Closing The Gap In Cancer Support For Underserved Populations

This campaign highlights key inequities in cancer care around the globe that have contributed to increased morbidity and mortality rates, noticeably more predominant in Africa. Some of these factors that negatively affect cancer care include income, education, location, and discrimination based on ethnicity, gender, age, disability, and lifestyle. Also, research shows that in Africa, factors such as late-stage presentation and diagnosis, as well as inadequate access to cancer treatment, result in 80 - 90% of cases that are in advanced stages which ultimately lead to an increase in cancer death rate across the board. 

 

Annually, cancer claims the lives of approximately 70,000 Nigerians, with an estimated 102,000 new cancer cases diagnosed each year. Amongst the Nigerian female population, breast cancer has remained the most prevalent cancer with 28,000 new cases and 18.1% of cancer deaths in 2020. Prostate cancer is the most common malignancy amongst Nigerian men which accounted for 15,000 new cases, with 10.8% of cancer deaths in 2020.

 

Across sub-Saharan Africa, a multitude of barriers exist for many people in accessing services and receiving the care they need – and these barriers potentially reduce a person's chance of surviving cancer. Thus, it is crucial to not only raise awareness, but to also catalyze individual, collective, and government efforts to reimagine a world where millions of cancer deaths become a thing of the past and equal access to life-saving cancer treatment and care is guaranteed for all. 

 

At mDoc, we focus on providing end-to-end self-care experience by leveraging behavioural science, evidence-based quality improvement methodologies, data, and technology to support people living with regular and chronic health needs such as cancer. We complement the work of healthcare providers by supporting patients on lifestyle modifications including nutrition, exercise, and stress management for the 99.9% of the time they are out of a healthcare facility. WHO states that 30 to 40% of the cancer burden can be attributed to lifestyle risk factors such as tobacco smoking, alcohol consumption, a diet low in fruit and vegetables, overweight and obesity, and physical inactivity. A lifestyle consisting of healthy dietary patterns, physical activity, weight management, and other modifications, can prevent more than 40% of cancers. Beyond cancer prevention, lifestyle changes are also crucial to improving the health outcomes of people living with cancer. For instance, research shows that physical activity can reduce breast cancer mortality by 40%.  

 

mDoc’s response to the gaps in cancer care within Africa has been tailored to co-creating several member-centered programs to support people living with cancer. These programs, developed in collaboration with leading pharmaceutical companies, are aimed at providing self-care and financial support, facility navigation guidance, screening and awareness exercises, and providing an empowering community to ensure that those who are battling cancer and their families and caregivers are offered encouragement and motivation. Among these programs include the Roche Patient Support Programme, launched in 2021 for people living with breast cancer, lung cancer, renal cell cancer, glioblastoma, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer and cervical cancer and the Rupe Flexi Health initiative focused on providing support to people living with breast cancer.

 

The launch of the Rupe Flexi Health program, Lagos Nigeria 
Photo credit: Ayoposi Ogboye, 29th October, 2021.

The Roche Patient Support Programme was created by the global pharmaceutical company, Roche, and mDoc to give people living with cancer increased access to the required medications and self-care support via a coach-led multidisciplinary team of care providers. Eligible members gain access to a rebate-in-kind model to earn free medication cycles after purchasing a certain amount of cycles. 

 

With financing from Roche and Sterling Bank, Rupe Flexi Health provides eligible patients living with breast cancer with flexible financing options to cover the cost of treatment along with virtual support from mDoc to help with lifestyle changes to improve their cancer care. In both programs, people living with cancer gain access to mDoc's CompleteHealth™ platform where they enter and track their health metrics as well as have access to a dedicated coach, backed by a multidisciplinary team who counsel them on lifestyle modifications to help them better manage associated comorbidities such as hypertension and diabetes. 

 

Given the barriers of cost, we understand that the cost of prostate cancer care can be a burden on families, friends, and loved ones. Thus Janssen Oncology partnered with mDoc, and created the Patient Assisted Program (PAP) in 2020. This program was developed firstly to help people living with prostate cancer receive financial assistance for medication costs. After a diagnosis of prostate cancer and a prescription of the necessary medication treatment from the patient’s healthcare provider, the role of the PAP is to provide financial support to people for their medications. mDoc conducts a digital affordability assessment to understand a patient’s ability to pay and the patient is assigned to an affordability tier which determines how many free treatments they receive.

 

The Patient Assisted Program also aims to improve the level of self-care support for individuals with prostate cancer, through the use of our proactive coach-led care team and our digital platform CompleteHealth™. This real-time access to the team helps members manage their health conditions, and connect to a supportive ecosystem of people going through similar journeys so they are encouraged to live healthier and happier lives. 

 

Finally, we collaborate with Janssen Oncology on two outreach projects: the More Time For Life (MTFL) and the Never Walk Alone programs. MTFL focuses on improving awareness of prostate cancer through community outreaches and health screening exercises. These screening exercises have been conducted in various major cities within Nigeria. Also, Never Walk Alone is a tele-education program organized by Janssen Oncology and anchored my mDoc, to show that people living with prostate cancer are not alone in the disease journey. The session focuses on celebrating prostate cancer survivors and inspiring/supporting diagnosed patients, caregivers, and their families.

 

The Janssen Oncology and mDoc teams, at the More Time For Life (MTFL) screening for the Nigeria 
Customs Service, held at Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Photo credit: A Nigera Customers Officer, 14th December 2021.

A mDoc health coach, carrying out a prostate cancer self-care onboarding 
exercise with a Customs Officer during the Port Harcourt screening exercise.

Photo credit: Soludo Chukwuma, 13th December 2021.

In summary, we support people living with cancer in the following ways:

• Providing financial support for medication and cancer care (through the partnerships mentioned above)
• Onboarding on our virtual self-care support platform (CompleteHealth™) and connection with a virtual coach-led multi-disciplinary self-care team
• In-person home visits to bring self-care directly to patients
• Community programs to screen for cancer and combat the phenomenon of late diagnosis plaguing Africa
• Virtual group education and support programmes for people with cancer.
  

The fight against cancer can be won if we all play our part. Whatever you choose to do, whether it’s committing to improving your personal health, supporting a friend, family member, or colleague living with cancer, educating yourself about cancer, or creating awareness, it is an essential part of ending preventable cancer deaths. As we commemorate World Cancer Day, we just wanted to share how the mDoc team is focused on prioritizing your well being by supporting you to track your health metrics regularly, visiting health facilities for wellness checkups or follow up visits, and attend health awareness sessions that help enlighten you to make informed decisions about your health and lifestyle.

To learn more about mDoc’s cancer-related projects, screening exercises, and tele-education programs, kindly reach out to us:

+2348178348579 (phone call or WhatsApp) || support@mymdoc.com.

References

• Omolara Aminat Fatiregun, O. B. (2020, November 30). 10-Year Mortality Pattern Among Cancer Patients in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Lagos. frontiers in Oncology, 10, 1. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2020.573036

• WHO. (2022, February 3). Newsroom -Cancer. Retrieved from World Health Organization: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer

• Maarten C. Bosland DVSc, P. S.-O.-A. (2021, June 15). Prevalence of prostate cancer at autopsy in Nigeria. The Prostate, 81(9), 553-559. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/pros.24133 

• Ullrich A. Cancer Control: Knowledge Into Action: WHO Guide for Effective Programmes. World Health Organization, 2007:

• Bray F, Ferlay J, Soerjomataram I, Siegel RL, Torre LA, Jemal ACA Cancer J Clin.(November 2018) Global cancer statistics 2018: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. Nov; 68(6):394-424.

• The Global Cancer Observatory https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/566-nigeria-fact-sheets.pdf