Learning from the stories of cancer patients – A way forward for Pharma?

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia - Aug. 1, 2013 - PRLog -- BARCELONA– It took him a few days to overcome his instinct to run and hide. But once he felt up to it, he took control. “My son sat down with me and said, 'Dad you can't do anything about it. It's there and now we've got to deal with it.' “So I got on the Internet and went to the library and a few bookstores and bought everything I possibly could buy on prostate cancer. It was quite helpful.” His dedication proved invaluable, as it led him to groundbreaking technology being developed in his own region. “I heard about this new treatment option and started researching it and kind of zoned in on it,” Mike explains. He asked his physicians if such an option would be suitable for him, and they got involved in the conversation. Mike ended up being the first patient to use the company's technology, which acts as a GPS system for radiation treatment of prostate cancer.

This is an extract from the story of Mike McKelheer. He is one of the many patients featured in the “The Web-Savvy Patient”, a book written by Andrew Schorr, a leukemia survivor, patient educator and a living example of how information can be the best medicine.

This September, you will have the opportunity to meet Andrew Schorr, Founder and Host of PatientPower.info, and learn from his patient's perspective at Fleming Europe's 3^rd ANNUAL PHARMA eMARKETING CONGRESS (11 – 13 September 2013) taking place in Barcelona. In his presentation on “Empowering patients online”, Andrew will provide 'insight from the other side' to better understand today's eCustomers and increase the potential of your eMarketing channels.

To get the full picture of 'the other side', Dr. Rob Hicks will introduce the standpoint of the doctors and reveal whether physicians are catching digital fever too.

At the two-day event, preceded by the one-day Social Media Training, attendees will also listen to best practices from large pharma companies, such as Pfizer, Sanofi, Janssen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Boehringer Ingelheim, and other KOLs in the industry.