Improving disease management through a mobile application for lymphedema patients

Abstract

Breast cancer-related lymphedema (LE) is one type of incurable progressive chronic disease caused by cancer treatment or surgery that damages a patient's lymphatic system. Many patients are unaware of available treatment and places to seek for help with LE. This paper introduces a framework for a mobile application package for LE patients or patients at-risk to 1) locate available trained therapists using embedded Google Map technology; 2) monitor disease progression using profile match and rules mining; and 3) acquire up-to-date LE research findings based on patient characteristics. It aims to increase patients' accessibility to available resources and improve patient's quality of life by a mHealth-driven disease management approach.