Breast cancer: Patient creates app to help with treatment

A mobile app designed by a patient is helping people with breast cancer prepare for the start of radiotherapy.

The treatment requires them to raise their arm above their head, but patients often find that difficult or painful after breast surgery. Exercises are important but Karen Bonham said leaflets giving details did not help her enough.

So she helped create the app to offer exercise videos and medics say it is helping more women be ready on time. Staff at Velindre Cancer Centre in Cardiff say they have noticed fewer patients needing urgent referral for physiotherapy ahead of the treatment since the "Breast Axilla Postoperative Support app", or BAPS App, was launched in February.

Kate Baker, clinical lead physiotherapist at Velindre, who helped devise the app, said: "Previously, we've always handed out information on exercises in a leaflet, that patients would be given by a physiotherapist and taken home. But often these pieces of paper get lost and they're not followed through.

"What we wanted to do was provide exercises, physical activity advice and further information in an app format, which would allow individuals to have it with them at all times."

Donna Egbeare, breast surgeon at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, who was also involved in developing the bilingual app, said the impact of being able to start radiotherapy on schedule was significant.

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Source: BBC News, 27 November 2019