Join our new online community for New Zealanders affected by breast cancer
During October we celebrated the launch of mybc, an online community for New Zealanders affected by breast cancer.
mybc is a mobile app and website where you can can connect, share knowledge and celebrate milestones with a community of people who understand what you’re going through. It also provides access to specialist nurses and private portals so you can track your own breast cancer experience.
“Women often tell us, ‘I couldn’t find anyone else like me,’ whether they mean their kind of breast cancer, or someone in the same family circumstances. So we’ve been wrestling for a while with the challenge of helping people find each other, no matter where they are in our spread-out country,” NZBCF chief executive, Evangelia Henderson, says. “We were also keenly aware that people outside our cities don’t get to connect with specialist breastcare nurses as much as they’d like. We looked at the various apps and online platforms around the world, but didn’t see any that did what we wanted.”
mybc’s community, with sub-communities for different breast cancer patient groups, is a place for people to connect and share experiences with others like them. But it’s much more than that - members can book calls or live-chat with a breastcare nurse, and can store medical records and track personal progress and milestones securely and privately. All members can participate in Living Well, a survivorship programme designed to help people return to “normal” life after breast cancer. In addition, a wide range of articles, videos and web resources provide reliable information on a range of topics.
“We were very keen to add in a survivorship programme, because we hear from women that when the health system cuts them loose, it can be difficult to pick up the threads of normal life. Plus, they often want to make long-term lifestyle changes, and if they stay on hormone treatment for 10 years, as many do, there can be issues around living with that. Basically, breast cancer changes your life, and we’re acknowledging that with our Living Well programme,” Mrs Henderson said.
As well as being a great tool for patients, mybc offers supporters a place to connect and share knowledge. Supporters can sign up and chat in their own community, where they can share tips, advice and experiences. Supporters can also talk to the breastcare nurses, and view resources.
Whether you were diagnosed three days ago or three decades ago, every breast cancer survivor will be able to contribute to the community.
You can sign up to mybc at www.mybc.care, or download the app from the iTunes store or Google Play.