17-year-old Kyle Robinson is playing a game called Re-Mission. It has flashy visuals, lots of action, and a robot hero named Roxxi who goes around administering chemotherapy to cancer patients.
“It gets across the message if you don’t take your medicine your cancer could come back,” said Kyle.
Kyle was part of a research project designed to measure the effectiveness of the Re-Mission video game. It was given to young patients at cancer centers throughout the country – including the Van Elslander center at St. John Hospital.
Teens and young adults are notorious for missing doses of their medication, so it’s important to make patients realize that compliance will improve their chances for survival.
Researchers found patients who played the game had higher levels of chemotherapy drugs in their blood. They took their antibiotics more consistently and the learned important cancer-related information faster and they felt more in-control of their health.
Kyle says he learned some things while he was having fun with the game.
“I didn’t know the cancer could come back if you didn’t take your medicine,” he said.
Kyle’s chemotherapy included taking a pill once a day.
“I’d be like I’ll do it later and put it off. After the game, I took it as soon as I could,” he said.
Kyle was the perfect candidate for a game like this because if he had been given the information in a book, he says, he wouldn’t have read it.
If it had been a movie, he would have gotten bored and turned it off or a class…he wouldn’t have gone.
But in a video game...
“I played the game and learned quite a bit. I think the video game is probably the best way,” said Kyle.
For more information about Re-Mission visit
www.re-mission.net