Camp Quality has launched Australia’s first ever Kids Guide to Cancer app using a $100,000 grant from Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation.
The free app, developed by Camp Quality’s Hunter team, was conceived to address the lack of accurate and age-appropriate information about cancer for the 10,000 Australian kids under 13 who will have a parent diagnosed with cancer this year alone.
Foundation Chairman, Michael Slater, said the app was an innovative and appropriate use of technology to support disadvantaged young people and their families in regional communities all over Australia and the Foundation was thrilled to be supporting it.
“The app uses Camp Quality characters, personal stories and information peer-reviewed by medical professionals and social workers to explain a comprehensive list of cancers, their symptoms and treatments, as well as potential side effects,” Michael said.
“It’s an exciting development for families in regional areas experiencing cancer because it breaks down barriers to help children understand what they, their friend or family member will endure through diagnosis, treatment, and hopefully recovery.”
This custom built app will help to reduce the fear and helplessness children often feel when someone they know has cancer by providing them with age-appropriate information in an engaging and interactive way in a format their generation is both familiar and comfortable with.
Camp Quality Family and Hospital Support Coordinator, Cara Dahl, said the app was designed to give children aged 8-14 a simple and relatable source of information on the cancer journey.
“The app will help to guide kids through their role as a friend, child or sibling to someone living with cancer, using interactive characters and videos to build empathy for a patient’s experience and help them understand each type of cancer,” Cara said.
“We’ve already received feedback from parents who value the app as a simple source of comprehensive information compared to what can otherwise be a confounding experience when someone in the family is diagnosed with a cancer.”
The Newcastle Permanent Charitable Foundation distributes more than $1.5 million annually to local not-for-profit organisations in the Hunter, New England, Central West, Central Coast, Northern Rivers and Mid North Coast.
