The story of how the Screw Cancer charity came into being is really William’s story.
William's Story.
William Yeoward was a designer living and working in London. He was successful and busy.
And then, his life was interrupted by a cancer diagnosis.
William experienced many emotions when he was first diagnosed - mainly confusion and a dose of fear...
unsure of what exactly was going to happen next. This was life without a map!
“I was sent home with information that was not clear. It's not that anyone wasn’t helpful, informative or without care.
It was simply that I was muddled and vital information seemed to be everywhere but not in one place”.
William felt that there needed to be a modern solution - an app where you could store all the key information specific to you and your cancer, uploaded to your phone and/or tablet. This would replace confusion with clarity and give the patient back a sense of control. He felt such an app would offer patients a vital tool to find their way through their own particular maze. William’s experience, and the experience of many other cancer patients, is that understanding helps to bring a degree of peace and positivity – and that is what puts you in a good place to take on the challenges of living with cancer.
William’s great idea brought about the creation of the Screw Cancer Charity in 2016.
Supported by the generosity and enthusiasm of many individual donors and the time and dedication of our board of Trustees –
all of whom were selected by William - he realised his ambition to help people living with cancer.
We are particularly grateful to Julia and Hans Rausing for their substantial and generous support –
from the inception of William’s idea and through every developmental step since.
Since that time the app has gone through two phases of development with William’s initial idea at the very heart.
Thanks to the support of our donors, the app is free to download.
The Screw Cancer app launched in late 2018 and was initially developed to support colorectal cancer patients.
True to William’s vision, the Cancer App is personal to the patient and those close to them.
A quick swipe and up comes key information – vital contacts, medical appointments,
details on medication and when to take it, plus information specific to 23 major cancer types,
as well as links to reputable sources of help, such as who to call if you are worried, scared or just feeling low.
Ultimately, the ambition is to fulfil William’s dream – to offer support to every cancer patient and to help the
“navigate an adjusted life”.
William Yeoward died on 18th June 2019. The world lost an inspiring and very special human being.
He left behind a legacy that only he could have built and a vital part of that legacy is Screw Cancer.
Thank you William.
The mission of the Screw Cancer charity is to develop an easy to use, free to download app that supports
cancer patients, with information relevant for them and their own experience with cancer.
The result of the charity’s work in this field is The Cancer App.
The Cancer App allows patients – and those who care for them – to securely store all the important information relating to their care and treatment – contacts, medications, appointments - along with helpful resources specific to different cancer types.
Our ambition is that The Cancer App is a helpful and practical tool for patients and carers, giving reassurance at a time of uncertainty, whilst providing cancer care specialists with a useful and user friendly device that they can recommend to their patients as part of their ongoing care programme.
The values of Screw Cancer are to be:
· Patient- focused– thinking of the individual first
· Understanding and empathetic
· Accessible – easy to use and free to all
· Collaborative – science, patients and care givers working together
· Helpful and practical
· To offer something that is new, and needed by cancer patients
The Board of Trustees is made up of people who William knew personally and/or professionally.
He chose them because he recognised in them the qualities that would help him bring his vision
for The Cancer App to reality and support it into the future.
Due to the generosity of many private donors, the Screw Cancer charity has been able to develop The Cancer App,
and to offer this app as free to download for everyone. We are especially grateful to Julia and Hans Rausing
for their substantial and generous support of Screw Cancer from the inception
of William’s idea and through every stage of the app’s development.
We are so thankful for the financial support we have received, but also for the encouragement and enthusiasm
to bring William’s vision for Screw Cancer, and ultimately The Cancer App, to life.
If you would like to donate, THANK YOU.
You will make a real difference to people living with cancer.