Approximately one in four people will face a cancer diagnosis. For most, the hardest part won't be the treatment itself but the waiting, the 3 AM questions, the logistical maze of care coordination that can mean the difference between hope and despair. Ann Stadjuhar knows this truth from both sides of the stethoscope.

When Ann navigated her own cancer diagnosis, she had every advantage: 20 years of healthcare expertise, knowledge of case volumes, connections to top surgeons at Optum. Yet even she found the system overwhelming. Her uncle in rural New Mexico wasn't as fortunate; by the time he reached MD Anderson, inadequate local care had sealed his fate. These parallel experiences crystallized Ann's mission at Reimagine Care: ensuring no one faces cancer alone, regardless of their zip code or insider knowledge.

This conversation comes at a critical moment. As cancer increasingly strikes younger populations, with many cancers now appearing in people's 20s and 30s rather than their 50s, we need innovators who understand that technology without empathy is just expensive machinery. Ann represents a new breed of healthcare leaders who see AI not as a replacement for human connection, but as a way to multiply it.

"The worst part of cancer is the wait," Ann explains. "We can be there 24/7 to understand whether there may be social determinants of health needs. I need a ride to treatment. I need someone to watch my dog. I have issues paying my electric bill. Sometimes people are honestly more comfortable telling the bot they're having these challenges."

After two decades revolutionizing digital health from women's health to pandemic response centers, Ann calls cancer care her "capstone." She's witnessed how the 18-month health system adoption cycle literally costs lives. Now, armed with Meta glasses and AI tools that multiply her capabilities "times four," she's racing against a broken system where your uncle's zip code shouldn't determine whether his cancer stays operable.

In this episode of Inspiring Women with Laurie McGraw, discover how one woman's journey through cancer transformed into a mission to democratize access to the kind of insider knowledge that can save lives. From the Cancer X Accelerator to Reimagine Care's AI companion REMI, Ann reveals why the future of cancer care isn't about choosing between humans and machines. It's about creating technology sophisticated enough to know that sometimes, the most advanced intervention is simply helping someone find a dog sitter so they don't miss chemotherapy.

For Ann Stadjuhar, reimagining cancer care isn't about replacing human connection. It's about multiplying it. In a healthcare system where staying curious might be the difference between innovation and stagnation, between treatment and tragedy, she's proof that the most powerful technology is the kind that remembers to be human.

Key Insights:

Why patients confess more to AI than to their doctors, and what that means for care

How social determinants of health become matters of life and death in cancer treatment

The hidden complexities even healthcare insiders struggle to navigate

Why the next generation needs emotional intelligence more than technical skills

How one woman's cancer diagnosis became a blueprint for system-wide change

About the Guest: 

Ann Stadjuhar brings 20+ years of digital health innovation to her role as Chief Growth Officer at Reimagine Care. From launching pharmaceuticals to scaling population health tools, she's run what she calls "the gauntlet" of healthcare transformation. Her personal cancer journey while at Optum revealed the gaps even insiders face, inspiring her mission to ensure 24/7 companionship for every cancer patient through AI-powered human care.

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