Tired of Cancer, a Dutch-based digital health startup whose mission to help as many cancer patients and survivors fight cancer-related fatigue (CRF), today announced the first mobile app to address CRF. Now available for free, the Untire app is the first digital solution to support the 30-40% cancer patients and survivors suffering from cancer fatigue worldwide.
Fatigue: The Most Common Side Effect of Cancer
CRF, characterized by feelings of exhaustion and weakness is the most common side effect of cancer and often lasts well beyond the end of treatment. Almost 40% of all cancer patients and survivors suffer from severe and prolonged fatigue. The lack of energy often impacts daily living, reduces the quality of life with debilitating social and economic consequences. In the USA alone, almost 16 million people have cancer and another 18 million are cancer survivors.
Untire’s easy-to-use self-management program provides support to the millions of cancer patients and survivors suffering worldwide. Untire provides a comprehensive program with psycho-education about relevant factors related to CRF such as anxiety, sleep issues, physical exercises, stress reduction activities and motivational tips along with a private online community to help users regain energy. This digital medicine was developed by Dr. Bram Kuiper, a clinical psychologist in oncology for over thirty years.
Results to Date
Tired of Cancer has commissioned a Randomized-Control-Trial study with the University of Groningen (Netherlands) that includes more than a thousand users of the Untire app, in six countries. “The first results, as we see them, from weekly measurements in the app, are more than encouraging,” says Dr. Kuiper. ” Final results will be available in early 2019, but we are already convinced that the Untire app can make a huge contribution to solving the major problem of fatigue that so many people face with cancer.”
Untire App Availability
The Untire app is now available free of charge in the App Store and Google Play stores within 25 EU countries, USA, UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Last month, we launched the Dutch version of Untire in the Netherlands.
“We are proud that we can provide this new resource, which is so important for cancer patients and healthcare providers,” says Dr. Kuiper. “There is now great interest, among patients, patient advocacy groups, hospitals, oncologists and nurses to use the app in blended care; the combination of regular medical treatments and online support.”
