This Wellness App Supports People Affected By Cancer, The Industry Should Take Note

LONDON, United Kingdom — Wellness for Cancer, a visionary charity founded and led by Julie Bach, has launched a new app for people touched by cancer, as part of an ongoing bid to make the wellness industry more inclusive.

Kaleidoscope View, a first-of-its-kind app, featuring content from some of the biggest names in spa and wellness, including Six Senses, Kamalaya and Biologique Recherche has been designed to give people the tools needed to create a more bespoke wellness experience.  

Unlike most wellness tools for people touched by cancer, which are learned at a cancer centre or through cancer support groups, Kaleidoscope View enables learning and participation in wellness practices to be carried out in a more personal and reflective manner.

Having long challenged the top executives in the industry to “stop turning people away who are living with or recovering from cancer” and to acknowledge that “wellness cannot be only for well people, when we live in a dis-eased world”, Bach hopes the app will help to show that it is possible to widen access and cater to those who aren’t deemed ‘well’ — in a way that doesn’t ostracize or stereotype.

“Individuals living with cancer or touched by cancer are not a demographic. They are just as unique as any other human, each with their own set of wellness preferences,” Bach tells Welltodo.

“Don’t assume they want to see “cancer” on everything that they purchase. Cancer is only a part of someone’s whole life, it does not define them as a person or their wellness choices. This is an important distinction,” she adds.

To reflect that, Kaleidoscope View includes a mix of both general wellness content on topics like sleep and anxiety and cancer-specific content, including surgery and end-of-life. It also features guided and specific meditations designed to help those dealing with cancer activate their autonomic nervous system to facilitate healing. This means people can pick and choose their experiences depending on their personal needs, and discover new wellness brands and practices in a way that any wellness consumer would.

“This creates a formula to reinvent how wellness programming is created and delivered to cancer patients and thrivers. This is an initiative that addresses gaps in access, affordability and quality,” explains Bach.

The wellness industry still has a long way to go to make wellness more accessible and inclusive for people affected by cancer, however, with Bach leading the charge, awareness is growing.

Here, Bach shares some of the actions wellness brands should be considering to provide a more empowering, personalised and welcoming experience for all.

• Anchor to your ethos and brand promise. Ask if any of your customers have had or currently have cancer, and ask how that has impacted their experience using your product or service
• Explore underlying thoughts or beliefs that are present within your company — or held by individuals within your business — which might support or prevent you from serving your clients better?
• Identify which services you can adapt or which products may be suitable for any customers that have been touched by cancer. 
• Know your scope of practice — services that may be performed in a therapeutic practice may differ from a hospitality spa environment even with the same therapist.
• Be transparent about what you can and cannot do and be careful not to use words that might confuse the client. 
• Get an accredited training if you plan to work directly with guests or clients. 
• Work with medical centres to develop or support clinical research like several exercise equipment manufacturers and yoga organisations have done.
• Think about how you can support charities in the wellness industry or cancer support arena that are in dire need of volunteers and financial assistance.