Growing Breast Cancer Surgical Volume Through Patient Stories and Performance Marketing

I had the opportunity to attend the NACCDO-CMCA Conference in Toronto. The event, organized by the National Association of Cancer Center Development Offices (NACCDO) and the Cancer Marketing & Communications Association (CMCA), brought together professionals from development, marketing, communications, and public relations within National Cancer Institute-designated cancer centers. It was an incredibly collaborative few days discussing the challenges we face and solutions we've found to be most effective. 

On the second day of the event, I joined Barb Rybacki and Sarah Darcy, two of our partners from Penn Medicine's Abramson Cancer Center, to discuss our work in support of their breast cancer care services. 

During our presentation, we shared a story that reflects a challenge many leaders are facing today: influencing patient access, trust, and growth through marketing. Our objective was clear: grow surgical volume for breast cancer care while delivering a faster, more compassionate patient experience. All while competition in the market was steadily increasing.

The case study we presented offers a clear lesson for healthcare marketers: sustainable growth requires aligning compelling creative, performance-minded digital strategy, and patient-centric operational practices. 

Building Trust While Removing Barriers to Care

Many health systems assume their growth challenges stem from awareness gaps. The barriers, as these systems find out, run deeper. As outlined in the presentation, Penn Medicine needed to address:

• Friction in accessing care 
• Leakage across the patient journey 
• Limited awareness of capabilities 
• An “inaccessible” brand perception 

These are not marketing problems alone. They are system-level challenges that require coordination and collaboration across administrative leadership, clinical stakeholders, operations, and marketing.

Which raises the fundamental question: How do you build trust while removing barriers to care? 

A Growth Model to Support Alignment 

The Penn Medicine marketing team adopted a three-part model to create alignment across partners and stakeholders:

• A streamlined operational system that enables access 
• A compelling story that builds trust 
• A disciplined digital strategy that drives scale 

When one is missing, the patient experience suffers and performance lags. When all three align, the patient experience improves and growth accelerates.

This model became the foundation for Penn Medicine’s approach.

Why Story Matters More Than Ever

Campaign messaging often defaults to promoting cutting-edge technology, USNWR rankings, or clinical expertise. While important, these messages rarely move patients to pay attention, let alone act.

Patients are people and people connect with stories. 

That insight led to a strategic pivot, from promoting innovation to telling a human story.

Enter Team Kate.

Kate’s story, from breast cancer diagnosis through personalized treatment, resonated because it touched on three critical elements:

• Authenticity 
• Relatability 
• Trust 

Importantly, Kate's story aligned with Penn Medicine’s mission and gave prospective patients something more powerful than information: confidence. 

  

Marketing Alone Can’t Fix Access, But It Can Activate It

Even the most compelling story fails if the system behind it doesn’t support action. This is where many organizations fall short: They promote care that patients can’t easily access. To address this, Penn Medicine implemented a Rapid Access Program designed to:

• Connect patients with care within 24–48 hours 
• Reduce anxiety during diagnosis 
• Accelerate time to treatment  

These operational improvements became a core part of the marketing message. By integrating access strategy into campaigns, through landing pages, clear calls-to-action, and call center coordination, marketing moved from bringing awareness to supporting activation.

Patients don’t connect with capabilities; they connect with people. When you pair authentic stories with seamless access, marketing can become a growth engine.

Strategic Media Turns Engagement into Action

With the story and operational system aligned, we had the opportunity to develop, execute, and optimize a performance-first digital media strategy. Our approach was disciplined and iterative:

• Test and learn across channels 
• Scale what drives performance 
• Continuously optimize investment 

Campaigns spanned search, display, paid social, and video, with each channel reinforcing the same core narrative while targeting high-intent audiences.

The results demonstrate what happens when media strategy meets purpose:

• +91% increase in engagement (CTR) 
• +86% increase in lead generation 
• +95% increase in patient visits 
• 16–22% growth in breast cancer surgical volumes

And, critically, the work translated into real patient impact:

• Faster time to treatment 
• Shorter diagnostic timelines 
• Improved patient experience 

What You Can Apply Now

For marketing and growth leaders, the implication is clear: Meaningful growth requires organizational alignment around a shared model.

Start here:

1. Identify the root barriers to growth, not just the symptoms
2. Align stakeholders across marketing, access, and clinical teams
3. Find and rally around an authentic patient story
4. Invest in media strategies that scale what works 
5. Continuously refine based on performance data 

What you'll end up with is a system that demands collaboration, clarity, and a willingness to challenge assumptions.

Final Thought: Find Your “Kate”

Every health system has powerful patient stories. The difference between average and exceptional marketing is whether those stories are discovered, activated, and scaled effectively.

If you’d like to explore the full framework, examples, and results in more detail, download the presentation here: https://bit.ly/43csUmy