How we write these cards

Content last updated 25 September 2026

Who writes them

The cards are written by two physicians, Oyepeju Abioye-Akintola, MD, MSc, and Meghna Mathews, MD. Each card starts from a question people ask after a cancer diagnosis or when they are offered a clinical trial, and answers it the way we would answer it in the room.

How they are written

• One question on each card, and a plain answer to it.
• Short words and short sentences. Across the whole deck the reading level is US grade 4.8, measured with the Flesch-Kincaid formula in September 2026.
• Every card points people back to their own team, because only their team knows their situation.
• Numbers are explained, not left bare, and never presented as a prediction about one person.

How they are checked

In September 2026 the clinical trial cards were checked against patient information published by the National Cancer Institute and Cancer Research UK, and corrected where they differed. The same check is being carried out on the other sections of the deck.

How they are translated

Every card is available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, Yorùbá and Vietnamese. Each language is translated from the English, using one agreed set of terms so the same word means the same thing on every card. Review by clinicians who read each language is the next stage of this work.

Independence

The cards, books, games and planner are free for patients and families, and carry no advertising. When an organization or trial sponsor supports any part of the work:

• Sponsors never write, edit or approve the text of any card.
• No product, drug, company or specific trial is named or promoted.
• Every sponsored version says plainly who paid for it.
• The public site stays free and carries no sponsor branding.

Your privacy

The site sets no cookies and has no accounts. Cards you save and cards you have read are stored only on your own device. On the Try it page we count some answers anonymously, such as how many people got a question right, with nothing that identifies anyone.

If something is wrong

Every question page has a link to report a problem with that card, or email info@protocolandpeople.org. We correct errors and update the date at the top of this page when we do.

What these cards are not

They are education, not medical advice. They are meant to help you take part in the conversation with the team looking after you, and they are never a substitute for it.