Free Mobile App to Help Fight Breast Cancer is Goal of HealthTegra Crowdfunding Campaign Now Live on MedStartr

BSE Aware mobile app will help women learn how to properly perform a breast self-exam (BSE), remind them every month to do it, and log their results

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women will develop breast cancer in their lifetime and one in five of those diagnosed will die of the disease. Seeking to change the world by providing women with free access to a new tool to help fight breast cancer, HealthTegra today embarked on an aggressive crowdfunding campaign to complete the development of its groundbreaking BSE Aware mobile app. Launched on MedStartr, a crowdfunding platform focused on healthcare, the campaign was rolled out this week at the sixth annual Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco.

“We have a huge opportunity with BSE Aware to improve those numbers and hence the chance of a woman alerting her doctor to a change in her breast.”

“Research from the World Health Organization has revealed only a third of American women over 20 perform a breast self-exam (BSE) on a regular basis,” said Susan Brady, managing editor and spokesperson for HealthTegra. “We have a huge opportunity with BSE Aware to improve those numbers and hence the chance of a woman alerting her doctor to a change in her breast.”

Upon completion, HealthTegra’s BSE Aware mobile app will provide women with tutorials on proper techniques for a breast self-exam, send regular reminders via text or email, and even help them log a cumulative history of exams and abnormalities to share with their physician. Designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, the app will be accessible through a computer or smart phone and feature easy-to-use graphics.

According to the Avon Foundation Breast Center at Johns Hopkins Medicine, 40 percent of diagnosed breast cancer cases are initially detected by a woman noticing a lump. More regular adherence to a BSE schedule—and a better understanding of how to properly do a BSE—could save lives.

“The BSE Aware tool will help women become more proactive in checking their breasts and logging the results, which will be immensely helpful to doctors and healthcare workers in the breast health field,” said Alex Fair, founder, MedStartr. “The goal of this campaign is to complete the development of this comprehensive tool and make it freely available.”

To complement BSE Aware, HealthTegra has developed Healthy-Breast.com as an additional resource for encouraging women to be vigilant and proactive about the health of their breasts. The website currently in beta testing includes a geotagged directory to help women find the right local and relevant doctor, support group, and resources to fight breast cancer if necessary.

To make the BSE Aware app available at no cost, HealthTegra is asking for donations of $25 or more in an effort to raise $10,000 in the month-long crowdfunding campaign. Donation awards are provided at each level of giving and can be found on http://www.medstartr.com/projects/79-bse-aware-a-comprehensive-breast-self-exam-app.

About HealthTegra:

Based in San Jose, California, HealthTegra is devoted to helping people take a proactive role in managing their health by developing smart phone technology for health monitoring. Founded in 2010, the team at HealthTegra is determined to make the BSE Aware mobile app available free for people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and eventually throughout the world. For more information, please visit http://www.healthy-breast.com/.