patients globally.
We recently sat down to chat with Ceire Costelloe, professor of health informatics at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and Lisa Scerri, business manager of BRIDgE (Biomedical Research Informatics Digital Environments) at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Ceire and Lisa discussed how health data is being used to improve outcomes across the cancer pathway at the trust, as well as the role of BRIDgE in enabling researchers to access real-world cancer data within secure, collaborative and cloud-based workspaces.
In June, we covered the role of digital in the fight against cancer in the Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033.
