When patients receive a cancer diagnosis, they’re thrust into a whirlwind of medical jargon, emotional trauma, and conflicting advice. Dr. Chad Levitt, founder and Chief Medical Officer of OnCare MD, is bridging the gap between clinical treatment and real-world patient understanding. With over two decades in oncology, Levitt created OnCare MD as a support and advocacy service to help patients navigate their diagnosis, treatment options, and the overwhelming healthcare landscape, especially when their physicians are stretched too thin.
On the latest episode of The Roadmap, with host Lee Heisman, Dr. Levitt, an Atlanta native and seasoned radiation oncologist, shares his journey and the many roles he has held throughout his career, including director of oncology departments, researcher, clinician, and educator. But it was the informal help he offered friends and family over the years that ultimately inspired the launch of OnCare MD. “We help friends and families all the time,” Levitt explained, “and we know it makes a huge difference.”
OnCare MD’s mission is to provide cancer patients and their families with the clarity and support they often can’t receive from their primary doctors, who face overwhelming administrative demands. Unlike many care navigation services led by nurses or social workers, OnCare MD operates under the leadership of physicians, offering personalized and medically informed guidance that collaborates with a patient’s existing care team.
Levitt’s career pivot was influenced by a surprising moment during a surgery rotation. Though he originally intended to become a reconstructive surgeon, he reconsidered after hearing two older surgeons lament they hadn’t pursued radiation oncology—a specialty that, they noted, “actually cures people.” After researching the field, Levitt realized it combined everything he loved: advanced science, compassionate care, and human connection.
In discussing modern healthcare, Levitt voiced concern that physicians can no longer provide the attentive, patient-centered care that inspired them to enter medicine. “It got harder and harder… to care for patients with as much time, mindfulness, and expertise as we all would like,” he said.
OnCare MD steps in at that crucial, disorienting moment after diagnosis—when patients often feel like they’re being “shot at in Afghanistan,” he said, referencing how overwhelming the initial stages can be. The service ensures patients understand the biology of their disease, the full range of available treatments (not just those offered by a single hospital), and the implications of new technologies like liquid biopsies, circulating tumor DNA, and next-generation sequencing.
This high-level clinical interpretation is key, especially as cancer care becomes more complex and personalized. “The better you prepare,” Levitt emphasized, “the better the outcome will actually be.”
"I really just wanted to get direct to patients to help them… to cut through all the red tape that puts constraints on my time, my energy, my expertise." — Dr. Chad Levitt,
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