MyCancerHaven can best be described by the word Haven. A haven is a harbor, an anchor, a place for refuge.
MyCancerHaven was founded by Dr Ravi Vij MD MBA and his wife Dr Kiran Vij MD. Dr Ravi Vij serves as our Chief Medical Officer. Dr Vij received his medical degree from the University of Delhi (India). He completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL (USA) and Fellowship in Medical Oncology/Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Washington University School of Medicine. He thereafter completed a MBA in Healthcare from George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Dr Vij has spent his entire career in academic medicine and rose through the ranks to become a Professor at Washington University School of Medicine, one of the leading medical centers in the United States . In addition to having a busy clinical practice, Dr Vij has been closely involved with the education of medical trainees and clinical research in cancer playing a pivotal role in the development of several novel therapies for cancer. He has authored over 800 scientific publications listed by Google Scholar and over 24k citations of his work.
MyCancerHaven was founded by Dr Ravi Vij MD MBA and his wife Dr Kiran Vij MD. Dr Ravi Vij serves as our Chief Medical Officer. Dr Vij received his medical degree from the University of Delhi (India). He completed his Residency in Internal Medicine at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL (USA) and Fellowship in Medical Oncology/Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Washington University School of Medicine. He thereafter completed a MBA in Healthcare from George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Dr Vij has spent his entire career in academic medicine and rose through the ranks to become a Professor at Washington University School of Medicine, one of the leading medical centers in the United States . In addition to having a busy clinical practice, Dr Vij has been closely involved with the education of medical trainees and clinical research in cancer playing a pivotal role in the development of several novel therapies for cancer. He has authored over 800 scientific publications listed by Google Scholar and over 24k citations of his work.
With over 20 years of experience as an oncologist at a leading academic center, he has had the opportunity to interact very closely with cancer patients, cancer experts and researchers working at leading academic institutions and industry to improve outcomes of patients with cancer. He came to the realization that both cancer patients and health care professionals faced major hurdles.
In 1988 his mother was diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer and died within a month of diagnosis. As a caregiver at that time he struggled for reliable information and access to to cancer experts. 35 years later, as an oncologist he observed that despite a revolution in information technology and telecommunication, little had changed. Patients with cancer and their care-givers wish to be active participants in their health-care and are among the most active seekers of information on health-care.
Patients usually begin their search for information by using on- line search engines which direct patients to a menu of on-line websites. They are however overwhelmed with the information and find it difficult to reconcile information from these sites and interpret how it relates to their specific situation.
In 1988 his mother was diagnosed with metastatic ovarian cancer and died within a month of diagnosis. As a caregiver at that time he struggled for reliable information and access to to cancer experts. 35 years later, as an oncologist he observed that despite a revolution in information technology and telecommunication, little had changed. Patients with cancer and their care-givers wish to be active participants in their health-care and are among the most active seekers of information on health-care.
Patients usually begin their search for information by using on- line search engines which direct patients to a menu of on-line websites. They are however overwhelmed with the information and find it difficult to reconcile information from these sites and interpret how it relates to their specific situation.
Patients still find it difficult to identify and connect with experts with expertise in their specific type of cancer. Patients lack the tools to voice their opinions and be active participants in their health care. They seek to interact with their peers by utilizing a plethora of social media tools to exchange information. However, social networks lack a cancer-specific focus and cancer focused web-sites lack a comprehensive menu of tools for collaboration. Patients are unaware of the educational and research initiatives seeking patient participation.
Dr Vij also saw that at the other end of the spectrum cancer experts and organizations too still find it difficult to disseminate information about educational and research initiatives to a broad audience of patients and get the patient perspective about their care.
The concept of MyCancerHaven was born out of his belief that the solution was to harness the power of information technology to develop a single patient-centric platform curated and moderated by experts with a comprehensive set of tools that would make it possible for patients with cancer and health care professionals to connect, exchange information and collaborate, thereby empowering patients. It was to bridge these gaps that Drs Ravi and Kiran Vij established MyCancerHaven a 501(c) not for profit organization to develop this on-line platform.
Dr Vij also saw that at the other end of the spectrum cancer experts and organizations too still find it difficult to disseminate information about educational and research initiatives to a broad audience of patients and get the patient perspective about their care.
The concept of MyCancerHaven was born out of his belief that the solution was to harness the power of information technology to develop a single patient-centric platform curated and moderated by experts with a comprehensive set of tools that would make it possible for patients with cancer and health care professionals to connect, exchange information and collaborate, thereby empowering patients. It was to bridge these gaps that Drs Ravi and Kiran Vij established MyCancerHaven a 501(c) not for profit organization to develop this on-line platform.
