The Blossom: The Modern Cure for Cervical Cancer

Mission-Driven Tech is a women's health company dedicated to the transformation of gynecologic cancer care with modern technology.

Our Team:

Co-Founders Dr. Onyinye Balogun, a Weill Cornell Medicine Radiation Oncologist, and Eve McDavid, a Cervical Cancer survivor and former Google executive leverage the partnership they built during the successful treatment of Eve's diagnosis in 2020. Together they bring a provider:patient point-of-view to solve critical unmet needs in women's cancer treatment.

We leverage our extensive professional networks of industry leading subject matter experts to support our product development work.

The Problem:

More than 1 million women are diagnosed with Cervical and Uterine cancers globally, and an additional 400,000 will die. 

The majority of these cases can be cured with powerful internal radiation procedures known as Brachytherapy. Brachytherapy delivers a high, targeted dose of radiation directly to the tumor while sparing surrounding healthy tissue and critical organs. Patients who receive Brachytherapy have +94% 5-year survival rates compared to those who do not.

However, in US alone, only half of eligible women access Brachytherapy due to logistical, financial and systemic health system inequities; Black women access Brachytherapy at half the rates of white women.

The fortunate women who do endure numerous painful and traumatizing gynecologic procedures conducted with rigid, inflexible medical devices that were designed in the early 1970s, 20 years before women's inclusion in clinical trials. 

As a result:

• Complications are common and delay time-sensitive care: e.g. uterine perforation, vaginal lacerations
• 40%+ of patients experience procedure-related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Survivors experience diminished physical, mental and sexual health quality of life outcomes

This is well-documented in medical literature: women are quoted that they'd rather die from cancer than continue Brachytherapy treatments. 

And they do.  As many as 25% of women who begin treatment drop out due to procedure pain and trauma

It's time for change. Women and physicians deserve better.

The Solution:

Mission-Driven Tech is developing The Blossom*: the first female-fitted gynecologic Brachytherapy medical device designed to improve procedure safety, reduce pain and trauma and improve quality of life outcomes for survivors.

*International Patent Filed May 2023

We're seeking $250,000 in funding to support our medical device prototype engineering efforts and treatment curriculum creation.

Thank you very much for your support of Mission-Driven Tech! You join a powerful global coalition of government, public health, medical, private sector leaders and women and families globally who are committed to ending Cervical Cancer. 

Mission-Driven Tech investors, partners and collaborators include: Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, Cornell Tech, Cornell SC Johnson School of Business, ReMission Foundation, University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism, Cervivor, American Brachytherapy Society, American Association of Physicists in Medicine, National Science Foundation ICORPS, Ankh Impact Ventures, Techstars, Yeshiva University, American Cancer Society Roundtable on Cervical Cancer, World Health Organization, The Gates Foundation and Graça Machel Trust. Mission-Driven Tech is also part of the World Health Organization Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative.