The Together website offers information about diseases, diagnosis and treatment options, as well as supportive care resources and shared stories of hope, healing and experience.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, a leader in the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer, has launched Together, https://together.StJude.org, an online resource for anyone affected by childhood cancer.
Together offers information about diseases, diagnosis and treatment options, as well as supportive care resources and shared stories of hope, healing and experience.
The Together website launched in fall 2018 and has won several awards, including the Cancer Patient Education Network’s Excellence in Cancer Patient Education award, the ClearMark Award from the Center for Plain Language, and an eHealthcare Leadership award. The site was recognized for making complex and difficult information on childhood cancer approachable and easy for patients and their families to understand.
"When a child is diagnosed with cancer, it is overwhelming,” said St. Jude President and CEO James R. Downing, M.D. "It is crucial that parents and patients have reliable and useful health information, educational resources, and the perspective of others who are affected by pediatric cancer.”
Together includes expert information, stories and experiences from families of childhood cancer patients, and practical suggestions from specialists. The site also offers resources that address a range of cancer experiences, including long-term survivorship and bereavement. In the coming months, St. Jude will make the website available in multiple languages to bring this information to families worldwide. The English version of the site has attracted visitors from over 175 countries.
“Because childhood cancer is rare, many families are not able to find trusted resources," said Alberto Pappo, M.D., a member of the St. Jude faculty and an adviser for the website. "Together offers families comprehensive medical information from a source they can trust. All people touched by childhood cancer deserve a community like this where they can learn, connect and support one another.”
The information on the Together website is generated from the latest research and best practices in pediatric oncology. Content, which includes articles, animations, illustrations and video features, has been developed and vetted by staff at St. Jude. Members of the St. Jude Patient Family Advisory Council, a group of parents or patients who are at least 18 years or older, also review the site and offer their perspective on how families of diagnosed children look for information.
Award Information:
- 2019 recipient of the Excellence in Cancer Patient Education award from the Cancer Patient Education Network
- 2019 recipient, ClearMark Award from the Center for Plain Language
- 2019 winner, eHealthcare Leadership Award for Best Overall Internet, Gold in the Consumer Disease-focused Sites – Plain English Health Care
- Fall 2019 winner, Digital Health Awards – Health Information Resource Center--Together placed Silver in the Website category, Silver in the Interactive Content/Rich Media category and Bronze in the Responsive Website Design category.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is leading the way the world understands, treats and cures childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. It is the only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center devoted solely to children. Treatments developed at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to 80% since the hospital opened more than 50 years ago. St. Jude freely shares the breakthroughs it makes, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. Families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing and food — because all a family should worry about is helping their child live. To learn more, visit stjude.org or follow St. Jude on social media at @stjuderesearch.