Revolution in healthcare: new project launched for cancer survivors!

Revolution in healthcare: new project launched for cancer survivors!

Medical progress is enabling more and more people to survive cancer. There are currently over five million people in Germany who have survived cancer. But long-term survivors face challenges in many ways. These include physical limitations, psychological stress such as the constant fear of relapse, and financial difficulties due to loss of income. How uni-wh.de reported, there is a high need for low-threshold support, but access to corresponding offers is often limited.

In order to meet these needs, the HeLiS (Healing, Lifestyle and Self-Management) project will start in January 2025. This project is led by the University of Witten/Herdecke in collaboration with the University of Siegen and the University Medical Center Greifswald and aims to develop a digital, diversity-sensitive offer to strengthen health literacy and self-management for long-term survivors. This innovative concept will receive funding of around 646,000 euros from the German Cancer Aid for three years.

Focus on individual needs

The planned digital offering will be tailored to the specific needs and preferences of users and will rely on intelligent software solutions. Possible formats include interactive quizzes, memory training as well as coaching offers, yoga and breathing exercises. Consideration of psychological and psychosocial challenges is also ensured, with the Greifswald University Medical Center contributing its psycho-oncological expertise. The participatory approach of the project means that long-term survivors are actively involved in the development phases, for example through workshops.

The development of a prototype in collaboration with an external software company is carried out as part of a co-creation process. Care is taken to ensure that the offers are designed to be low-threshold and diversity-sensitive and that data protection requirements are adhered to. The developed prototype will be evaluated through a randomized controlled trial to check its effectiveness.

The quality of life of survivors

The quality of life of “cancer survivors” can be severely affected. Many survivors suffer from the long-term consequences of their illness, including physical discomfort, psychological distress and social challenges. Decade against cancer emphasizes that understanding of the disease processes that lead to these long-term consequences is largely lacking. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research therefore supports research projects to better understand what causes have long-term consequences and how they can be improved.

In Germany, the care situation for long-term survivors and the development of orientation aids have so far been inadequate. Despite existing care offerings, these are often not structured and coordinated with one another. There is therefore a great need for new, innovative survivorship programs that take the individual needs after acute treatment into account holistically and improve coordination between specialists and follow-up doctors. The article on pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov highlights that long-term consequences such as cardiovascular disease, depression and financial problems are common and calls for a structured approach to support those affected.

In summary, it can be seen that there is a significant need for development of survivorship programs in the German healthcare system. These should address not only the medical but also the psychosocial and financial needs of long-term survivors. The HeLiS project could take an important step in the right direction.