Silver Award Winner- Francesca Sapio

We learn more about Francesca and why she entered the Mobile Health Competition

Name:Francesca Sapio (Frankie is what everyone calls me)

Age:17 years old

From: England

What do you do?: I'm a student at Nower Hill School Sixth Form

What made you enter the mobile health competition?

I was on twitter, as I quite often am, and saw something posted by the TCT twitter page. I clicked on the link and found the Mobile Health Competition website and seized the chance to enter. The $5,000 reward was an even bigger reason to try and come up with something really good!

How did you come up with your idea?

When I read the criteria, I immediately knew what I was going to do - it was clear that I just needed to write about what facilities I would've liked and needed to have whilst I was going through cancer.

Why do you think teenage cancer patients will benefit from your idea?

I know that I struggled significantly in isolation as there weren't many people I could talk to; none of my friends had first hand experience and some of them just avoided me completely because they were unsure of how to approach me or my feelings. My Doctor's told me that it was unwise to search things on the internet, and so I avoided doing so. If I had had my app whilst I was ill, I would've definitely taken advantage of what it offered me and talked to people my age. People who knew what they were talking about. I would have liked to share my experiences with other patients and gain some knowledge and advice from theirs, which is what I intended my app to do. I also found that taking medication on time was a big issue to begin with and I had to set various alarms on my phone to remind me when to take them and so I created an alarm feature in my app. Boredom was another issue - I felt I had nothing to do whilst I watched chemotherapy drugs drip slowly into me through tubes for hours on end. So, I introduced games into my app. I hope that this will benefit any patient that were to use my app because each detail that I added to my design was something I know I needed at the time, and probably something everyone else needs. Although it's not as good as having a friend to talk to and cuddle when you need to but I hope that my app will be as equally comforting, in a different and helpful way.

If you don’t win, which entry would you like to see win & why?

If I do not win this competition, I would like to see Colleen Luther's app win because she has had experience and knows what patients need. Her idea for positivity is definitely a good idea.

Do you have an idea which cancer charity you would donate your $5,000 prize money to?

I think it's most likely that I would donate the $5,000 to the Teenage Cancer Trust, as they provided me with things that made things easier for me and helped me get through my illness as well as I could have done. I can never repay them for how they have helped me, but I hope that by donating to them, they will be able to help others like me do better than how I would've been without their help.

What are your plans for the future

I am still unsure of what I wish to do in the future but the thought of becoming an Oncology Nurse has stuck in my head since recieving treatment and since seeing how well the nurses treated and helped me. They managed to make everyone on the ward feel comfortable and most importantly, they became my friends. Even though I didn't feel up to it, I did feel as though I could speak to them about things that my parents or friends were unable to answer. I just hope to one day make a difference in someone's life, whatever it is I go on to do.

For any teenage cancer patients who read this, I would just like to say:

Do not think about what everyone else thinks about you or how they judge the way you're dealing with what you're going through. Do what you have to do, and say what you want to say - and only what you want to say - you don't always have to talk about it. People will tell you to be strong, and it's good advice but don't feel obliged to have to put on a brave face and smile all the time... You need those down moments so that you can appreciate the good moments better. If you need to be alone to do this, then ask people to give you space. They probably will not understand but, they will listen.

If my entry doesn't make it to win, then I would still like to help people through this hard time, so please, if you want/need to, contact me on twitter: @frankiesaps