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I have a new app out on the App Store today, and it’s my most personal one yet. C1B is a caregiving log that helps families keep track of everything related to the ongoing care of a loved one—from medications and appointments to vitals, symptoms, notes, and daily routines.

Earlier this year, my father was diagnosed with DLBCL, a form of lymphoma. I have been traveling back and forth between the Bay Area and San Diego for weeks at a time as one of his primary caregivers. Treatment for his type of cancer follows a fairly regimented schedule, so at first we got by with a printed binder that listed everything that needed to be done each day. Additionally, we relied on a shared Apple Notes folder, iCloud Drive for documents, a Numbers spreadsheet, and an ongoing WhatsApp thread to keep everyone informed.

The ongoing effects of the chemotherapy and an unfortunate bout of empyema forced us to toss the binder. With each change in his treatment, I would have to reprint new pages to replace the old ones. Before long, the amount of information we were recording had outgrown the tools we were using. None of them were designed for caregiving, and keeping everyone in sync became harder as treatment grew more complicated.

So this was the situation I found myself in several months ago. I looked around for other caregiving applications, but none were tailored for the 24/7 nature of what we required. For us, it went beyond tracking medications. What we really needed was a daily care log whose checklist could change depending on where he was in his treatment cycle. For instance, chemo days on Friday led to a week of recovery with additional medications. That was followed by two weeks of a different daily routine before his next infusion.

C1B, whose name pays a slight homage to the medical droid 2-1B from Star Wars, was built to help other families stay organized through day-to-day caregiving. What I like best about the app is that I can share a profile with my family so they can see what’s happening on a daily basis. When one of my siblings takes a turn in San Diego, I can track their progress from my home in the SF Bay Area. And if we hire an outside caregiver, we can give them access to my dad’s profile so they can check off daily tasks and record their notes and observations.

Quite frankly, this is the app I never wanted to have to write. It’s also an app that I hope many people never have to use. Unfortunately, many of us eventually find ourselves in exactly this situation—caring for an aging parent, a spouse, or even ourselves. And although C1B was born out of caregiving, it also works well as a personal daily log. You can record meals, medications, sleep, tasks, vitals, appointments, and the small events that make up everyday life.

My father is still undergoing treatment, but he’s made very good progress so far. C1B has helped our family stay coordinated through every step of his care, and I hope it helps other families navigate their own caregiving journeys.

If you know a family caring for a loved one, share C1B with them.

C1B is available for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. You can use it for free, with optional subscriptions and a lifetime purchase that unlock features like shared care profiles, exports, and advanced day planning.

• Download from the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6768794763
• Website: https://c1b.app
• Press Kit: https://c1b.app/press