Raising Awareness: What We Can Learn from Axogen’s Successful Patient Advocacy Campaign

Health Marketing Collective

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On today’s episode, Sara Payne sits down with Emily Hansen, Senior Director of the Resensation program at Axogen, to discuss how healthcare brands can leverage thought leadership to reshape public perceptions, influence behavior change, and ultimately become architects of a health revolution.

As a specialist in advocacy and education, Emily champions awareness about a lesser-known but highly prevalent outcome of breast cancer surgery: chronic numbness following a mastectomy. Through her work at Axogen, she’s spearheading a movement to empower breast cancer patients and their care teams with knowledge and solutions that can dramatically enhance quality of life beyond survival—focusing on nerve repair and the pioneering Resensation procedure.

In this thought-provoking conversation, Sara and Emily explore the intersection of marketing, education, and advocacy. They dive into the challenges of raising awareness about health issues shrouded by misconceptions, the vital role of patient advocates, and how moving beyond short-term wins toward long-term health movements is key to redefining standards of care. You'll hear about real strategies for engaging the survivor community, addressing clinician knowledge gaps, and the ongoing effort to translate awareness into tangible business and health outcomes.

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Key Takeaways:

Marketing as a Catalyst for Health Movements:

Emily illustrates how powerful marketing can spark a health movement—even for issues that have been historically overlooked. By focusing efforts on educating both patients and clinicians about post-mastectomy numbness and offering actionable solutions, the Resensation program exemplifies marketing’s role in not just awareness, but wholesale perception change within healthcare.

Stakeholder-Centric Communication:

Reaching both patients and providers requires tailored messaging and a multi-pronged approach. Emily explains that effective campaigns must bridge awareness gaps in diverse audiences, from general consumers and advocacy groups to the full spectrum of clinicians. The Resensation team balances highly technical provider information with relatable patient stories to ensure relevance and clarity across all touchpoints.

The Power (and Sensitivity) of Patient Advocacy:

Patient advocates are not mere influencers; they are individuals with lived experiences and deep personal investment. Emily shares how collaborating authentically with survivor communities—such as The Breasties—can accelerate education and trust. She emphasizes the importance of letting advocates’ voices lead and prioritizing the issue above the brand to build an enduring movement.

Long-Term Commitment Over Short-Term Wins:

Creating lasting change in public and professional awareness isn’t achieved through one-off major media hits. Instead, it demands continuous investment, evolving narratives, and relationship-building across years. Emily underscores that consistent, layered outreach (PR, education, advocacy partnerships, and digital content) is essential for sustaining momentum and meeting both patient and business objectives.

Measuring Impact: Business and Behavioral Outcomes:

The Resensation campaign’s success isn’t just marked by media impressions, but by tangible growth in web traffic, patient referrals, and most compellingly, provider demand for training. Emily discusses the importance of presenting both quantitative metrics and qualitative anecdotes to executive leaders as evidence of progress, and how adapting data models helps demonstrate true business value over time.

For more information about the Resensation program, including educational resources and a surgeon locator, visit resensation.com. And if you’re inspired by the mission to create lasting improvements in healthcare, don’t forget to subscribe to the Health Marketing Collective—because the future of healthcare depends on it.