Is Quality of Life (QoL) the key to survivng cancer? This week after more than 5 years of research, the founders of www.cancer.im (Chris Ryan, Dr. Kevin Buckman, Dr. Barkat Charania, Dr. Mahesh Kanojia and Matthew Dahse,) have released a cancer protocol titled ‘Method of Lowering a Cancer Patients’ Morbidity Rate by Increasing Quality of Life of Patient by Leveraging Caused Based Electronic Social Support Networks”, AKA “The Robert Ryan Cancer Protocol” (read here).
The protocol is based on a method of creating an Online Cause Based Social Support Network (SSN) for the benefit of the cancer patient community based on the modular adaption, construction and best practices implementation of the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 (QLQ-C30).
Inspired in part by the Rosetta Stone study of Dr. Nicos Nikolaou, on behalf of Fox Chase Medical Center (a National Comprehensive Cancer Network), who in October 2007, published a double blind placebo controlled study titled “Quality of Life (QOL) Supersedes the Classic Predictors of Survival in Locally Advanced Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC). The study was designed to evaluate the role of quality of life (QoL) as a prediction for survival. Some 91 percent of patients completed a standardized quality of life survey before treatment. All patients were followed for at least 17 months. What they found is quality of life emerged as the most significant predictor of overall patient survival. The study concluded that by raising a Cancer Patients Quality of Life via the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC), Quality of Life Questionnaire-C30 (QLQ-C30) you could directly lower the incidence of morbidity in a cancer patient, regardless of treatment.
With the advancement of social networking technology and the ability of organizing groups online it becomes clear that this protocol can act as the blueprint in creating the largest cancer support network in the world, by organizing Dr. Nicos Nikolaou findings, into a modular best practice methodology which is detailed in the protocol.
Simply put the potential of this protocol can be used to convert a cancer patients’ support network from a state of being helpless to helpful, via the educated, organized and guided efforts that the community support of a cancer patient can now have a defined and measurable medical impact.
About Cancer.im
Cancer.im is a grass roots social network for cancer patients, advocates, and volunteers. Members can connect to other people affected by cancer, organize the personal and professional resources available to them, research the qualitative and quantitative aspects of cancer, and create a customized strategy for beating or preventing the disease.
Our driving principles are based on clinical data which have shown that:
- Cancer patients who have an active support network, outlive cancer patients who do not
- Increasing a Cancer Patient’s Quality of Life, directly lowers the incidence of morbidity
About The EORTC
The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) was founded in 1962, as an international non-profit organization. The aims of the EORTC are to conduct, develop, coordinate and stimulate cancer research in Europe by multidisciplinary groups of oncologists and basic scientists. Research is accomplished mainly through the execution of large, prospective, randomized, multicentre, cancer clinical trials. The EORTC Central Office Data Center, created in 1974, is concerned with all aspects of phase II and phase III cancer clinical trials, from their design to the publication of the final results. Since its inception, over 80,000 patients have been entered in trials handled by the EORTC Data Center. In 1980, the EORTC created the Quality of Life Group, which in 1986 initiated a research programme to develop an integrated, modular approach for evaluating the QoL of patients participating in cancer clinical trials. This led to the development of the EORTC QLQ-C30, a quality of life instrument for cancer patients. To date, more than 2,200 studies using the QLQ-C30 have been registered.
For more information please contact Chris Ryan at chris@cancer.im