Our Patient Spotlight Series allows us to share stories from people in our community who have used PocketHealth to make positive changes in their lives. <\/b>This week, we talk to Aileen, a cancer patient whose husband signed her up for the service to keep himself informed at a time when COVID-19 restrictions forced him to miss many of her appointments\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
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What brought you to PocketHealth?<\/b><\/p>\n
In 2018, I was diagnosed with <\/span>when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. We then found that it was metastatic when they found a tumour in my brain<\/span>. My husband discovered the site while I was in the process of being diagnosed. We were in London and we saw a poster on the wall. We signed up so we both could follow my journey and see all the tests, scans, X-rays, MRIs and whatever else I needed done. With COVID protocols, he couldn\u2019t come to many of my appointments, but with PocketHealth, at least he could see what the doctors were talking about on my scans.<\/span><\/p>\n Have you found that it has been useful for the two of you?<\/b><\/p>\n Yes. When my doctors are talking about my various tumours and health indicators that they see, my husband can relate to what they\u2019re talking about. If there have been no changes or things are moving in a positive direction, he\u2019s very appreciative that he can also see that.<\/span><\/p>\n Has access to your imaging helped you feel more in control of your health?<\/b><\/p>\n I don\u2019t know if it\u2019s about control, but I do think I have a better understanding of my health. You can follow where they\u2019re going as your doctors explain to you what they want to do to help improve your quality of life and your health.<\/span><\/p>\n Have you found the platform to be user friendly?<\/b><\/p>\n It is, but it would be nice if more hospitals had it!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n What sort of patients do you think would get the most use out of PocketHealth?<\/b><\/p>\n For us, it has been helpful just to monitor my progress through my cancer journey and see where things are at or how they have improved. Two years ago, I had a brain tumour removed. With PocketHealth, we were able to see where the tumor was, then we\u2019ve seen new images since and\u00a0 we can see it\u2019s no longer there. It was a relief to actually get to see that for myself. You get a fuller understanding of what the doctor is telling you and then when you actually take a look, it makes sense.<\/span><\/p>\n Has having access to those images allowed you take different steps to help improve your condition?<\/b><\/p>\n To some extent, but it\u2019s more the communication with your doctors and medical staff that has gotten better. I can ask more questions like, \u2018OK, well what if we do this\u2019 or \u2018Why are we doing that treatment instead of this treatment?\u2019, based on what I\u2019ve seen.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n How would you describe your PocketHealth experience?<\/b><\/p>\n