Cushing’s Disease

Challenge:

Cushing’s Disease (CD) is a rare hormonal disorder caused by a pituitary tumor in the brain that results in elevated cortisol. Because cortisol affects many different bodily processes, elevated levels over time cause a variety of symptoms that often go misdiagnosed. People can suffer for more than five years before receiving a proper diagnosis. Because CD is so rare, there is a dearth of resources for people looking for answers—some don’t even know where to start. Our client wished to create an all-encompassing online resource to help educate people on CD symptoms, diagnosis and treatment options.

Solution:

Go to the source. Recognizing that Cushing’s disease is complicated, we went straight to the source—the patients themselves. Who better to help untangle the confusion around CD? After listening to many patients’ journeys, a theme emerged—be your own advocate. To help encourage this, we created a character named “Coach Cory” to help unravel the complex science behind CD, and more importantly, to encourage people to advocate for their health with their doctors, families and friends. Together with Coach Cory, the website “Life with Cushing’s Disease” incorporates real patient quotes and uses streamlined infographics to help provide answers and encouragement to take that next step.