Texas A&M University at Qatar

GiveHope: A Proposed Website for Cancer Patients in Qatar

Course: ENGL 210.502: Scientific & Technical Writing
Date: 18 June 2015
Name: Ghadeer Al-Haddad

The Topic
In this proposal, I am presenting my idea of creating a website for cancer patients in Qatar. The
proposed website is intended to help and support cancer patients by providing for them information
and tools to make their treatment decisions more informed.
Introduction and Background
If we look closer and imagine the situation here in our country, Qatar, regarding how the cancer patients
are being treated, we will find that they are actually not given what they deserve. Starting from the
diagnosis process until the treatment journey, the quality of services given to them with regard to
treatment is not efficient. We have all the available medicines and medical machines, but the way to
apply that to patients can be done in a better way. Having best facilities or machines doesnt always
mean having what a person needs to be cured. Cancer patients are not just any patients. They go
through this treatment for maybe years or months and so they need better treatment choices. What I
can do to help cancer patients take better treatment choices was my question and while I was thinking
of that, the idea of building or creating this website came to my mind. I think cancer patients in Qatar
need one place that support them through their journey and tell them about the hospitals, treatment
options, and offer for them information that will hopefully make them have informed treatment
decisions.
We know that cancer include many types and different stages. I dont believe that Qatar hospitals can
cure all those different types of cancers and situations. Instead I believe there are places in different
countries which are specialized for certain types of cancer. Some cancer types can be treated in Qatari
hospitals, but not all. If a cancer patient in Qatar wanted to know which hospital to go to or how to plan
their medical care, they will ask each other, search on the internet, or go and try their luck.
The same situation happened with my grandmother with this disease. She traveled to four countries and
in each country they used a different type of treatment on her. Besides that, she got treatment in Qatar
in the form of chemotherapy. All that made her situation worse and it was an unthoughtful way of
curing cancer. At the end she was in China and they had for some period of time which happened their
each year, the doctors mainly dont have to come to hospitals. My grandmother stayed weeks without a
doctor checking on her and her situation was very bad. This hospital was also not modern and so
traditional, even in devices. However, my uncle managed to get for her a private airplane to transfer her
form China to Thailand, and she died there.
My question is this is there no place which recommends best hospitals for those patients instead of
letting them search and waste time and effort? Why do cancer patients need to search and ask others to
know where to go? I imagined in my mind a cancer patient wondering at one point, needing help
someone. I know a doctor can do that, but a doctor is one opinion and he cant know about all cancer
matters. It is not a small but a big world. If they all come to one place they can share experiences and
this website will help them understand more about their disease. It will who them what they will face,
introduce them to other people in similar situations, connect them with survivors, support them, and
make them feel as one community.

Methodology
I first created a poster to advertise my main idea of creating a website for cancer patients. Then, I
wanted to expand on my poster idea and create text out of it. I went and searched on similar websites
(LiveStrong, Imerman Angels). I read their text, watched their videos, and search more until I developed
my own ideas and saw what I really want to do. I then wrote my thoughts. Through this proposal I will
explain my idea. I created a survey which was intended to help me in creating the content of my
proposed website.
Project design
The poster shown below was the first thing I created, I used it to see the audience of my project. It
helped me shape my idea and make visual sense of it. I created a three questions survey (See Appendix
A). Mirel, who studied research methods, said when describing survey sampling method: In field
studies and controlled settings, user performance evaluations need to include appropriate sampling
methods and sample sizes (292). In my survey I used sampling, the people who solved my survey were
Texas A&M University students and students from Qatar University, a total of 12 students. Three of
them I knew that they have relatives with this disease so I sent them the survey. Four of them were
already familiar about my idea and my goal so I chose to give them the survey. The other five students I
sent them the survey to have more general feedbacks regarding the website idea.

The proposed website

My main focus in this website is to provide help for cancer patients in Qatar. I include below my survey
results which was done by 12 students. In addition, the ideas or services that the website can offer,
based on my ideas that I developed from similar cancer websites and the survey results:

In the survey results, ten out of the twelve participants chose the option of Recommend the
best hospitals for diagnosis and treatment of specific cancer types. I think that can be done by
recommending for patients the hospitals or doctors who succeeded to cure the type of cancer
they have. The website will gather those data using several methods, I will include some. First,
by researching in cancer hospitals data and see the successful hospitals ranking and feedbacks.
Second, by considering the patients experience who were cured in those hospitals which include
the survivors who will be part of the website. Finally, by doing personal visits to those hospitals
and see were their researches and medicine discoveries have reached regarding curing cancer.
According to the survey results, the second highest choice was to help patients in planning their
medical care. This could be done by guiding them and telling them where to go to get particular
documents completed and how to be prepared for certain treatments.
Connect patients with survivors. This idea was favored by eight survey participants out of
twelve, it can help cancer patients benefit from survivors who had the same type of cancer as
the patients. The website will contact the survivors with the patients and will by ask survivors to
be part of the website. Then if the agree, the website will let the patient talk with the survivor
and ask questions.
Provide financial aid. Not many people supported this idea in the survey. I believe the country is
helping on that but sometimes patients outside country might need urgent finance aid where
the government process take longer time. Instead the website can provide that help.
Provide personal assistants to help cancer patients who need daily care. That can be done by
providing specialist and experts in the cancer treatment field.
A participant in the survey suggested creating support groups for patients. I think this could be
done by gathering the patients in one place and let them meet and talk with each other. This
would give them some sort of support and they will feel that they are not alone battling this
disease.

Prepare them when they are just diagnosed. This could be done by letting them talk with one
of the experts in cancer filed who will tell them what to do later and what changed will happen
to their life. Some patients might need a psychological help especially if they feel stressed, afraid
or had social problems. They can talk with a psychological doctor who will make them feel
better. In addition, the website can recommend for them asking multiple doctors opinions
regarding their diagnosis which help them understand their situation more.
Help them live healthy after they finish the treatment whether or not they get cured. This can
be done by suggesting what to avoid and what diet to follow. Also, how to stay healthy by doing
some exercises.

Conclusion
Similar types of websites have succeeded in helping other people in other countries (for example the
live strong website) so my website idea can help patients in Qatar. I know creating a website like this is
not something easy because the cancer issue is not small. However, it can happen. According to my
survey, many people agreed with the need for this website. I believe all people want to help cancer
patients and I believe if some thoughts were put toward creating this website, it will happen. It can then
be advertise and people will get used to it. At beginning it will be something new and so some trust need
to be built between the website and Qatari society. I strongly believe that people who have cancer will
love to have this website because they are waiting, they are always waiting for a hope, for a help, and
for a cure. I think we should care about cancer patients more; we need to shift the attention more
toward them to help them live better lives.

Work Cited
-

Mirel, Barbara. "How Can Technical Communicators Evaluate the

Usability of Artifacts?" Solving Problems in Technical
Communication. Ed. Johndan and stuart. Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press, 2013.

LIVESTRONG Foundation. Non-Profit Organization that unites,

inspires and empowers people affected by cancer, 1997. Web. 14
June. 2015.

Imerman Angels. Cancer Support Community, 2003. Web. 14 June.

2015.