Connecting cancer, everywhere

75 years after the FDA approved the first chemotherapy, cancer care is still stuck in an uncomfortable space between glorious revolution and social injustice. Breakthrough therapies are offering new hope for patients with advanced cancers, but with many health systems not set up to deliver them fairly, access is often restricted to the privileged few. Science is outpacing the practice of medicine, and even though incredible work is being done, it isn’t enough. Something more, and something different, is needed.

The worldwide cancer epidemic shows no signs of stopping. Global incidence is forecast to increase by 55% by 2040, with widening equity gaps only underlining that we’re not making the most of advances in medicine. Just 29% of low-income countries say cancer medicines are ‘generally available’ to their populations, while in more developed markets in Europe, the gap between marketing approval and access to new cancer drugs can be as long as 2.5 years. No wonder we see such disparity in outcomes by race, gender, socioeconomic status and other social determinants of health.

At a Glance

55%

Global incidence is forecast to increase by 55% by 2040

Modern oncology is brilliant but broken. Science has come so far, but humanity has been left behind. Groundbreaking therapies are out there, but highly-pressured oncologists face challenges in knowing what they are and how to access them. Treatment selection is increasingly complicated – with more MOAs, biomarkers and modalities, more combination therapies and novel sequencing, and more systemic factors constraining access. As cancer pathways become harder to navigate, treatment teams and patients need help.

Communications has a big role to play in driving improvements in oncology care. As creative agencies, the onus is on us to create medical education that helps doctors and patients find their way through cancer, maximizing data to tell meaningful stories, and mastering creativity to bring hearts and minds with us. But we won’t succeed by doing more of the same.

Creativity doesn’t flourish in silos, it grows through collaboration, diversity, and cross-fertilization of ideas. Brand communications – and everything that goes into it – must connect, right across the board, if it’s to hit home. Everything from clinical development and access to commercialization and LoE needs to dovetail with disease leadership, patient advocacy, customer experience and clinical expertise (and much more besides) to create joined up communications that drive change.

No-one can take on cancer alone, so our challenge is to get to the heart of everything it touches. That means thinking differently at every part of the cancer experience, aligning around a connected vision that engages all stakeholders from end-to-end.

Voices from every part of the oncology ecosystem – clinicians, scientists, policymakers, patients, pharma, tech, and more – need to come together to inspire solutions that connect with real life.

If we double down on the power of cross-functional collaboration – building a real understanding of the lives that cancer affects – we can reimagine experiences with radical empathy and begin to solve complex problems in innovative new ways.

So, 75 years after the first chemotherapy was approved, we are at cusp of a revolution in cancer care. But if we’re going to use creative communications to end the epidemic, we must harness the power of the whole ecosystem – and build coalitions and partnerships that help us get to the heart of cancer, wherever it lives