Updated March 31, 2015.

I recently wrote an article about a study conducted at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston that has revealed that many women who have received a breast cancer diagnosis have a lack of understanding about their condition. After reviewing the questions in this study, I realized that I, too, did not have a very good understanding about my own breast cancer and this started to bother me. I think I never found out much about my own information since it was treated many years ago and fortunately I have been declared cancer-free for nearly seven years.

In addition, at the time of my diagnosis and treatment, there just wasn’t any reason to know since access to information like that found on the Internet now was virtually non-existent. So, I was forced to rely on what I was directed to do by my medical team and I followed their directions to the letter.

But, as we have become more aware of all of the resources that are available to us and have reached an understanding that it is okay for a woman to research and question her doctors about treatments, etc., I knew that I wanted to do whatever I could to help others that were interested in advocating for themselves and for other women in their lives when it came to dealing with breast cancer. Therefore, I can’t begin to tell you how pleased I am that I have been made aware of a new way for every woman to be able to address her own wants and needs.

There is a new way to do this with the “My Breast Cancer Journey App” that has been designed to bridge a patient’s knowledge gap when it comes to her breast cancer.

This app provides educational content to a breast cancer patient that is personalized to the individuals’ diagnosis, treatment and clinical and emotional status. New content is provided throughout the journey so that the patient has access to the right content at the right time. Patients can also record and graph medical tests and non-cancer conditions that allow the creation of a comprehensive clinical picture of the patient.

There is also a companion app named “Cancer Journey Supporter”. Once a supporter receives an invitation from a patient using “My Breast Cancer Journey”, the supporter app allows the recipient to review educational content that has been shared with them. They can also participate in a private social network and conversations about the content with the patient and other supporters invited to review the content.

The Cancer Journey Apps solutions are now available FREE OF CHARGE and are easily downloaded from iTunes or Google Play. You are also invited to learn more about Cancer Journey Apps by going to www.cancerjourneyapps.com.

I have always believed that each breast cancer patient has a cancer that is as uniquely hers as is her own fingerprints. While there have always been ways to journal the information about a patient’s particular cancer and treatments, there is no way to write down and quantify all of the information that is uniquely hers. Therefore, to finally have a means that will provide information that is so uniquely individualized not only with regard to initial diagnosis and treatment and other needs that are immediate, the patient is also provided with the right content at the right time throughout the journey. For those who are caregivers and other supporters of the patient, they can all join in to have the same database of information. In this way, everyone can be on the same page at the same time in knowing what is next and what needs to be shared with medical professionals in order to create the best outcome for their loved one. What a wonderful gift this new app is for every woman who is dealing with cancer now or will be doing so in the future!