Triad Interactive, Inc. has produced a software program to educate women about breast cancer and assist them with their breast cancer risk management decision making process. PATH (Personal Aid to Health: Making Decisions That Work) was produced for Washington DC's Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University Medical Center and NY City's Ruttenberg Cancer Center at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine. The project is being funded as part of a grant from the National Cancer Institute and will be used as part of a study for women who have recently received a positive test result for carrying an alteration to one of the BR(east)CA(ncer) susceptibility genes (BRCA1 or BRCA2). Women who carry a mutation to one of these genes are at greatly increased risk of developing breast cancer over their lifetime.

Research has shown that women who undergo genetic testing and are found to carry an altered BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene have great difficulty making medical decisions about the management of their breast and ovarian cancer risk. A surprisingly high number of these women do not follow recommended guidelines for breast cancer prevention/surveillance practices for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation carriers. Even after the risks are carefully explained during genetic counseling, as many as one-third of these women fail to obtain recommended mammography screening.

PATH is designed to both educate users and facilitate the exploration of patient options. Users begin by filling out a Profile, allowing the program to tailor itself to their needs. Then the user completes the education section which covers information about breast cancer, risk, and risk management options. The Interactive Decision Aid guides the user through a series of questions about her priorities and values to assist her thought process and enable her to make an informed decision she is comfortable with.

The study will compare patient outcomes between those who receive the software and those who do not to see if follow up education and technology can improve results. It illustrates the increasing role of patient education in medicine and the contribution information technology can make in improving public health.

04.15.02 | PATH featured in the April issue of AV Video Multimedia Producer magazine.

Triad Interactive, Inc. is a leading designer and developer of interactive products. It has an outstanding reputation as an innovative force in the multimedia industry.