App connects cancer outpatients to medical teams for real-time updates and reminders

The platform helps keep patients more comfortable at home and reduces the need for emergency admissions

Spotted: Combining the ease of mobile chat applications with the reliability of professional health advice, healthtech app WeCancer seeks to make cancer outpatients and their families more comfortable when at home. The app’s founders were inspired to create the care platform after experiencing the complexity of caring for a loved one undergoing cancer treatment.

For patients, the app helps keep them on track with their care by providing alerts when it is time to take a medication. For medical professionals, the dashboard allows for real-time monitoring of patients at home. Each day, patients enter their symptoms, and, when reviewed across a period of time, this helps care teams spot potential problems before they reach the stage that requires emergency room care.

Healthcare professionals are available to answer questions through the app’s chat function, which helps reassure patients as they navigate daily changes in their symptoms. Also available in the app is a “Cancerpedia” resource of reliable, up-to-date articles and research from which care teams can recommend reading material specific to each person’s type of cancer and care needs.

The app is available on both iOS and Android and was developed in partnership with a range of Latin American health organisations. The team’s goals for the app centre around increasing the numbers of patients interacting with the platform and continuing to develop its usability.

Other recent cancer-focused innovations spotted by Springwise include a particle accelerator helping doctors better understand pancreatic cancer cells and flexible sensors helping surgeons better target brain tumours.