2 yrs
ground-up build
Case study · Cancer support · 2-year build
Cancer patient support — matching algorithm, community, evidence-based content.
Dr. Zach Dovey, with experience treating patients at world-renowned cancer centers, came to us with a vision: a unified platform for cancer and post-cancer patients combining evidence-based medical content, peer matching, and emotional support. Two years and 16 specialists later, NowWhat is live in the UK.
Case · Startups
shippedUnited Kingdom · Cancer support
16
specialists across the engagement
Matching
algorithm by diagnosis + treatment
All-in-one
info + portal + community
Stack·
Vue.js · PHP Hyperf · Socket.IO
2 yrs
ground-up build
16
specialists across the engagement
Matching
algorithm by diagnosis + treatment
All-in-one
info + portal + community
The challenge
Three problems — all at once.
Dr. Zach Dovey, who'd treated cancer patients at world-renowned centers globally, identified a clear gap: patients lacked reliable, practical advice combined with emotional support. Existing resources were fragmented across multiple sites.
His vision required an algorithm-matched community — connecting patients with similar diagnoses, treatments, or stages — and a content layer of scientifically-grounded advice across treatments, lifestyle, and diet.
Critically, the platform had to serve patients whose medical appointments had ended — helping them manage side-effects, cope with recurrence anxiety, and lead a healthy life afterward. None of that existed in one place.
What we did
Seven specific things.
- 01Ran product discovery to translate the founder's vision into a buildable scope and identify the requirements that mattered most
- 02Designed a unique matching algorithm allowing visitors to find people with a similar diagnosis or treatment journey
- 03Built the informative website surface: medical articles, Q&A, glossary, real-life patient stories — all managed via WordPress so the editorial team operates independently of engineering
- 04Built the private portal: registration for patients and supporters, medical onboarding, matching, friends-list, private messaging, and a forum scoped for a later release
- 05Spent 40 hours of dedicated discovery on forum technology alone before committing — got the platform foundations right
- 06Shipped via MVP and iterative releases over a 2-year engagement, with seamless communication and a transparent development process
- 07Implemented real-time messaging on Socket.IO + Vue.js front-end for low-latency, persistent peer-to-peer conversations
Tech stack
Vue.jsPHP HyperfSocket.IOWordPress
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