Lung Cancer Nursing UK (LCNUK), develop ‘Your Health Companion’ to help improve the lives of those living with lung cancer
Lung Cancer Nursing UK (LCNUK), the charity that supports nurses specialising in the care of people with lung cancer, launched ‘Your Health Companion’ in June 2022. The free digital diary has been co-developed with patients, nurses, clinicians and patient advocacy groups to ensure it meets the needs of the user and empowers patients to take an active part in their care. At the same time it captures real-world evidence that, used together with treatment data and clinical trials, will provide opportunities for dramatically improving research into new cancer medicines, treatments and NHS care services.
The Companion works like a private diary, that enables patients to record how they are feeling, their quality of life and symptoms, rate the experience of the care they receive and keep track of expenses connected with their care. By enabling patients to keep an accurate record in one place, across time, they are better equipped to monitor changes in their health and wellbeing. The app empowers patients to show their information with healthcare professionals, so together they can better understand how to manage the illness and symptoms.
Your Health Companion is unique as it is lung cancer specific and is offered as a lifetime companion, not just for a specific piece of research, to offer longer-term insight and support. It is quick and simple to use, taking just 10 minutes per month to complete, so there is little impact on the patients’ day-to-day life.
Karen Clayton, Chair, LCNUK said “We’re delighted to deliver Your Health Companion for lung cancer patients and specialist nurses. When treating a patient, knowing what impact the disease is having on their life is essential if health care teams are to provide the best care possible. Enabling people to keep track of changes in their symptoms and quality of life in one central place that can be easily shared with health care professionals, provides efficiency in consultations and useful insight and understanding to help manage care and treatment.”
The app is being adopted and rolled out across England, Scotland and Wales. Over 30 Hospital Trusts have given approval for the app, over 250 Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS) have been trained and patient take-up of the app has been extremely encouraging and positive.
Developed in collaboration with DaSH Global, a leading real-world evidence company specialising in Health Care. www.dash-global.com