How we handle your data
In short: your reports go directly to your coordinator over WhatsApp or Telegram, not to a server we run. We collect a small case record only with your explicit, unbundled consent. Named-physician review is being onboarded — until it is live, we say so plainly instead of claiming it.
What happens to the reports you send
Today, medical reports (pathology, imaging, discharge summaries) travel directly to your coordinator over WhatsApp or Telegram — the same apps you already have on your phone. The upload panel on the second-opinion form lets you preview and organize files before sending, but the files themselves are not transmitted to, or stored on, a server we operate — they reach your coordinator only when you actually send them, over WhatsApp or Telegram, or hand them over another way you choose.
That means the security of the report itself is that messaging app’s own: WhatsApp encrypts standard chats end-to-end by default. Telegram’s standard cloud chats are encrypted in transit and on Telegram’s own servers, but are end-to-end encrypted only inside a “Secret Chat” — if that distinction matters to you, ask your coordinator to start one, or use WhatsApp instead.
What we collect through the intake form
Separately from the files themselves, the second-opinion form can capture a small case record — your name, a contact handle, and your cancer type — but only if you tick the optional consent checkbox on the reports step. This is never bundled with sending your files: leaving it unticked and messaging your coordinator directly works exactly the same way.
That intake system is still being activated. Until it is, ticking the box captures nothing at all — the case record is discarded, not stored anywhere, and your coordinator still receives your case the same way, through the messenger handoff.
Who can actually see your information
Your coordinator — the person on the WhatsApp/Telegram thread you message — sees whatever you send them directly.
We are honest that named, verified physician review is being onboarded and is not yet live. We will not claim “the reviewing physician sees your file” until a real, consented physician actually reviews cases under that description — see what is verified on this site today.
Hospitals see an anonymized case summary — no name, no contact details — until you personally approve a quote and give written consent to proceed with admission paperwork.
Storage and deletion
We do not currently operate our own file storage. Your reports live in the WhatsApp or Telegram chat you have with your coordinator, governed by that app’s own retention — you (or your coordinator, on request) can delete that chat at any time, the same way you would delete any conversation on your phone.
If a case record is logged through the intake system described above, it is never touched by analytics or shared with advertisers; on request we delete it within 30 days and confirm the deletion in writing to care@oncologyistanbul.com.
Legal basis and your rights (GDPR Art. 9 / KVKK)
A cancer diagnosis or treatment history is special-category health data under GDPR Article 9. We process it only on the basis of your explicit consent (Article 9(2)(a)) — the checkbox on the reports step, or your own decision to send reports over a messenger app you control.
You may request a copy, correction, or deletion of any case record we hold at any time, free of charge, by writing to care@oncologyistanbul.com. We are operated by an Estonia-registered entity, so processing is primarily governed by the GDPR — you may complain to the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon) or your own local supervisory authority. Where a hospital or coordination step also involves Turkey, the Turkish KVKK applies alongside it. See the full Privacy Policy for the formal statement, and this page for the plain-language account of what actually happens today.