In this episode of Collected, we sit down with Maria Haugen, CEO & Founder of FoXX Health—a women’s health advocacy app designed to help patients be heard, understood, and better supported in the health care system.

Maria’s mission began with a frightening personal health experience: recurring heart-attack–like symptoms that were repeatedly dismissed as anxiety. After months of uncertainty, she finally received a diagnosis—costochondritis, a condition that mimics heart attack symptoms and is frequently overlooked, especially in women. That gap between fear and care sparked a new purpose: building tools that help women show up prepared, confident, and taken seriously in medical conversations.

Maria shares how Fox Health is:

• reshaping doctor-patient communication through more accurate symptom tracking
• using women-specific data (not generic health research rooted in male-dominant studies)
• empowering patients without villainizing providers
• building community through anonymous support dens focused on different health journeys
• co-created with patient voices from day one

This episode dives into what it means to change the system not by fighting it, but by showing up ready to navigate it. It’s an inspiring look at how lived experience can fuel impactful health care innovation, and why advocacy tools matter for every patient, not just experts.

🎧 Listen in to learn how FoXX Health is helping women do what the system hasn’t always made space for: be heard.

Download FoXX Health here: https://www.foxxhealth.com/

Collected by Unum Co. is a podcast about the power of lived experience, and how stories can shape more human-centred systems, services, and spaces.

Created by Unum Co., a patient-experience consultancy and creative studio helping health care organizations connect with people through storytelling, strategy, and digital engagement.

🔗 Learn more at unumco.ca

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