In our last article, we introduced the tools OncoEd is building: a digital platform, a mobile app, an AI-supported chatbot, and hospital kiosks. This article is a practical orientation, a walkthrough of how to actually use the platform once it is available to you, written for anyone picking it up for the first time.

You do not need any technical experience to use OncoEd. Everything described below has been designed and tested with patients, including people who are not confident with technology.

What you will learn

  • How to access the OncoEd platform, on your own device or via a hospital kiosk
  • How content is organised, so you can find what is relevant to your stage of treatment
  • How to use the mobile app and chatbot, and what they are not designed to do

Getting started

The OncoEd platform is web-based, which means there is nothing to install to start using it, it works in a browser on a phone, tablet or computer. If you prefer a dedicated app on your phone, the OncoEd mobile app offers the same core content along with a few features designed specifically for day-to-day use, described below.

If you do not have your own device, or would simply rather not use one, a pilot interactive kiosk is being installed in a partner hospital. It offers the same educational content, with no login and no device of your own required; you can use it while you wait for an appointment.

Finding content that is relevant to you

Rather than presenting everything at once, the platform organises content around the patient journey: diagnosis and orientation, active treatment, side effects and support, and life after treatment. When you first log in, you will be asked a few simple questions about where you are in your own journey, so the platform can show you the most relevant material first.

This means two patients using OncoEd on the same day may see quite different content: someone newly diagnosed will be shown orientation material, while someone further into treatment will see content about managing side effects. You can always browse beyond what is suggested to you; the personalisation is a starting point, not a restriction.

Using the mobile app

The OncoEd mobile app is built for the practical side of treatment, alongside the educational content. Its main features are:

  • Medication and appointment reminders, so nothing important gets missed
  • Treatment tracking, so you and your carers can see what has been done and what is coming next
  • Symptom monitoring, so you can note how you are feeling as it happens, rather than trying to remember it later at an appointment
  • Telehealth features, making it easier to stay in touch with your care team between visits

Getting quick answers with the chatbot

Many of the questions patients have are common ones: “Can I eat this while on treatment?”, “Is this side effect something to worry about?”, “What should I bring to my first radiotherapy session?” The OncoEd chatbot, built into the platform, is designed to answer exactly these kinds of general questions immediately, using the project’s own reviewed content.

It is worth being clear about what the chatbot is not. It is not a doctor, and it cannot give you advice about your own specific case. If a question needs individual medical judgement (anything about your own results, symptoms or medication) the chatbot will point you back to your care team rather than attempting to answer it itself.

Accessibility, in five languages

The platform is built to the WCAG 2.1 accessibility standard, and includes text-to-speech, a high-contrast display mode, screen reader compatibility, subtitles, and sign language options where video content is used. All content is available in five languages, reviewed for plain language and cultural fit rather than machine-translated, so that it reads naturally in each language.

Your privacy and your data

Any personal or health information you enter for symptom tracking, for example, is handled under GDPR, with secure authentication and encryption. You are always in control of what you choose to record, and the same information is never required simply to read the educational content.

References & Follow-up

  • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 — W3C: w3.org/TR/WCAG21
  • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) — Official text: gdpr.eu
  • OncoEd project overview — “What OncoEd Will Deliver”: oncoed.org


All OncoEd materials are educational. They do not replace advice from a patient’s own medical team.

Follow the project

Website: oncoed.org

LinkedIn: OncoEd

Funded by the European Union, Erasmus+ Cooperation Partnership in Adult Education. KA220-ADU-BF389AFE OncoED: Digital Health Literacy for Cancer Patients Across Europe · 2025–2027