In 2023, 27-year-old entrepreneur Gaurav Kumar walked into a leading cancer hospital expecting answers. Instead, he walked out with a prognosis that reduced hope to a timeline. His 49-year-old mother had been diagnosed with stage IV gallbladder carcinoma, and doctors advised the family to prepare for only three months focused on care and togetherness.
Speaking about the moment, Kumar recalled feeling not just fear but deep uncertainty. The experience exposed what he describes as a larger problem within India’s oncology system — families often struggle to understand treatment pathways, second opinions, and available options during critical moments. That personal crisis would later shape the direction of BigOHealth, the health-tech venture he co-founded with his engineering classmate Shubham.
Determined to explore every possibility, Kumar sought multiple medical opinions across Delhi and Mumbai. Each consultation added new reports, scans, and medical files, yet clarity remained elusive. At one prominent Delhi hospital, doctors concluded that the cancer had spread to the liver and surgery was no longer possible. Refusing to accept the outcome without further review, Kumar pushed for another internal evaluation within the same hospital system — this time involving a different department.
The reassessment changed everything. Specialists recommended hepatic evaluation and determined that surgery could, in fact, be attempted. The procedure ultimately extended his mother’s life by nearly two years. For Kumar, the experience revealed a harsh reality: access to the right expertise often depends on personal networks and awareness, advantages many families — especially from smaller towns — do not have.
During treatment, another challenge became evident: the overwhelming burden of medical data. Cancer care generated hundreds of pages of records, including diagnostic scans, biopsy reports, chemotherapy charts, surgical notes, and laboratory results. Families were forced to organise and interpret complex information before every consultation, while doctors had only minutes to review years of medical history.
Kumar realised that fragmented medical information weakens continuity of care. Families, already under emotional strain, were effectively acting as data managers instead of caregivers. This insight led BigOHealth to pivot its focus toward oncology decision support.
The company developed OncoVault, a digital platform designed to organise cancer patients’ medical records into structured timelines. Reports are categorised, arranged chronologically, and summarised into concise clinical briefs to help oncologists quickly understand a patient’s treatment journey. According to the company, patient data is de-identified before analysis to maintain privacy while enabling meaningful clinical insights.
Beyond record management, the platform also aims to address India’s limited participation in global cancer clinical trials. Despite carrying a significant share of the global cancer burden, India contributes relatively little to trial enrolment, partly due to fragmented patient data. By structuring anonymised treatment histories and tumour profiles, BigOHealth hopes to improve matching between eligible patients and advanced therapies.
Kumar emphasises that the platform is not intended to replace doctors but to support decision-making during complex treatment journeys. His mother’s extended survival remains the emotional foundation of the company’s mission — proof, he says, that timely guidance and specialised evaluation can change outcomes.
As cancer cases rise and tertiary hospitals face increasing pressure, Kumar believes India’s healthcare system must focus not only on expanding treatment capacity but also on improving navigation and clarity for patients. What began as a deeply personal struggle has evolved into a broader goal: ensuring that families confronting cancer are guided by structured information and accessible expertise rather than uncertainty.
For Kumar, the mission is simple — in India’s fight against cancer, hope should not depend on connections, but on informed possibilities.
