Today, at the American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, Mika Health, a global digital therapeutics developer specializing in meeting the needs of cancer patients, and Cancer Support Community (CSC), a recognized leader in cancer patient support and navigation, announced a partnership that will expand access to mental health and other vital support for patients and caregivers receiving cancer treatments. The organizations will debut the only AI-enabled evidence-based oncologic digital therapeutic that is completely free to patients and caregivers in the United States. The app-based platform was previously available only in Europe.
“Many patients have unidentified mental health challenges or are unable to access the support they seek. Figuring out which cancer and cancer treatment symptoms require additional medical interventions can be difficult, particularly with regards to depression, anxiety or other mental health challenges that can present with commonly dismissed experiences such as fatigue, lack of sleep, and decreased appetite,” said Dr. Gandolf Finke, founder and Managing Director of Mika Health. “Through this landmark partnership with the esteemed Cancer Support Community, we’re thrilled to bring patients and caregivers in North America anytime, anywhere access to our personalized AI-enabled support at a crucial time when the need for mental health care is at an all-time high.”
Mika helps patients understand their condition and reduce distress by staying on track with therapy by:
- Intercepting side effects and symptoms to enable clinical interventions
- Reducing impact of disease-related anxiety, stress, and depression
- Feeling more in control with insightful education, exercises, and advice on nutrition, emotional well-being and stress-reduction
- Orchestrating therapy for patients along their treatment continuum; medication adherence, appointment coordination, diagnostics, and more
The tool, which is certified for its quality and safety as a medical device in the EU, can be personalized to specific cancers and treatments to provide a personalized support experience. Mika is continuously co-developed and trusted by patients and their families, as well as clinicians all over the world.
“Through our patient experience research and work supporting hundreds of thousands of people impacted with cancer every year, we know that many people struggle to access the mental health support that they need and want,” said CSC CEO Sally Werner. “Our prior experience piloting app-based mental health interventions showed reductions in anxiety and depression so we are excited to partner with Mika in bringing their AI-enabled evidence-based digital therapeutic to people coping with the challenges that come with a cancer diagnosis,” Werner added. “We are thrilled to work alongside an innovative leader in digital therapeutics whose commitment to improving cancer patients’ access to care aligns so strongly with ours.”
About Mental Health and Cancer
One in three people treated for cancer in hospitals have a mental health condition such as depression or anxiety and those who received chemotherapy, radiation or surgery have the highest cumulative burden of psychiatric disorders1. The good news is, people who receive support have fewer symptoms of depression and often see improvement in their physical health, are more likely to follow through with medical care and have a better quality of life with longer survival times2. Ninety percent of studies show cost reduction following psychosocial intervention3.
However, in a survey of 600 cancer patients in the U.S. conducted by CSC, 60% of respondents never received a physician referral for a mental health screening and two in five cancer patients who asked for mental health support did not receive it, reporting access issues including financial barriers to treatment and telehealth, long appointment wait times, and difficulty getting an appointment. Most cancer patients report wanting support to help reduce distress and improve emotional well-being, such as exercise (66%) and nutrition programs (61%).4
About the Partnership
Mika and CSC will collaborate across several core areas:
- Access to Mika for patients, caregivers, and clinicians served at CSC’s nearly 200 network partner locations, and through other healthcare partnerships
- Co-development of multilingual and multicultural patient experience components to enhance health equity, inclusion, and diversity, and leverage CSC’s Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) validated screener and digital assessments
- Co-development of a multilingual and multicultural caregiver experience with Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO) validated screener and digital assessments
- Joint Data Science and Clinical Research into psychosocial patient behaviors and treatments to improve patient and caregiver quality of life and mitigate distress, depression, anxiety, and fatigue. Additionally, the organizations will collaborate on research into complex therapy support platforms like CAR-T Cell Therapy and Radioligand Therapy
About Cancer Support Community
The Cancer Support Community is a global nonprofit that uplifts and strengthens people impacted by cancer. We are dedicated to fostering a community where people find connection, compassion, and knowledge. We provide professionally led support and navigation services, along with social connections and award-winning education — when, where and how impacted individuals prefer throughout their cancer experience. These resources are available at over 190 Cancer Support Community, Gilda’s Club, and healthcare partner locations as well as online and over the phone — all at no cost. We amplify the voices of those impacted by cancer through research and advocacy and create solutions that break down barriers to care and close the healthcare gap for communities whose members are disproportionately affected by cancer.
About Mika Health
Mika Health is an app-based platform aimed at providing targeted and comprehensive support to people with cancer using digital technology. Through scientifically proven methods and techniques of therapy management, the Digital Therapeutics (DTx) helps patients to actively participate in their treatment and regain more quality of life – with daily symptom monitoring, psychologically oriented coaching courses, and AI-supported, personalized recommendations. To achieve this, Mika combines innovative machine learning technologies with a multimedia knowledge database of rigorously verified content, such as nutritional tips, exercise routines, or mindfulness training.
Fosanis, the Digital Health company behind Mika, was founded in Berlin in 2017 by Dr. Gandolf Finke and Dr. Jan Simon Raue and completed a Series-A financing round of more than 10 million euros in 2022. After tens of thousands of patients in Germany and the UK have already used the free DTx platform alongside their cancer therapy, the fifty-strong team of experts continues to expand its growth in the global HealthTech market. More information at us.mika.health.
Editor’s Note:
We are pleased to arrange interviews or background talks with Mika and/or Cancer Support Community.
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1 Chang, W.H., Lai, A.G. Cumulative burden of psychiatric disorders and self-harm across 26 adult cancers. Nat Med (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-022-01740-3
2https://www.mhanational.org/cancer-and-mental-health
3 Mausbach BT, Decastro G, Schwab RB, Tiamson-Kassab M, Irwin SA. Healthcare use and costs in adult cancer patients with anxiety and depression. Depress Anxiety. 2020 Sep;37(9):908-915. doi: 10.1002/da.23059. Epub 2020 Jun 2. PMID: 32485033; PMCID: PMC7484454.
4https://www.cancerandmentalhealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Cancer-and-Mental-Health-Report.pdf
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