Meet the Care Team: Dr. Kym Furney, Primary Care Provider at Color

At Color, our Care Team is redefining what support in Cancer Care really means. Where navigation-only solutions stop at pointing patients in the right direction, our clinicians and advocates roll up their sleeves and go further. They remove barriers, spend as much time as needed, and make sure care actually happens.

From finding rides to appointments to helping patients understand complex screening options, they meet people where they are and walk with them through the entire journey. That level of engagement doesn’t just feel different. It drives better outcomes, reduces friction, and keeps patients connected to care when it matters most.

One of those Care Team members is Kym Furney, MD, whose experience in traditional primary care shaped her passion for spending the kind of time with patients that can change outcomes. We sat down with Dr. Furney to hear more about her approach, the stories that stay with her, and what motivates her to do this work every day.

Your care often goes above and beyond a traditional appointment. Can you share a story where you helped a patient do something they didn’t think was possible, whether that was getting them to a critical appointment, securing a hard-to-access service, or something else entirely?

Having worked for more than 20 years in a traditional primary care outpatient practice, I was very committed to educating my patients regarding the importance of cancer screenings and ensuring they stayed up to date according to national guidelines. However, what I did not have in that setting is the additional amount of time I have now, at Color, with each patient to do a really “deep dive” into their family history and personal risk factors for cancer. 

I recently saw a 28 year old female with a strong family history of breast cancer, including her mother who died from breast cancer at a very young age. Because this patient was only 28, she was not yet getting any regular breast cancer screening. However, after an extensive review of family members who had breast cancer and completion of a high risk breast cancer screening tool, we were able to determine that this patient qualifies for MRI breast cancer screening starting immediately. She is also completing our genetics screening which will provide more information about her personal risk for cancer. She was so relieved to have a plan and to know she can start screening for breast cancer now.

You’re not bound by appointment times or call quotas. How does having no time restrictions change the way you approach patient care and the kinds of conversations you can have?

Having the time to educate patients and fully answer their questions about cancer risk and cancer screening completely changes the ability for what I called good “shared decision making.” For cancer screenings such as colon cancer and cervical cancer, there are a few different screening options. Some of these tests may be easy-to-complete at-home tests, while others, such as colonoscopy, require an in person visit and minor procedure. Patients often don’t know which one might be best for them, or they have fears about some of the testing. 

I remind patients that “knowledge is power” as they make these decisions. As an example, for someone who has a higher personal risk of colon cancer due to family history, colonoscopy will be the recommended screening tool rather than an at-home test. Once patients understand the science and reasoning behind such recommendations, they are able to move forward with the screening test that is most appropriate for their personal situation.

Patients consistently provide feedback at the end of our visits that they are appreciative for the level of knowledge and understanding they have obtained during our visits. So much of this is because we have the time to spend with them.

Many patients come to us unsure of what to do next, or even hesitate to engage at all. How do you build trust and help them take those first critical steps toward screening, diagnosis, or treatment?

I had a visit with a patient a few months ago who was in her mid-50s. Her own mother had died from colon cancer, yet she still had not had any type of colon cancer screening. She clearly understood how important it was for her to get screened, so I knew there must be some reason or barrier as to why she had not yet undergone colonoscopy. For some patients, this can be concerns about cost, fear of the procedure itself, or even the ability to have a ride to and from the test.

As we talked, she shared that she always had a “weak stomach” and she felt there was no way she would ever get through drinking all of the liquid preparation required to do the colonoscopy without getting sick. It had become a significant mental block for her. When I shared that the preparation can now be done with pills instead of the large volume liquid, this patient very quickly decided to proceed with colonoscopy. She ended up having 9 polyps removed during the colonoscopy. Had these polyps been left growing there over the next few years, there is a good chance that she would have developed colon cancer. 

Beyond the clinical protocols, there’s the human side of care. What motivates you to do this work every day, and what’s one moment that’s stayed with you?

I decided to go into the field of medicine many years ago because I love the science of it all. However, beyond that, it is such a privilege and a joy to have another person share their health concerns and be able to make a difference in outcomes for them. 

While it is always hard to pick a single moment, I would say that since coming to Color, making a new cervical cancer diagnosis that started with an at-home urine test was so impactful for both myself and the patient. This patient was a 54 yr old woman who was a few years behind on her pap screening tests for cervical cancer because she is in a very busy phase of life, managing work, her aging parents, and teenage children. The urine test we sent to her home was positive, and we quickly referred her to gynecology where she was found to have early stage cervical cancer, which will be readily treatable. It’s moments like these that keep me grounded in the purpose of what we do at Color, bringing care to people in ways that truly fit into their lives.

For patients who might be on the fence about engaging, what would you want them to know about working with our care team?

I would want them to know that every single person on our care team here at Color is  passionate about what we do.  Everyone—oncologists and nurses who meet with patients, care advocates who help our patients get necessary appointments scheduled, and lab team members who run at-home tests—truly believes in our mission of minimizing the impact of cancer in the lives of others.

They will find our care team to be approachable, easy to work with, and we will go out of way to make the process as easy as possible for them.