Cancer
Platform
Designing a digital tool to support people affected by cancer with the information, services and stories they need.
When a cancer diagnosis sends you searching, where do you turn? We are working with Cancer Awareness Trust on designing a place people can trust — bringing clarity, confidence, and hope to all people affected by cancer.
The Challenge
94% of people diagnosed with cancer search for answers online. However, it's been found that nearly one-third of popular social media cancer articles contain misinformation (COIP, 2024). Even those with medical backgrounds often feel overwhelmed or misled. Understandably, the experience is still more difficult for people with lower health literacy or limited digital access.
The challenge isn't a lack of information — it's knowing what information to trust, and how and where to find it at the relevant point in your cancer journey.
Cancer Awareness Trust (CAT) came to ustwo to create a better way forward. Together, we set out to define the right product to meet cancer patients where they are, and build the technical and experiential foundations for a platform people could depend on.
The Vision
CAT's mission is to build Cancer Platform: a new kind of digital tool — one that empowers people with reliable and trusted cancer information, subsequently shifting cancer outcomes globally. The platform should serve everyone affected by cancer, not just patients: families, friends, and carers alike. It aims to provide people with a greater sense of hope and optimism on their journey.
Our Process
We led CAT through a Discovery exercise, combining design-led research and technical exploration to answer one core question: what kind of experience does someone need when cancer turns their world upside down?
Working in close partnership with Cancer Awareness Trust, we have brought a mix of strategic thinking, product craft, and deep user empathy to an incredibly complex space. In just a few weeks, we moved from ambiguity to actionable clarity — defining what this product should be, how it should feel, and why it matters.
Through interviews with patients, clinicians, and sector leaders, we uncovered four unmet needs that would shape everything from content structure to AI interaction:
- Empower me with clarity and confidence
- Comfort and guide me along the way
- Recognise me as an individual
- Show me a positive perspective
Following these guiding principles, our team designed and tested early experiences, defined interaction patterns, and helped shape a product roadmap that would begin with a UK-based pilot, then scale to meet the needs of millions.
Built for trust, designed with care
We explored a range of technical models before building a functional Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) knowledge base prototype using Amazon Bedrock. Our growing list of sources are reviewed and checked by a medical specialist team.
To make the experience feel human rather than clinical, we used prompt iteration to refine tone, structure, and reading level. We also built internal tools to help medical professionals review and score the accuracy of responses.
We helped Cancer Platform evolve from an ambitious idea to a pilot-ready product foundation in a matter of months. Our work included:
- A clear product proposition and experience vision
- A working prototype of the AI-powered Q&A experience
- A clinician assessment tool for response review
- A technical roadmap and pilot plan
- Strengthening how the wider CAT team collaborates, prioritises, and learns from users
- Support across early Community Social events and fundraising efforts
When making every design decision, we put the patient first — testing key features with people affected by prostate and breast cancer to make sure the experience felt useful, intuitive, and emotionally right.
It’s a true collaboration and the flexibility is exactly what we need. The alignment of values, people and mission is something we’d never find anywhere else.
Why It Matters, and What's Next
When you're reeling from a diagnosis, knowledge becomes more than just information. It becomes a lifeline. In the flood of questions that follows, having access to trusted, human-centered answers can shift how people move through fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
With a strong foundation in place, we're now gearing up to run a pilot with people affected by prostate and breast cancer in the UK. The work done so far has helped galvanise the organisation around a clear, shared vision — one that's centered on the people it serves.
We're proud to be a founding partner on this journey, and we know it will take a community to bring it to life.
If you would like to help shape the future of cancer navigation, sign up to join Cancer Platform's Community.
Keen to get involved?
If you think you have something to offer that could support our work, we'd love to hear from you.
