The ICA signed a collaboration agreement with Belong, a company that provides an innovative custom application solution for more effective management of the fight against cancer for patients and their families.
As part of this collaborative effort, the ICA will be granted a designated area in an advanced application where direct contact will be maintained between the Association and application users, as well as among the users themselves, under the title: "The Israel Cancer Association 1-800".
This designated area will be overseen by the ICA and will provide answers to patients' questions via chat messages, posts, and links to ICA's official website. Similarly, a public bulletin board called "Israel Cancer Association events" will be set up, to keep patients abreast of ICA events and activities.
The application users will also be able to take advantage of all the Belong services offered.
Mrs. Miri Ziv, ICA Director General observed: "By virtue of the ICA's vast experience and broad-based high quality information, and thanks to Belong's advanced technology and solution, we can assist patients and their families in managing their situation, help them share their experiences and enhance their quality of life, as well as reinforce their coping strategy in order to contend with the disease. We continually strive to improve the quality of life of patients and their families and the service we are now collaboratively providing offers a comprehensive, simple and accessible solution. This collaborative effort provides an innovative, high quality and most effective solution to personal contact and facilitates the provision of information and solutions to patients and their families so that they won't be given the run-around, while also saving them time and money, and helping them improve their quality of life and treatment process".
Mr. Eliran Malachi and Belong's entrepreneur and CEO noted: "We launched this mobile app service in Israel in January of this year, and since then, thousands of patients and their families have joined. I thank Miri Ziv and the ICA for their trust and support and I have no doubt that this is another step towards achieving our vision of improving and alleviating the complex coping process which patients and their loved ones undergo when facing the disease".
Those who enter this app via the ICA, as thousands of other users, will be provided with Belong services free of charge, including:
Joining a social network encompassing communities of private and public users categorized by types of diseases and main worlds of knowledge related to cancer, which enables users to learn from the wisdom of the masses.
Consultation with the leading experts who possess vast experience, such as oncologists, radiologists, investigators, clinical nurse specialists and others.
Access to clinical trials and new surveys from across the globe and in the desired language.
Managing a personal treatment-tasks log (to do list) providing medical test, appointment and disease-related task reminders as well as details regarding the preparations for these undertakings.
Compiling, managing and storing patients' medical files which they upload - easy and convenient to use, accessible and user-friendly.
Updates via alerts according to areas of interest.
Significant and effective time management and understanding of the treatment and preparations.
About Belong:
Belong provides an innovative and unique applied solution for more effective and customized management the fight against cancer for patients and their families.
The solution includes a complete and comprehensive set of tools providing information, knowledge, professional support offered by internationally reputed specialists, a social network encompassing user communities according to areas of interest, offering emotional support that is provided by patients who help others in coping with treatment and recovery and share tips from their own personal experience.
The solution enables the storage and management of a medical file by the patients and/or their family, as well as a personal tasks log, which significantly improve the patients' and their families' coping, and alleviate the process they undergo as well as their personal experience.
Belong is providing the solution on an applicative platform that supports a modern approach based on Patient Empowerment - by helping the patient understand the process and alternatives, as well as improving compliance with treatment. This is a simple and efficient service provided to patients and their families free of charge.
The professional medical service is supported by leading physicians, including: oncologists, radiologists, investigators, and support nurses.
This app was launched in January 2016, and as per May 2016, thousands of patients and their families are members of Belong.
This service supports several languages including: Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, Spanish, and there is even the option of obtaining this service in Chinese.
To download the app:
Google play
Apple App store
About the Israel Cancer Association
The Israel Cancer Association (R.A.) was established in 1952 with the aim of reducing cancer morbidity and mortality, and enhancing the quality of life of patients, survivors and their families. The ICA is a non-profit organization and as such its activity is made possible by public contributions, receiving no government funding whatsoever, and solely based on professional considerations, in an unbiased environment.
ICA wages an encompassing fight to achieve its goals: by promoting and financing cancer research; running prevention and early detection programs as well as an information system for the general population and professionals; offering support in upgrading medical and rehabilitation services in oncology centers, at home and within the community for cancer patients, survivors and their families; providing assistance for setting up and operation of treatment and admission clinics and social welfare centers; advocating patients' rights and enhancing their quality of life; disseminating reliable information to the healthy population and patient and survivor populations in Hebrew, Arabic and Russian; providing professional training and regular updates for multi-disciplinary medical staff, and the list goes on and on. All ICA services are provided free of charge.
The organization's local activity and the wide variety of areas that it has developed, have earned the ICA significant public recognition on a national and international scale, as a spearhead in the fight against cancer in Israel.
The ICA Executive Board comprises public figures, physicians, researchers and a Board of Trustees. An estimated 3,500 volunteers are active in 70 ICA branches located throughout the country. The volunteers are involved in a wide range of social welfare and public information activities to ensure the wellbeing of cancer patients.
ICA website: www.cancer.org.il
Telemeida teleinformation service in different languages:
Hebrew: 1-800-599-995
Arabic: 1-800-36-36-55
Russian: 1-800-34-33-44