When Covid-19 descended on humanity last year, our existing healthcare systems were completely unprepared to deal with it. In the process, the treatment of underlying and serious non-communicable diseases such as cancer was relegated to the back-burner. There was no time or resources to devote to patients who were not suffering from Covid-19. However, these NCDs, as they are called, continue to live and thrive amongst us as they always have, targeting people across age groups and health categories.
When diagnosed with a deadly disease like cancer, now more so than ever before, a person’s first thought is to read up and gather the best possible information pertinent to them. These questions range from ‘what other treatments are available?’, ‘what clinical trials could be suitable?’, ‘who are the top experts for this particular cancer type and stage?’. However, the scattered and often inaccurate information available on the internet is difficult to assimilate and understand. This prompted some enterprising individuals to think of a solution where cancer patients could stay updated with the latest developments in the field while staying connected to experts and other patients like them.
Originally published on The Daily Guardian by Noor Anand Chawla. Read the full article here.