Pan-PATH & mychoice™ – Fox Chase Cancer Center
Increasing accessibility to bilingual patient education and empowerment resources for underrepresented patient audiences
OVERVIEW
Cancer patients and caregivers are often forced to navigate complex treatment decisions while managing fear, urgency, and information overload. For underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, that burden is compounded by systemic barriers — including language differences, limited access to culturally relevant resources, and a lack of clear guidance around clinical trial options.
We partnered with FCCC to strengthen two mission-critical platforms — Pan-PATH and mychoice™ — to help patients feel informed, supported, and empowered at every stage of their journey.
PAIN POINTS & CHALLENGES
Clinical trial participation remains disproportionately low among Black and Hispanic patients with cancer. FCCC recognized an urgent need to address gaps in awareness, accessibility, and trust while ensuring patients and caregivers could quickly find resources that matched their real-world needs.
To succeed, the platforms needed to be:
- Bilingual (English/Spanish)
- HIPAA-compliant
- Easy to manage internally, even for teams new to WordPress
- Designed to support patients navigating emotionally taxing information
- Built around actionable pathways, not overwhelming information dumps
In the U.S., 21.5% of individuals aged 5+ speak a language other than English at home and 8.2% have Limited English Proficiency (LEP). LEP individuals experience lower access to healthcare services, poorer health outcomes, and higher levels of uninsurance.
PAN-PATH
A patient-first resource hub for pancreatic cancer support
Our goal for the Pan-PATH website was to boost clinical trial participation by helping FCCC transform how pancreatic cancer resources are organized, presented, and accessed.
SOLUTIONS: STRATEGY MEETS CREATIVITY
UX, Information Architecture & Content Strategy
Rather than treating the site as a library of disconnected content, we ensured that Pan-PATH would function as a guided support platform — helping patients and caregivers find what they need, when they need it. The broad array of content spans patient education materials, provider training, and physician resources for clinical trial-eligible patients.
To better support individualized journeys, Pan-PATH incorporates an interactive assessment designed to help users get started by identifying their needs across key topic areas and then connecting with information that matches their intent and user journey. These paths are defined by the questions they’re often asking in the moment:
- What are my treatment options?
- Should I consider a clinical trial?
- What support is available for nutrition and caregiving?
- What happens next?
To keep the experience approachable and meet patients where they are emotionally, cognitively, and situationally, we created a layered content ecosystem that balances simplicity with depth:
- High-level quick tips and key takeaways are easiest to access for immediate needs
- Deeper resources include PDFs, videos, and expanded educational materials
- A section that is dedicated to comprehensive Spanish-language resources
Visual Design
Cancer-related content requires a different kind of pacing. The visual design of Pan-PATH is intentionally calm, clean, and human — supporting comprehension while reinforcing clarity and trust while reducing cognitive load. A restrained layout, clear hierarchy, and supportive imagery make the experience feel credible but not overly clinical.
Technology Approach
Pan-PATH was built on a Gutenberg-based WordPress platform, ideal for modestly sized sites requiring flexibility, scalability, and easy content management. This approach also ensured the FCCC team could confidently maintain the site internally without requiring advanced technical expertise.
mychoice™
A bilingual interactive tool for clinical trial decision-making
Originally developed by Fox Chase Cancer Center’s Fleisher Lab, mychoice™ is a grant-funded educational tool built to support shared decision-making around clinical trials as a cancer treatment option.
The platform, championed by Dr. Linda Fleisher, PhD, MPH, was the result of years of research and development, and was validated through an implementation study that demonstrated strong usability and patient engagement.
However, the original experience was available only in English, which limited accessibility for Spanish-speaking audiences.
SOLUTIONS: STRATEGY MEETS CREATIVITY
A Fully Translated, 1:1 Bilingual Experience
We partnered closely with the FCCC team to create a fully bilingual version of mychoice™, mirroring the original tool while remaining within grant-funded budget constraints.
Users can now toggle between languages and explore interactive content, including:
- Clinical trial basics
- Common patient concerns and misconceptions
- Real patient stories
- Key questions to ask providers
- Videos and guided decision-making content
- Links to additional support resources
This translation effort ensured that Spanish-speaking patients receive the same quality of information, clarity, and empowerment as English-speaking users.
