Long-time social worker creates app for cancer patients to ‘swipe right’

NEW YORK — According to the World Health Organization (WHO) , 1 in 5 people globally will develop cancer in their lifetime; many of them will face social isolation and loneliness. One person trying to change that is Christina Merrill, the founder and the CEO at the Bone Marrow & Cancer Foundation, and the creator of a new app called, “CancerBuddy.”

“When you’re diagnosed with cancer, your whole life is turned upside down,” says Merrill. “And these families and patients need community and support to get through something so life-changing and traumatic.”

As a long-time social worker, Merrill started the Bone Marrow and Cancer Foundation in 1992. In working with cancer patients for the past 33 years, Merrill saw a great need to create a strong community for cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers.

“So ‘CancerBuddy’ is a platform where patients can upload their own information and swipe and to meet whoever they want to meet with based on their diagnosis, their age, their cancer center, their geographical location,” says Merrill.

“The beauty of this app is that it is HIPAA compliant. And that has always been a huge barrier in the cancer space to connect patients because of HIPAA regulations.”

For cancer survivor Dev Meenagh, the “CancerBuddy” app has given her a safe space to go, have conversations, and find guidance.

“I go to work every day, and there are moments where on my lunch break, I pop onto the app because I’m feeling a physical side effect still that I don’t want to bring into my workplace,” she says.

For Merrill, knowing that she has been able to help patients find meaningful connections with each other through “CancerBuddy,” has been life changing.

“Community and connection for cancer patients are so important,” says Merrill.

“Patients that have community, connection, and support, make it through [cancer] treatment and have better outcomes,” she adds.

To learn more about the “Cancer Buddy” app, click here.