From "Cut it out" to "Breathe Know Go"
Surgery is the most common first step for breast cancer treatment. But for some women, should it be?
One DH team set out to advocate for a BetterMade treatment paradigm — educating women so they could feel empowered in their decision-making and supported in “taking a breath” before moving forward.
Let’s take a breath.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis is overwhelming, and in the case of breast cancer, there’s an added urgency to “cut it out.” Breast cancer is different from other cancer types because it’s often in the pop culture spotlight. So, not only are women often working with a surgeon instead of an oncologist, they are also seeing public figures making healthcare decisions about care that they’re applying to their own journeys.
While surgery is a viable and effective option, what many women did not know is that there are steps to take before surgery that could improve outcomes. What’s more, other healthcare team members are available to them who might propose a different treatment path. That’s where the DH team came in to develop a first-of-its-kind unbranded campaign for Merck Oncology that met women in the critical moments from diagnosis to treatment decision.
A campaign of simple steps.
With a comprehensive website at its center, the Breathe.Know.Go. campaign was founded on three key communication pillars to empower women at every step in the journey of starting treatment:
Breathe. Collect Yourself.
With permission to take a moment to gather information, women could learn about the full care team available to them, better understand breast cancer types and stages, and consider seeking a second opinion to feel more confident in their treatment plans.
Know. You Have Options.
It was important to outline the treatment options before and after surgery. Treatment before surgery, called neoadjuvant treatment, gives women the opportunity to shrink the tumor in order to make surgery less complicated. For example, a positive response to neoadjuvant treatment could downgrade a mastectomy to a lumpectomy.
Go. Move Forward.
Having gained foundational education about their cancer diagnosis and treatment options, women were ready to get prepared physically, emotionally, and mentally, and gather support from healthcare professionals, extended care teams, family, and community alike.
A visual identity that conveyed reality.
In creating the look and feel of the campaign, the DH team put themselves in the shoes of women facing breast cancer. “We had to come up with a visual way to break through. We tried to think: what would that moment look like?” said Gary Wentz in explaining the creative development. The team landed on a time-lapse effect that gave the sense of the world rushing around these women while they stand confidently, embodying the empowerment of being in control.
Achieving better outcomes.
A post-campaign analysis revealed the results: Breathe.Know.Go. reached 11,000,000 people over the lifecycle of the campaign and drove 8,000 visits to oncologists. The behavior change the DH team set out to achieve was realized. As for the women this campaign sought to help: taking a breath may have been the best decision they made in the face of breast cancer.