A few weeks ago, b-present shared the exciting news that our organization was selected as an Astellas C3 Prize Emerging Ideas semi-finalist. I admit I was in tears when I read the email, first scanning through quickly and then re-reading to confirm the good news. I felt a rush of various emotions and thoughts, but the most powerful was that we, b-present, are one step closer to bringing Kirsten’s full vision to life. This award nomination truly validates and has the potential to strengthen our vision to transform her struggle into positive change for other young adult cancer patients. Honored and humbled to be featured as a semi-finalist among such prestigious peers in the cancer care space, I sat with disbelief as I realized Astellas was giving us the opportunity to significantly further our impact. For a recently established nonprofit, founded by passionate volunteers committed to strengthening the young adult cancer patient support network, the recognition of our b-there tool as an important solution for improving cancer care was incredibly rewarding.

I applaud the Astellas C3 Prize Team for helping the cancer community innovate and bring meaningful ideas to fruition. They recognize the importance of improving the patient experience, and understand that often the best ideas come from those that have first-hand experience —  as patients or supporters. We are grateful to be considered for this incredible opportunity to help Change Cancer Care, and look forward to hearing the final results soon. We are excited to be part of a community that seeks to innovate and change care for the better, and are wishing the best of luck to all semi-finalists; we’re all in this together.

To learn more about the Astellas C3 Prize, and see all of the exciting proposed ideas click here

In June, b-present Foundation met with two cancer support groups to seek volunteer evaluators for our b-there online connection and support tool. First, we met with San Diego Rady Children’s Hospital Some of My Best Friends are Bald (SOMBFAB).

The following week we visited Stanford to meet with the Adolescent and Young Adult Patient & Family Advisory Council (SAYAC PFAC).

We are excited to have 12 volunteers so far! Our goal is to get input from a representative cross-section of users (cancer survivor peer groups, supporters, medical professionals, and the research community). It is only with this diversity of perspectives that we can ensure we have created a tool that meets the needs of the community we are trying to serve in the best way possible.

We are conducting the tool review in two phases:

Phase One: Our first review of the tool will focus on design, features, and ease of use of the prototype tool. On July 12, packets were distributed to our volunteer evaluators, and responses will be coming in over the next two months. After this first phase of testing, we will have a user workshop to discuss the findings and prioritize updates.

Phase Two: After the recommended software changes are implemented and validated, we will conduct our second phase of the review process. During this phase, volunteers will evaluate the utility and impact of the updated tool on overall patient/supporter interactions, connection, and support.

User input is important to us, and we are looking forward to what the community has to say. If you are a cancer survivor, supporter, researcher or medical professional interested in receiving more information or being an evaluator, please contact us. Thank you for your interest and your support.

Stay tuned! We will provide another update when our first phase review is complete.