A cancer clinic,
reimagined as a single
afternoon.
HAVEN gathers the surgeon, oncologist, dietitian, therapist, and financial counselor into one orchestrated visit — delivered through a browser, on the patient’s own day.
The building exists wherever a patient can open a browser.
Patients enter the Lobby, then move in and out of each specialist room — surgeon, oncologist, dietitian, therapist, counselor — before returning to a single check-out. Specialists are called in when the patient enters their room, and notes flow back through the team in the same visit.
Schematic plan of a HAVEN care day for a newly-diagnosed genitourinary oncology patient. Patient path shown in terracotta.
- Patient path
- Clinical room
- Supportive service
- Live session
A newly-diagnosed cancer patient attends, on average, eleven appointments across seven days in their first month of care.
* Discovery interviews conducted during the Harvard HealthTech Fellowship in partnership with Mass General Brigham. Eight of nine patients also asked specifically for virtual options.
“Telehealth, as it exists today, is one specialist in a flat video window. It does not solve our problem. Our problem is orchestration.”
— Operational leadership, MGB Cancer Institute
Three acts. One afternoon.
- I.
Intake
A nurse meets the patient first.
History, vitals, distress screening — captured once, then carried through every room that follows. The team begins the day already knowing the patient.
Plate 01 / 03 - II.
The Day
Specialists join in sequence, not in scattered weeks.
Surgeon, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, dietitian, mental health, financial — each enters the visit when the patient enters their room. Notes accumulate live. Recommendations are reconciled by the team, in front of the patient, before anyone leaves.
Plate 02 / 03 - III.
After
One summary. One schedule. One follow-up.
The visit closes with a single plan, issued by the team together — written down, sent to the patient, and reconciled with the EHR. No reconstruction. No conflicting voicemails. No second day.
Plate 03 / 03
A presence in every room.
Every HAVEN patient gets a quiet presence that walks the day with them — translating the plan, remembering what was said, surfacing the right resource, and synthesising the visit before they leave.
- 01
Itinerary, in plain language
What's happening, and why — sequenced for a person, not a chart.
Before the day begins, the companion lays out the order of rooms, who the patient will see, and what each room is for. It also helps draft the questions worth asking. The mental list a complex patient already carries — written down, in language they can act on.
“You'll first speak with a nurse to review your history, then meet your three cancer doctors together, and afterwards talk to a dietitian because of your weight loss.”
Plate 01 / 04 - 02
Memory between rooms
Concerns travel with the patient, room to room.
When something said to the nurse matters for the MDT, the companion brings it along. When something raised in the MDT belongs with psychology or social work, it flags the next conversation. Clinicians see what matters surfaced, without digging through prose.
“Earlier you told the nurse you're having trouble sleeping. Want to bring it up with the MDT?”
Plate 02 / 04 - 03
Education that finds the patient
Whiteboards stop being a library to browse, and start being the right page at the right moment.
Patients don't read static boards of generic text — prototyping confirmed it. The companion decides which vetted explanation to surface based on the patient's profile and what's just been discussed. Education comes to the patient, in the room where it's relevant.
“You've chosen radiation plus hormone therapy. Here's what to expect, week by week.”
Plate 03 / 04 - 04
The summary that comes home
A patient leaves with what the team agreed — in their language, with the calendar that follows.
After every HAVEN day, the companion drafts a plain-language synthesis: what was decided, what to do next, when. Patient-facing summary, not clinical note. The single biggest source of distress in complex care — “I don’t remember what they said” — closed at the door.
“Today your team agreed on radiation followed by hormone therapy. Call this number to schedule imaging. Complete the labs before May 30. Your next HAVEN day is June 12.”
Plate 04 / 04
HAVEN was developed inside the cancer clinic.
We are a team of three. For the past eight months we have been embedded at Mass General Brigham — sitting with patients, shadowing surgeons and dietitians, mapping schedules, interviewing leadership. We wrote need statements before we wrote a single line of code. HAVEN is the answer that emerged.
Clinical and financial leadership at the MGB Cancer Institute have reviewed the model and expressed interest in piloting. The first care days will run there.
— Melinda, Caitlyn & Emily
- Origin
- Harvard Medical School HealthTech Fellowship · 2025–26
- Clinical home
- Mass General Brigham Cancer Institute
- Method
- Stanford Biodesign · 100+ ideas screened against strict criteria
- Status
- Pilot in design · Y Combinator S2026
The team behind the drafting table.
Melinda HuChief ExecutiveGrowth at digital health startups. Sells into health systems, scales products beyond the pilot.
Boston · NYCCo-founder · 01
Caitlyn LooMDChief FinancialPhysician trained in Ireland. Health policy and early-stage healthtech VC across Singapore, Ireland, the US.
Boston · SingaporeCo-founder · 02
Emily HuangMDChief MedicalClinical fellow in urologic oncology, combined Harvard program. Practices at Mass General Brigham — treats prostate, bladder, kidney cancer.
BostonCo-founder · 03