In this episode of Collected, we sit down with Robby Spring, a patient advocate who has been open about navigating breast cancer as a young woman, and about what it truly takes to advocate for yourself inside a complex health care system.

Robby shares her experience being diagnosed at 35, after pushing for screening following her sister’s (and mother's) diagnosis. Despite having knowledge, access, and support, she describes how difficult it was to move from diagnosis to treatment, including long wait times, uncertainty, and the pressure to make life-altering decisions quickly. Her story highlights a reality many patients face: the system often requires you to be your own strongest advocate.

Throughout the conversation, Robby reflects on:

• advocating for timely screening and treatment
• preparing for appointments to make decisions in real time
• navigating fertility preservation, surgery, and survivorship
• balancing long-term treatment with quality of life
• the emotional and identity impact of hair loss and regrowth
• sharing openly online to reduce isolation, and learning to set boundaries
• why lived experience should be valued and compensated as expertise

The episode also explores where health systems continue to fall short, from fragmented health records to limited access to precision oncology tools, and why patient stories are essential for creating the context needed to drive meaningful change.

This is an honest, grounded conversation about survivorship, self-advocacy, and the invisible work patients carry long after treatment ends, and why designing more human-centred systems must start with lived experience.

🎧 Listen in to hear Robby’s story and why she believes advocacy isn’t optional; it’s essential.

Follow Robby's journey on Instagram, here.

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn
and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.

In this episode of Collected, we sit down with Maria Haugen, CEO & Founder of FoXX Health—a women’s health advocacy app designed to help patients be heard, understood, and better supported in the health care system.

Maria’s mission began with a frightening personal health experience: recurring heart-attack–like symptoms that were repeatedly dismissed as anxiety. After months of uncertainty, she finally received a diagnosis—costochondritis, a condition that mimics heart attack symptoms and is frequently overlooked, especially in women. That gap between fear and care sparked a new purpose: building tools that help women show up prepared, confident, and taken seriously in medical conversations.

Maria shares how Fox Health is:

• reshaping doctor-patient communication through more accurate symptom tracking
• using women-specific data (not generic health research rooted in male-dominant studies)
• empowering patients without villainizing providers
• building community through anonymous support dens focused on different health journeys
• co-created with patient voices from day one

This episode dives into what it means to change the system not by fighting it, but by showing up ready to navigate it. It’s an inspiring look at how lived experience can fuel impactful health care innovation, and why advocacy tools matter for every patient, not just experts.

🎧 Listen in to learn how FoXX Health is helping women do what the system hasn’t always made space for: be heard.

Download FoXX Health here: https://www.foxxhealth.com/

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn
and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.

In this episode, we’re taking you behind the scenes of how Unum Co. came to be.

Megan shares how navigating her own health journey led to peer support, advocacy work, and a career in health care communications. Farah reflects on 15 years in pharma, the push to listen to real patient experiences, and the moment she stumbled upon a small but growing online community called The Gut Gazette.

From patient storytelling to corporate decision-making, blogging to brand building, and from two separate careers to a shared mission, this is the origin story of Unum Co. It is also the beginning of Collected, a podcast created to share stories that move health care forward.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

- The power of patient stories to spark change
- Why digital communities have reshaped health care conversations
- How two different career paths merged into one mission
- What you can expect from future episodes of Collected

This is where storytelling meets impact, and where our journey with you begins.

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn
and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.

In this episode we sit down with Wendy Smith—entrepreneur, creative, and community-builder—to explore what it means to lead with empathy and intention. From handwritten notes to community events that bring people together, Wendy shows how small, thoughtful gestures can create lasting impact.

She shares her journey of evolution (across industries, identities, and roles) and how consistency and care have shaped the way she connects with others. Together, we unpack what it means to build spaces that feel human and where collaboration and kindness are as essential as strategy and success.

This conversation is a reminder that thoughtful connection isn’t just a skill, but an art.

Follow Wendy at @matter_homes

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn
and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.

When her eight-year-old son Andrew died from a preventable medication error, Melissa Sheldrick’s life changed forever. What began as unimaginable grief became a call for accountability and a movement for safer care.

In this episode of Collected by Unum Co., Melissa shares how she transformed personal tragedy into pan-Canadian and global advocacy, helping to shape policies that protect patients across Canada. She reflects on what it means to trust the health care system, why error reporting and continuous quality improvement matter, and how empathy and courage can lead to lasting change.

Learn more about Melissa's work at melissasheldrick.ca and to report medication errors, visit mederror.ca

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn
and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.

In the first episode of Collected by Unum Co., Farah and Megan sit down with Dr. Saskia Sivananthan—a leading data scientist and neuroscientist specializing in dementia and other neurological conditions. Together, they explore how stories, systems, and stigma shape the way we think about brain health.

From her early experiences as a neighbour and caregiver to her work influencing pan-Canadian policy, Saskia shares how compassion and design thinking can transform the future of dementia care.

It’s a conversation about dignity, advocacy, and what it means to stay human in health care.

Learn more about the work Dr. Sivananthan is doing at The Brainwell Institute.

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

💌 Connect with us on LinkedIn
and Instagram

Subscribe, rate, and share the show. Your support helps more people discover these stories.