CareFlash uses Blogs to Connect Childhood Cancer Specialists with Community.Collaborative Web 2.0 Effort with Children's Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson Launched to Deliver Peer-to-Peer Support Involving Childhood Cancer HOUSTON -- CareFlash, a social media company for people involved in healthcare circumstances, and the Children's Cancer Hospital at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson have collaborated to develop several childhood cancer-specific online communities. Each will provide members with access to original content and interaction with physicians from the Children's Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson, along with peer-to-peer input and support. The first of a series of childhood cancer-specific online communities launched today on CareFlash is focused on leukemia in adolescents and adults and can be found at http://www.careflash.com/discuss/topic/Childhood-Leukemia. Other communities to be launched over the next few months involve childhood brain tumors, neuroblastoma Neuroblastoma Definition Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that usually originates either in the tissues of the adrenal gland or in the ganglia of the abdomen or in the ganglia of the nervous system. , non-neural solid tumors and proton therapy for children. The blog posts are written by Children's Cancer Hospital faculty members and moderated by an M. D. Anderson representative. "We have children from all over the world who are treated and cared for by the Children's Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson. Having a user-friendly Web site where parents and caregivers can conveniently update family and friends at home without taking attention away from their child is a great resource," says Eugenie Kleinerman, M.D., professor and head of the Children's Cancer Hospital at M. D. Anderson. "The public forums and blogs provide a way for caregivers and patients in similar circumstances to connect with one another and learn about their disease." "This cutting edge alliance empowers patients and their families and friends to benefit from online discussions conducted in the comfort of their homes, with the most credible specialists in the sector," says CareFlash CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. Jay Drayer. "In addition to Web 2.0 styled discussions in these online forums, CareFlash delivers 3-D healthcare animations to people in the rich, focused circumstances that they are dealing with at that minute of their lives. The animations are produced by Blausen Medical Communications Blausen Medical Communications, based in Houston, Texas, is a medical and scientific communications firm specializing in branding and 3D medical animations. Founded in 1991 by Bruce Blausen, the company has become a provider of biomedical visualizations and has developed a library and constitute the most comprehensive library of healthcare graphics and animations anywhere in the world. The animations are produced with world-class 3-D quality and accuracy, and range from a wide expanse of disorders, treatments and anatomy, all of which are narrated in plain, understandable language. CareFlash will be delivering animations narrated in Spanish and Arabic by the end of 2007." A small selection of the communities and animations related to cancer include: * Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia acute lymphocytic leukemia n. See acute lymphoblastic leukemia. acute lymphocytic leukemia Acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ALL A malignant lymphoproliferative process that commonly affects children and young adults * Acute Myeloid Leukemia * Bladder Cancer (Urinary) * Bone Cancer (Osteosarcoma osteosarcoma /os·teo·sar·co·ma/ (os?te-o-sahr-ko´mah) a malignant primary neoplasm of bone composed of a malignant connective tissue stroma with evidence of malignant osteoid, bone, or cartilage formation; it is subclassified as ) * Brachytherapy * Breast Cancer * Cervical Dysplasia * ChemoTherapy * Chemo-Induced Anemia * Chronic Myeloid Leukemia * Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia chronic lymphocytic leukemia n. Abbr. CLL Lymphocytic leukemia occurring mainly in older adults, characterized by slow onset and gradual progression of symptoms. * Colon Cancer * Liver Cancer * Hodgkins Lymphoma * Hysterectomy hysterectomy (hĭstərĕk`təmē), surgical removal of the uterus. A hysterectomy may involve removal of the uterus only or additional removal of the cervix (base of the uterus), fallopian tubes (salpingectomy), and ovaries * IMRT IMRT Intensity-modulated radiation therapy Radiation oncology A format for delivering high-dose RT to regions–eg, nasopharynx, that are surrounded by radiation-sensitive areas; in IMRT, a broad radiation field is divided into hundreds of small pencil beams, * Lung Cancer * Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma * Prostate Cancer * Prostate Needle Biopsy * Prostate Removal * Radiosurgery radiosurgery /ra·dio·sur·gery/ (-ser´jer-e) surgery in which tissue destruction is performed by means of ionizing radiation rather than by surgical incision. * Skin Cancer * Stem Cell Transplants - Allogeneic allogeneic /al·lo·ge·ne·ic/ (-je-ne´ik) 1. having cell types that are antigenically distinct. 2. in transplantation biology, denoting individuals (or tissues) that are of the same species but antigenically * Stem Cell Transplants - Autologous autologous /au·tol·o·gous/ (aw-tol´ah-gus) related to self; belonging to the same organism. au·tol·o·gous adj. 1. * Stomach Cancer (Gastric) * Thrombocytopenia Thrombocytopenia Definition Thrombocytopenia is an abnormal drop in the number of blood cells involved in forming blood clots. These cells are called platelets. * TomoTherapy * Uterine Cancer About CareFlash: CareFlash - http://www.careflash.com - assists in addressing fear and anxiety surrounding healthcare circumstances by delivering unprecedented, world-class, advocacy and education. CareFlash provides a common place on the Internet, to and from which people may submit, retrieve and share information and well-wishes surrounding a loved one's health circumstances. In the context of each CareFlash community, the company provides 3-D healthcare animations on hundreds of disorders, procedures and anatomical functions, all produced with world-class quality and accuracy, and narrated in plain English. The animations will be expanded to include 10 different languages by mid-2008. All of these features are intuitively organized in a private, invitation-only website, unique to each given patient. CareFlash is completely free. |
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