Cancer Circle
As my final year project at the University of Leeds I created a responsive website called Cancer Circle.
The aim behind Cancer Circle was to create a responsive website which helps reduce the feeling of loneliness for those who have been affected by cancer themselves, a carer or a family/friend in the Yorkshire community by connecting users through similarities that are important to them, providing an alternative way of connecting to others online and in-real-life.
Here's a Snapshot of Cancer Circle
But Why Did I Create Cancer Circle?
I wanted to create Cancer Circle because my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and I saw how it affected him. I aimed to develop a product that could help improve the quality of life for people living with cancer.
My initial research showed that social support significantly reduces loneliness in cancer patients and that having a support network improves quality of life but only if the technology is accessible.
User research then became the backbone of this project. I was mentored by Dr Stewart Manning, a retired cancer doctor and the Chairman of the Yorkshire Cancer Community. With his support, I attended three Patient Panels, where cancer charity CEOs, patients, and doctors gave feedback. I received input on the concept and conducted user testing
Key Features
Onboarding Questionnaire
As part of the sign up process users are taken through a questionnaire which personalises their experience through collecting their answers in a secure SQL database.
This is done to provide a personalised experience for users so they can find others similar to them in a way which is important to them.
Community Page
Once the user has created their account they'll come to a community page.
On this page they can find other's in the local area who are similar to them based on what they said was important. This was a crucial feature as there are support groups out there but having the same type of cancer doesn't mean you're similar to someone.
Discovery Page
The discovery page is a place where users can find local places to go visit and local support.
A common challenge that I found was that there's support out there however people struggle to know what there actually is that will be beneficial to them.
Accessibility
The W3C's website accessibility checker outlined that the website is accessible excluding one error.
The Patient Panel Said:
"Throughout my life of dealing with patients with cancer, there wasn't enough areas where they could get together and they're often in isolation.
But the reason Cancer Circle is important to me is because it enable patients to contact each other, meet up, share ideas, and share problems."
"Cancer Circle helps resolve and reduce isolation and also signposts lots of other helpful links to other organisations and gives us shared experiences with other people.
There wasn't really anything for me at my age group when I was actually diagnosed and I would have loved Cancer Circle."
"My sister lived two years with cancer before she passed and Cancer Circle just sounds like an amazing Website to connect and to find other people that are going through something similar."
Behind The Scenes
