Jul 11, 2019   SOURCE: PR NewsWire

HealthTree® Patient Portal Surpasses 4,200 Users Representing 4% of All Multiple Myeloma Patients in the U.S.

SALT LAKE CITY, July 11, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- HealthTree®, the first and only online portal for multiple myeloma cancer patients to find their best treatment options and help accelerate a cure, today announced it has reached more than 4,200 patient users on its unique platform. Designed primarily to help patients to navigate their disease in a comprehensive way, HealthTree.org also serves as a database for the research community. Representing approximately 4% of all U.S. patients with multiple myeloma, a form of blood cancer, HealthTree.org becomes the largest single database of multiple myeloma patients ever developed.

HealthTree.org is part of the Myeloma Crowd, funded by the CrowdCare Foundation, created by multiple myeloma patient, Jenny Ahlstrom. HealthTree.org enables myeloma patients to:

    --  Explore their treatment options based on relevant factors including
        prior treatments, myeloma genetics and outcomes
    --  Find personally relevant clinical trials that they are eligible to join
    --  Track their disease in a single place, pooling data from multiple
        facilities
    --  Share their myeloma story, including patient-reported outcomes
    --  Learn about myeloma and become empowered through HealthTree University
    --  Contribute de-identified data to advance a cure

Multiple Myeloma takes the lives of half of all patients within the first five years following diagnosis.

"Myeloma patients need the tools to evaluate their treatment options quickly and in the context of their particular circumstances; HealthTree is the only resource that makes that possible and is available today," said Ahlstrom. "HealthTree is the tool I wish I had when I was first diagnosed. As I continue to fight this disease, I want to empower other patients with the knowledge and resources that they need to live longer and move us all closer to a cure."

In addition to serving patients, HealthTree.org provides qualified physicians and researchers with free access to longitudinal, de-identified data that could help generate hypotheses, find new treatment scenarios and ultimately determine a cure.

"Most patient registries, databases and clinical trials are open loop," says Paul Ahlstrom, co-founder of the CrowdCare Foundation. "They contain a limited number of patients and do not capture long-term patient outcomes. HealthTree invites patients to share their entire myeloma experience so researchers can identify the most effective real-world treatment strategies."

HealthTree.org was recently featured on the TODAY Show where founder Jenny Ahlstrom and her husband Paul spoke about the importance of empowering patients to be part of the cure. As a supplement to HealthTree.org, Myeloma Crowd recently launched its Myeloma Coach program where patients well-versed in the HealthTree platform mentor newly joined patients on how to navigate it. Following significant progress towards determining a cure for myeloma, Ahlstrom has future plans to expand HealthTree.org to the treatment of other types of cancer and terminal diseases.

HealthTree is free to myeloma patients. For more information, visit www.HealthTree.org.

About HealthTree.org
HealthTree.org is an online community tool that helps myeloma patients explore their best treatment options, find clinical trials based on their stage of disease and lab values, and contribute their de-identified data to accelerate a cure. HealthTree.org is a division of the CrowdCare Foundation, a patient-driven 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The Myeloma Crowd provides patient education, advocacy and research funding for multiple myeloma. Jennifer Ahlstrom founded the CrowdCare Foundation, Myeloma Crowd and also hosts online radio interviews with top myeloma specialists, live patient meetings and provides data solutions like HealthTree to drive to a cure. www.HealthTree.org.

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SOURCE Myeloma Crowd: CrowdCare Foundation