Around 30-35% of patients receiving cancer therapy can develop oral complications and poor oral health can increase the chances of infection. To ensure that patients receiving cancer therapy get the best care, it is essential for cancer care teams and the wider healthcare teams to collaborate in order to prevent and manage complications in a timely manner. ONCOllab: The oral care guide for cancer care teams – developed by FDI in collaboration with the International Society of Oral Oncology (ISOO) and with the support of valued partner Zendium – aims to provide a tool that enables cancer care team to manage the oral complications that may arise during the cancer treatment of their patients.

In this interview with Dr Debbie Saunders, Medical Director of the Department of Oncology, Health Sciences North, discover how cancer care teams, oral health professionals and community dentists are collaborating through ONCOllab to ensure better patient care.

 

Closing the care gap by increasing collaboration across the continuum of cancer care

During the interview, Dr Saunders explains why ONCOllab was developed and how it is increasing knowledge amongst community dentists on how to care for patients undergoing cancer treatment. She also elaborates how cancer care teams can use the mobile application to refer patients to the appropriate oral health specialist when complications arise during their patients’ treatment.

The application can also be used as a preventive measure by virtue of the risk calculators that it incorporates for different disease sites. This information can also be printed or emailed to patients to give them the necessary knowledge about their treatment.

“I love this ONCOllab app […] What the app is going to enable us to do is take the information from the literature, the evidence-based guidelines that have been developed, the clinical practice tools that have been published, and incorporate them into one app that has all the different disease sites so that the oncologists and the clinician dentist can communicate more effectively.” – Dr Debbie Saunders

ONCOllab is a step forward towards closing the care gap and taking action together for better patient care. The mobile application can be downloaded on all iOS and Android devices. Download the app and spread the word amongst your colleagues to improve the treatment journey of cancer patients.

 

The Oral Health and Cancer: Collaborative Care and Patient Education Project is supported by Zendium.