tailieunhanh - Catalyzing Social Support for Breast Cancer Patients

Genomic assays. Unlike individual gene testing, such as testing for HER2, genomic assays analyze the activity of a group of normal and abnormal genes that can increase the risk of breast cancer coming back after treatment. This analysis can help decide if a person is likely to benefit from chemotherapy to reduce the risk of the cancer coming back. Two types of genomic assays for breast cancer are currently in use: Oncotype DX and MammaPrint. If the breast cancer is early-stage and hormone-receptor-positive, you and your doctor may decide that a genomic assay is appropriate for your situation. The. | Catalyzing Social Support for Breast Cancer Patients Meredith M. Skeels1. Kenton T- TTnnih1. Christopher Powell1. Vanda Pratt1 2 I -IVI II -I 0i ve3 -Ivvntoii-i. uinn 11 X_ 111 isiouuei A owen vanua Iiaii 1Biomedical Health Informatics 2 Information School University of Washington University of Washington mskeels ktunruh cbpowell wpratt @ ABSTRACT Social support is a critical yet underutilized resource when undergoing cancer care. Underutilization occurs in two conditions a when patients fail to seek out information material assistance and emotional support from family and friends or b when family and friends fail to meet the individualized needs and preferences of patients. Social networks are most effective when kept up to date on the patient s status yet updating everyone takes effort that patients cannot always put in. To improve this situation we describe the results of our participatory design activities with breast cancer patients. During this process we uncovered the information a social network needs to stay informed as well as a host of barriers to social support that technology could help break down. Our resulting prototype built using Facebook Connect includes explicit features to reduce these barriers and thus promote the healthy outcomes associated with strong social support. Author Keywords Health Consumers Social Network Participatory Design ACM Classification Keywords . Information interfaces and presentation . HCI Miscellaneous. Life and Medical Sciences Health. General Terms Design UNDER-UTILIZATION OF SOCIAL SUPPORT Social support is a critical ingredient to physical and mental health when facing cancer care 13 18 . However social support does not magically appear and people are reluctant to ask for help even when they need it. Ironically social networks are often ready and willing to provide help. Psychological research shows that people significantly underestimate the willingness of others to help 8 . Central to these .