About Us

We Teach People How to Detect Cancer Early to Save Lives

Detecting cancer early and acting on it quickly is the best way to save and improve lives for the 40% of us who will receive a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime. With 3 Steps Detect, we make it easy for you to recognize warning signs of cancer and empower you to have the right conversations with your doctor, at the right time, to ensure the best outcome.

40% of us will receive a cancer diagnosis in our lifetime.

DetecTogether is a non-profit education and advocacy organization located in Westborough, Mass. It was founded to address an unmet need in the cancer world. While it is undisputed that early cancer detection leads to the best health outcomes, no one was teaching people how to identify early warning signs of cancer. In consultation with doctors from top cancer centers, founders Jim and Nancy Coghlin and their family set out to provide people with this life-saving education.

Now in our second decade, the mission of DetecTogether is to save lives by teaching people how to detect cancer early and be active partners in their healthcare.

Why Early Detection?

Our strategy, 3 Steps Detect, is simple and effective.

There are more than 200 types of cancer and effective screenings for only four types. In collaboration with our medical advisors, we sorted through the complexity of identifying symptoms and developed an easy roadmap for you to use to tap into this life-saving advantage. It is a simple three-step plan called 3 Steps Detect.

Caught Early, Most Cancers Are Treatable

Knowledge is power when it comes to cancer.

A sense of invincibility, misinterpreting and minimizing symptoms, and inadequate patient-provider communication are the primary barriers to early detection. We provide the antidote.

Learn from others: Real people, real stories.

We weave the stories of real people who have had cancer into everything we do. Stories are our single most powerful communication and education tool. Real people offer their experiences to help teach you how to identify early warning signs of cancer, when to take action, and how to have the right conversations with your doctor.

Experts agree with our approach

“What DetecTogether teaches so well is how to recognize minor but persistent symptoms that could be cancer, and how to talk about health changes with a physician,” says Dr. Peter Deckers, a surgical oncologist at UConn Health and a Professor of Surgery and Dean Emeritus at UConn School of Medicine. “Most people know that they should take advantage of recommended cancer screenings, but fewer know how to watch for and act upon seemingly trivial symptoms that should be shared with their doctor. Patients tend to minimize these important symptoms, and doctors often don’t listen as well as we could. DetecTogether makes tremendous contributions by teaching 3 Steps Detect.”