C2-4: Implementing an Evidence-based Breast Cancer Support Tool for Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer Patients as Standard Care at Two Institutions

Abstract

Background/Aims While many women turn to the Internet to obtain information, it is unlikely that unstructured internet use provides optimal benefit to women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, due to uneven quality, conflicting claims, redundancy, and search engine idiosyncrasies which may make finding desired information more difficult. To answer the need for information and support, an Interactive Cancer Communication System (“CHESS”) was developed, validated in several randomized trials, and is now being implemented to provide access to integrated information for decision-making, behavior change, and emotional support. We implemented a program to offer CHESS to all newly-diagnosed breast cancer patients as part of standard care (not as part of a research study) at two Denver healthcare systems: Kaiser Permanente Colorado (KPCO), and Exempla Health Care (EHC), which serves a larger proportion of minorities and those without insurance.