All About Belong.Life: A Free, Anonymous App for the Cancer Community
On this episode of WE Have Cancer, Oncologist Dr. Daniel shares how the free Belong.Life app is changing the lives of cancer patients and caregivers around the world. Belong.Life is both a social and professional network for managing and navigating treatments, with a mission to improve the quality of life and the quality of cancer care around the world through technology, engagement, data, and AI.
Guest Biography:
Dr. Daniel Vorobiof is the Medical Director of Belong.Life, creator of Belong – Beating Cancer Together, the world’s largest social network and navigator app for cancer patients, caregivers, and medical professionals. He is the founder and former medical director of the Sandton Oncology Centre in Johannesburg and has published more than 120 peer-reviewed articles in international medical journals. He formerly served as an executive board member of the International Committee of ASCO.
Table of Contents:
- The Online Cancer Community Goes Global
Dr. Vorobiof explains that as a cancer patient, you have more questions than answers, and it’s hard to know what to do or who to trust. Belong is a “GPS for cancer patients.” It’s a social network for support and navigating the treatment of cancer.
- The App is Safe, Free, and Personalized
Belong is an international application, it’s free to use, and completely anonymous. All your private information stays private. You can choose which groups you want to be a part of in the app, according to the diagnosis you have and the circumstances that apply to you.
- Serving Over 300,000 Patients Worldwide
Dr. Vorobiof says, “I wasn’t looking for a new career in my life, but this was the opportunity for me.” In 40 years as an oncology practitioner, he estimates he treated 20,000-30,000 cancer patients. Now with Belong, he has over 300,000 patients all over the world after just four years on the app.
- The Comfort of Anonymity
Since the app is anonymous, patients can ask questions they might be afraid or embarrassed to ask in person or with family members present at a regular doctor's visit. Plus, caregivers can be active on Belong too; an estimated 20% of the app’s total 400,000 users are caregivers.
- Surveying the Cancer Community about COVID Vaccines
Just three days after sending out a survey to the app users about how they were feeling about the COVID vaccines, Dr. Vorobiof received over 1000 quality responses. Detailed findings are still being combed through, but he says 96% of responders said they’d had the vaccine, and 4% reported they did not want to receive it.
- Making Sense of Clinical Trials with Belong.Life
The app bridges a huge need in the cancer community in regard to clinical trials with its Clinical Match feature. Taking in a person’s information (de-identified to remain anonymous), the app can match someone with any clinical trial/s they may be suited for.
- Bringing Community & Cancer Support to the 21st Century
Receiving support on the online app is simple and intuitive. Emotional support is crucial for both patients and caregivers. Everything from education to emotional support can be found on Belong, all of which is private and anonymous.
Links mentioned in the show:
Check Out the Belong.Life App: Belong.Life
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