According to WHO, cancer is the second leading cause of death worldwide, a number that continues to grow, exerting enormous physical, emotional and financial pressure on individuals, families, communities and health systems. In addition, the economic impact of cancer is significant and growing, with an estimated US$1.16 trillion in global expenditures in 2010 alone. There is an increased survival rate in countries with robust health systems due to access to early detection, quality treatments, and survival care. However, there are still many countries with health systems that cannot provide them in helpful time.

WHO also states that “30% to 50% of cancer deaths could be avoided if the main risk factors were modified or avoided through prevention strategies and early detection and treatment. Prevention proves to be the most cost-effective long-term strategy for disease control”.

And it’s IARC, the WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer, whose mission is to promote international collaboration in cancer research and increase political commitment in identifying priority strategies. Among the various goals is to improve breast cancer control, reduce the death rate through the Global Breast Cancer Initiative, and promote the rapid and effective transfer of best intervention practices.

About the prevention and early diagnosis of breast cancer remember here one of the latest achievements of our community: the recent partnership between GLOOMA and Cuf Descobertas. This partnership will allow GLOOMA to carry out the clinical studies necessary to develop the SenseGlove algorithm, validate it with the medical community and achieve the required certifications to be marketed in the European Economic Area.

SenseGlove is a device for easy and domestic use. You just put on your glove, perform a palpation self-examination (3 min.), and the results are interpreted and communicated by the mobile application, which, if necessary, recommends going to the doctor. In addition, it reminds you of the need to carry out a self-examination via email or mobile phone notifications and provides a detailed follow-up of breast health. The main goal is to take women to the doctor as soon as possible, not replacing complementary diagnostic tests or routine consultations.

Glooma expects to have SenseGlove ready by the end of 2022 with 100 units available and the following ones only in 2023. Booking them on the website is now possible, with the first pre-bookings getting a 25% discount on the current value of €59.99.

Mentora Health is the first Portuguese app developed especially for cancer patients and one of the projects supported in the first edition of +Plus Fund.

The app works as a digital assistant that allows the recording and monitoring of symptoms and adverse effects of cancer treatments, contributing to a better understanding and management of the disease. It adds several features: a health diary which allows recording medication, symptoms and adverse effects of treatments; writing down doubts to clarify in the next consultation; sharing the evolution of symptoms with the doctor, up to monitoring habits and lifestyle such as physical activity, meals, hours of sleep and calculating their impact on health.

Mentora Health’s goal is to promote lifestyle changes sustained over time through behavioural interventions and take into account users’ clinical conditions and motivations, promoting better results in their quality of life. Its mission supports a value-based medicine that enables the communication between patients and caregivers through artificial intelligence and Big Data.

Mentora Health invites all cancer patients,  recovered patients and formal or informal care caregivers to test the app for free on iPhone or Android and give feedback, contributing suggestions and ideas to improve the platform. All the project details are on the website and its journey on social media.

The most recent news on the subject says that it is necessary to strengthen joint approaches, an idea that we share at Casa do Impacto!

That was what motivated a meeting between the WHO and the members of the European Parliament on November 9, 2021. They discuss their current and future agendas on strategic alignment through Beating Cancer (BECA)) meeting. Some of the topics covered were the reduction of risk factors related to health habits, environmental risk factors, and the need to increase access to health care and medicines. They presented types of cancer in childhood, adolescence and rare forms of the disease latest researches.

They also discussed possible collaboration and effort in political commitments to maintain services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the last few years, WHO’s efforts have resulted in 3 new global initiatives focusing on cervical, childhood, and breast cancer and are already supporting over 50 countries!

Here, Casa do Impacto will strengthen joint approaches within the impact community. Casa do Impacto’s community continues to grow and create innovative solutions to meet the UN 2030 Agenda SDGs!

Do you want to be up to date with all the news from Casa do Impacto, including our monthly program of events? Subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media – Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Linkedin.