As the second leading cause of death in the world, it’s safe to say that everyone has been touched by cancer—either through a personal diagnosis or suffering alongside a loved one. However, few have access to top specialists for their specific conditions or the ability to travel to multiple doctors to get second and third opinions.
This is where SurvivorNet steps in.
The digital media site is working with many of the top cancer centres and oncologists in the US to help everyday people get access to the latest information about cancer research, treatment and prevention. Some of the centres among its impressive roster are the National Cancer Institute, MD Anderson, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering, Cleveland Clinic, the Mayo Clinic, Stanford, University of California at San Francisco Medical Center, the University of Pennsylvania and Cedars Sinai.
Over 1.5 million unique visitors turn to the website every month.
“Health information is the one problem in healthcare that we all suffer from, and nobody has really addressed it. It’s a dramatically underinvested space,” co-founder Steve Alperin said in a statement. “By building a deeper, higher quality product in this space, we are helping patients ask better questions.
“With so much incredible progress in cancer right now, doctors have trouble keeping up. So patients need to go in armed and ready. A simple example is ovarian cancer. Eighty percent of women are still not offered a genetic test that could make them eligible for medication to greatly extend their lives. We think this information gap is unacceptable and we are doing something about it.”
Alperin previously had a prosperous career in journalism as the head writer and producer for ABC’s World News Tonight with Peter Jennings and the managing editor of ABCNews.com. In 2018, he co-founded SurvivorNet after his father was diagnosed with cancer and he struggled to find information to properly help him.
“If something was really wrong with someone you loved, you wouldn’t want them to turn to Dr. Google,” Alperin said. “SurvivorNet started as a personal mission to give families like mine a better source for cancer information. With the help of our extraordinary partners in the cancer community, we are now helping millions of people get better information that can help save their lives or make their journey a little easier.”
According to the company, 70 percent of cancer patients in the US do not receive treatment at a cancer centre. The death rate among these patients is 10 percent higher than those who have access to comprehensive cancer treatment networks and specialists.
SurvivorNet has raised $10 million in Series B funding led by London-based asset manager Gatemore Ventures.
“With this new support from our investors we are going to continue expanding our coverage across more cancer types and bring more of the country’s leading experts to the people who need them,” Alperin said.
“We believe that SurvivorNet could change the landscape for all participants in the healthcare industry, and we are excited about our involvement in the company’s growth,” says Gatemore partner George Cadbury.
