Clarksville cancer survivor develops ‘Feel For Your Life’ app, shares how AI is saving lives
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Clarksville cancer survivor is stepping up to help thousands of women fight cancer with artificial intelligence (AI).
The American Cancer Society estimates 310,720 new cases of breast cancer will be reported and approximately 42,250 women will die from breast cancer in 2024.
Jessica Baladad had a benign tumor removed from her breast at the age of 18. After that experience, Baladad got into the habit of performing monthly self-breast exams. She was 33 years old when, while doing a self-exam, she found a lump. That lump resulted in Baladad getting diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer.
“I became the fourth generation on my dad’s side of the family to be diagnosed, and altogether, 14 women in my family have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and we have no known gene mutation,” Baladad said.
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Baladad underwent 16 rounds of chemo, a double mastectomy, 24 rounds of radiation, a preventative hysterectomy, and reconstruction surgery.
On Friday, May 3, she will celebrate five years in remission.
In sharing her journey, Baladad told News 2 that she would often get asked about her cancer diagnosis.
“‘Jessica, how did you even know to get diagnosed?'” Baladad explained. “And I said, ‘I do my self-exams every month after my menstrual cycle. Aren’t you?’ And it was crickets.”
Those questions planted the seed for the “Feel For Your Life” app in 2021. The app features tools for monthly self-breast exams.
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Now, Baladad is announcing a personal touch to the app that uses AI to walk you through self-examination and cancer treatment.
“If you’re a breast cancer patient, you’re like, ‘I want to seek proton therapy,’ or ‘I want to find an oncologist that’s doing clinical trials.’ I’ve built it so that you can also find those locations easily,” she said.
Through the app’s AI feature, you can type in, “I just found out I have breast cancer. What are my next steps?” The app will give you some recommendations on what to do next, as well as provide you with questions to ask your doctor. The app can also translate a pathology report into simple language.
If you need to hype up a playlist before a screening, just ask for the BreastFriendAI feature.
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“I wanted to build it thinking about the woman, about the patient. What is she going through? What is she experiencing? What was I thinking about?” Baladad explained. “And I really kind of got it when I was building and programming it: Let’s really get in touch with her feelings and show her how it can be relatable. That way, it is easy for her to understand, and it builds trust.”
On Tuesday, April 30, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force released a new recommendation for women to get a mammogram every other year starting at age 40. The original recommended screening age was anytime between 40 and 50.
Baladad told News 2 this is a step forward in continuing the conversation about breast cancer detection.
“Finding a great doctor, doing your self-exams, understanding your breast density, and knowing your genetic disposition to cancer — those are great things to get you started in your breast health advocacy,” Baladad emphasized.
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