In oncology, the challenge isn’t always about diagnosing or treating cancer, it’s about helping patients truly understand what is happening to them. At times, even the most detailed consultations can miss the mark when patients are trying to make sense of unfamiliar terminology, long treatment timelines, and rapidly shifting emotions. They end up forgetting approximately 80% of what is told by their doctors, and what they are able to recall isn’t enough.
Pancreatic cancer consultations, in particular, test the balance between medical precision and human comprehension. They are among the most demanding conversations an oncologist can have. The diagnosis carries emotional weight and treatment decisions often need to be made quickly, which can involve multiple modalities and uncertain prognoses, all of which can overwhelm even the most active listener.
When emotions are high, communication becomes an essential part of the treatment itself. And in those moments, the oncologist’s task extends far beyond explaining the treatment plan. It’s about helping the patient understand what’s happening, what comes next, and why. Yet, under the pressure of time and emotion, doctors find that complex details can blur in translation. Patients leave the room with partial understanding, rising anxiety, and a need to revisit the same questions later.
The clinical consequence is subtle but significant: misunderstanding leads to missed follow-ups, treatment hesitation, and eroding trust, and these factors directly affect overall patient adherence and outcomes.
But this gap between what’s said and what’s absorbed isn’t a reflection of communication skill; it’s of human limits under stress. And this is where the right kind of visual, structured support can save the conversation – one that patients can retain, revisit, and act upon.
This case study from Moffitt Cancer Center explores how MyCareGorithm transformed consultations, turning complex, emotionally charged conversations into clear, confident exchanges that strengthened both understanding and connection.
“When patients understand, they trust. When they trust, they follow through.”
How the Traditional Consultation Works
Due to a rise in cancer cases, oncologists’ workload has been increasing as well. They have to manage more patients in less time. But oncology is a field that cannot solely work on medical concepts and jargons. When patients enter the exam room, they are looking for both diagnosis and compassion, to understand and be understood, and find a sense of control in a situation that is anything but.
However, when compassion collides with time, empathy becomes a luxury.
For most oncologists, that 10-15 minutes of conversation becomes a balancing act. They try to do it all: explain the disease, outline the prognosis, and walk through treatment options. They use reports, scans, printed materials, sometimes even Google searched images to make things easier to grasp. And with all those medical details, emotions get left behind.
Yet, despite their best efforts, many patients walk out with fragments of what was said.
They nod their heads during consultation but later forget the key details. Family members rely on scribbled notes and internet searches to fill in the gaps. And their emotional burden goes unattended. Doctors, in turn, find themselves re-explaining the same information in follow-ups, losing valuable time, and in the process, the emotional bandwidth needed to connect.
This was the consultation reality, until technology began simplifying the way we communicate care.
MyCareGorithm Introduces A New Way to Communicate
At Moffitt Cancer Center, where oncologists navigate some of the most complex cancer cases, the introduction of MyCareGorithm brought a powerful shift in how consultations unfolded.
In their consultations, oncologists used the digital tool to guide their discussions with 20 pancreatic cancer patients. Instead of beginning with medical terminology, they opened the MyCareGorithm interface, which translated patients’ data into clear, visual sequences, from diagnosis to treatment options, to next steps and notes.
With this, those 10-15 minutes in the consultation room began to feel different, becoming calmer, clearer, and more connected. Patients could see their path rather than struggle to piece it together from fragmented memory and scribbled notes. Each step, be it surgery, chemotherapy, follow-ups, appeared as part of a cohesive plan, supported by simple language and visual aids that made sense in real time.
Oncologists, in turn, could focus more on the conversation and connecting with their patients, instead of rushing through diagrams and repeating medical terms. They could pause, check comprehension, and build trust without losing any time.
“The platform revolutionizes patient communication through high-quality visuals and expert-validated content, making complex information easy to understand,” says a radiation oncologist. “It enhances patient trust, satisfaction, and supports better treatment decisions.”
And the impact didn’t end when the consultation did.
At the end of the appointment, the patient left with a sharable summary of their case that they could revisit at their home, and even share with their family, turning anxiety into reassurance.
For oncologists, this meant less repeated explanation, fewer clarification calls, and more meaningful conversations in follow-ups. And the discussion shifted from “What does this mean?” to “What can I do next?”. In this way, the conversation didn’t just become more efficient, it became more human.
Tangible Outcomes in Practice
When the team surveyed patients and oncologists after their pancreatic cancer consultations with MyCareGorithm, the result spoke for themselves.
Patients reported that they could understand and explain their treatment plan with far greater accuracy. What used to be fragmented recollection of their diagnosis became a clear, retained narrative. Many described being visual learners, and the use of the tool helped them grasp the medical complexity of the consultation.
Oncologists, too, noted an immediate difference. Consultations felt less rushed and more focused. With a clear, visual guide leading the discussion, they could spend less time clarifying logistics and more time addressing emotional concerns and patient-specific questions.
Study Highlights
- The tool enhanced the understanding of their disease and treatment plan
88% patients strongly agreed
- It increased their confidence in the provider’s ability to care
100% strongly agreed
- It influenced their decision to have additional services with Moffitt
100% agreed, with 75% saying that they were strongly influenced
- The tool impacted their comprehension of potential treatment options
100% of patients agreed
Moreover, compared to their previous consultations (if they had any), 100% of patients gave a positive review of their consultation with MyCareGorithm, with 63% saying that it was significantly better compared to their earlier ones.
One patient said:
“When Doctor used this tool and drew everything, it helped me to be more confident and be excited about surgery and chemo. This is so new to me, the pictures helped, and she was wonderful using it all.”
The changes, though, extended even beyond the numbers:
- Fewer clarification calls: Patients reached out less frequently with questions that had already been addressed in the consultation.
- Better family understanding: Shared access to the case reduced confusion and reliance on unverified online sources, helping with better decision-making.
- More informed follow-ups: Patients arrived with a stronger grasp of their treatment path, allowing discussions to move into the next steps.
- Higher patient retention: Patients showed stronger continuity of care, with fewer transfers, fewer second-opinion visits, and higher satisfaction scores over time.
The impact was more than measurable. It was visible in calmer patients, smoother follow-ups, and a renewed sense of partnership between the oncologist and the patient.
Lessons for Oncology Practices
The pancreatic cancer case highlights a simple but powerful truth: clarity improves compliance. When patients fully understand their condition and treatment plan, they are far more likely to follow through with it.
What worked here isn’t limited to only pancreatic cancer. The same principle applies across complex, multi-step treatments, from breast to lung to colorectal cancers, where patients must absorb large volumes of information, manage multiple appointments, and make critical decisions over long timelines.
For oncologists, this case reinforces that emotional care doesn’t have to mean longer consultations or added workload. With the right structure, it can be made efficient, consistent, and scalable. By organizing complex information visually, they free clinicals to focus on what machines can’t, like tone, trust, and reassurance.
When patients leave the consultation with understanding, the emotional bandwidth expands for everyone involved. They no longer carry the fear of the unknown, and their doctors no longer shoulder the weight of repetition and doubt.
And that’s where the real efficiency lies: not in reducing minutes, but in making those 10 minutes count.
The lesson for oncology practices everywhere is simple. Structured communication is not an add-on to clinical care. It is clinical care itself, because understanding is the foundation of every successful treatment journey.
Conclusion
At Moffitt, nothing about the diagnosis changed. The same oncologists delivered the same news, the same diagnosis and treatment plans, the same clinical facts to the same patient. However, it was the experience that was profoundly different, in a good way. What had once felt gibberish and overwhelming became structured, calm, and clear.
That transformation wasn’t about technology replacing humanity; it was about technology amplifying it. MyCareGorithm served as a clinical ally, helping doctors communicate complex realities with more precision and compassion than before, and helping patients see a path forward where there was only fear.
As oncology continues to advance day by day, and year by year, so must the way we communicate its complexity. Every patient entering the exam room deserves to leave their consultation both informed and understood. Because in oncology, clarity isn’t only kindness, but care too. Explore how MyCareGorithm can help you and your team bring clarity to every consultation.