As a young scientist researching cancer, Jennifer Temel, MD, turned her back on a career in the lab. She wanted to help cancer patients in a more direct, hands-on way.
“We focus so much on treatment and sometimes overlook other changes the patient is going through,” she says. “I wanted to focus on the human side of cancer care.”
Today, as a thoracic oncologist, Hostetter MGH Research Scholar 2017–2022, Barbara McCue Endowed Chair in Oncology and Cancer Outcomes Research and co-director of Massachusetts General Hospital’s Cancer Outcomes Research and Education program, Dr. Temel specializes in finding new ways to deliver palliative and supportive care to cancer patients and their families.
Recently, Dr. Temel and her colleagues launched a series of digital health apps designed to help cancer patients and families manage stress and mental health, learn about their diagnosis and navigate the human side of clinical treatment. We asked her about the promise of digital health, and her recent appointment as one of 21 inaugural chairs for Mass General Brigham (MGB) Cancer.
What can digital health apps do for patients?
If, tomorrow, I’m diagnosed with some terrible disease, what’s the first thing I’m going to do when I get home? Google it, right? These days, no one facing a serious disease is getting all their information from their healthcare team. But, too often, the information available online is inaccurate, inadequate and, frankly, distressing. Instead of leaving patients and families to search the web blindly, we set out to provide a platform with highly curated, accurate medical information and support. We first created Dreamland, an app for patients with a new diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), who are admitted to the hospital for a long stretch of time.
We thought that by giving them an app that they could use, we could take advantage of that time in the hospital to teach them about their diagnosis and what to expect about their treatment and help them cope with being diagnosed with AML. We received great feedback from patients, so we started exploring opportunities for other cancers. We now have 11 apps in all. Our most recent, Thrive, is aimed at helping patients with metastatic lung cancer maintain quality of life when they’re starting treatment.
What other advantages do apps have?
Apps are a great way to reach distinct populations. For instance, we recently developed an app to support the caregivers of patients undergoing bone marrow transplants. Because caregivers are often juggling numerous responsibilities in addition to playing a very demanding role in the care of the patient, they can be a difficult population to reach. With digital health, they can access information and support anytime and anywhere. We’re hoping to build out this caregiver program with the help of philanthropy. Apps also can help patients explore topics that can be difficult to discuss with their clinicians, like sexual health. We’ve developed an app for that, as well.
How will your role as an MGB Cancer Chair advance your work?
The wonderful thing about being an MGB Cancer Chair is that I get to be an ambassador for the integration of the MGB system. For me, it means expanding our research and touching more lives through our work. For patients, it means having access to more expertise, perspectives and support. I’m incredibly excited about expanding our work to include the Brigham’s investigators and patients. We’ve had a long relationship, but closer collaboration is an incredible opportunity to make a bigger impact.
