UK Charity Breast Cancer Care Launches Breast Cancer Alexa Skills
Breast Cancer Care is a UK charity providing support for people living with and beyond breast cancer. The charity recently launched an Alexa Skill that offers advice to women on spotting the signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Called ‘Taking care of your breasts,’ the skill is aimed to help women perform self-exams and spot warning signs. The eight most common signs and symptoms of breast cancer are discussed when using the skill. Breast Cancer Care’s Clinical Specialist Nurse Addie Mitchell says,
We know a third of women in the UK aren’t regularly checking their breasts, so having Alexa on hand to guide them will help empower many with the confidence to build this potentially lifesaving habit into their routine.
End of Treatment Support App Also Available
BECCA is an end of treatment support app developed by Breast Cancer Care for those who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Originally just available as a mobile app, BECCA is now also available as an Alexa Skill. Five Daily tips on coping with the long-term impact of breast cancer are given to users. Topics covered include diet, exercise, mental health, and body image. They can be read out in Alexa’s daily briefing, and will include flash briefing snippets from five carefully selected articles. Both Alexa Skills are free and available now.
Informational Skills Promote Preventative Care
One in three women fail to regularly check their breasts, and a fifth of these women say it is because they don’t know how to do it, says The Irish Sun. The most common symptom of breast cancer is a lump usually found by the patient themselves, according to Kislaya Thakur, expert at BMI The Blackheath Hospital in South London.
One can see the benefits of having a hands-free guide available for self breast exams. It allows the user to focus on the task at hand, rather than multi-tasking scrolling or clicking through exam instructions. Although advertised as informational focused, these voice applications show the broader potential of health care organization providing hands-free preventive care instructions to consumers. The new Breast Cancer Care skill is an opportunity to further spread awareness of breast self-exams. Early detection is key in the fight against breast cancer. Alexa is another helpful tool to help spread that important message.
