Cancer Treatment Eased With the Use of an App

Pain diaries are very powerful tools for pinpointing the causes and triggers of chronic pain due to illness. They are vital in helping a doctor plan out a treatment plan for a patient.

To effectively manage pain, doctors rely on the patients to communicate how they are feeling. But for kids who are going through cancer treatment, keeping a detailed paper-based pain diary can be hard. But now a new iOS app has made an overwhelming task easy and fun.

Pain Squad is the first app designed for kids with cancer to replace their pain diary in a fun, interactive way. The app was built to minimize pain, improve quality of life and reduce distress for patients and their families. It does this by featuring a police-style game with missions and rewards designed to motivate kids to fill out their pain diaries twice a day for two weeks. This app becomes a real reminder of their pain, helps them understand what’s working for them and makes them feel like they have some control in the whole process. The information entered into the app will also be used in ongoing research on pediatric cancer.