A Cancer Journey Framework: Guiding the Design of Holistic Health Technology

Cancer journeys, encompassing patients’ cancer experiences from diagnosis through survivorship, are complex and diverse. Individuals dealing with cancer must cope with numerous physical and emotional challenges, balancing clinical tasks alongside the responsibilities of daily life. Although resources exist to support patients with their healthcare management, they often focus on a subset of a patient’s health needs. We suggest that designers and researchers could enhance the effectiveness of patient health tools by creating tools that address a broader range of the responsibilities and challenges that patients face when coping with cancer. Understanding the breadth of factors that contribute to a patient’s cancer experience presents a critical challenge in developing holistic patient-centered technology. To further our understanding of the cancer journey, we conducted focus groups and interviews with 31 breast cancer patients. We present a cancer journey framework depicting the responsibilities, challenges, and personal impacts patients face while transitioning from diagnosis through post-treatment survivorship. Through this work, we aim to support the development of health tools that consider a patient’s cancer journey and health needs more broadly, supporting patient’s health management alongside the complexities and priorities of daily life.