Eighty-one men, caregivers, and family members reached for help today. Zach answered every one.
Today, ZERO launched Zach — a 24/7, AI Powered Helper trained on your resources, your tone, and your community. In one day, Zach handled 2,288 messages across 81 unique conversations, surfacing real stories from men in active treatment, freshly diagnosed patients, and worried caregivers — many of whom would not have called a hotline.
2,288
Total messages exchanged
81
Unique people started a conversation
74%
Sustained engagement (4+ exchanges)
30s
Median response time no human queue
01 · WHAT THEY BROUGHT
What people brought to Zach.
The volume isn't the story. The texture is. These weren't idle questions — these were the kind of thing someone only asks in a quiet moment, on their own phone.
"
I was diagnosed with stage 3 intermittent aggressive prostate cancer. How bad is this diagnosis?
Inbound · 12:11 PM ET
"
I'm my father's primary caregiver. How am I supposed to help him?
Inbound · 9:29 AM ET
"
My PSA jumped from 0.3 to 0.6. What does that mean? I'm feeling anxious.
Inbound · 2:44 PM ET
Across 160+ substantive questions today, the most-discussed topics tracked closely with the lived experience of men navigating this disease:
Cancer (general)93
PSA & monitoring23
Treatment options12
Stage / Gleason / recurrence12
Radiation & side effects10
Surgery / prostatectomy10
Hormone therapy3
02 · MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Conversations that earned the day.
Four moments from today, lightly edited for length and fully anonymized. This is what success looked like in real time.
Newly Diagnosed · 16 messages
A man worked through Stage 3 in real time — and left with a phone number.
12:11 PM — 12:34 PM ET
I was diagnosed with stage 3 intermittent aggressive prostate cancer. How bad is this diagnosis?
I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis. Stage 3 means it's spread beyond the outer layer of the prostate into nearby tissues, but not to distant parts of the body. It's locally advanced — concerning, but there are effective treatment options available…
My doctor scheduled a PET scan in a few weeks. Is this normal protocol?
For stage 3, scheduling a PET scan is common. It helps doctors get a clearer picture of whether cancer has spread, which guides the most effective treatment strategy.
How can I get financial help for my prostate cancer?
For financial assistance, there are several resources. ZERO360 helps with insurance navigation, treatment costs, and emotional support. You can reach them at 844-ZERO360 or visit zerocancer.org/help-and-support…
WHY THIS MATTERS
A first-time texter walked through diagnosis fear, scan logistics, hormone therapy, second-opinion guidance, and was warmly handed off to ZERO360 — all within 25 minutes. He left with a phone number, a website, and a plan.
Caregiver Reach · 7 messages
A daughter caring for her father — the conversation she didn't know she could have.
9:29 AM ET
I'm my father's primary caregiver (he has prostate cancer). How am I supposed to help him?
Being a caregiver is a significant role, and it's important to take care of both him and yourself. Educate yourself on his diagnosis and treatment options. Be present for medical appointments — taking notes can help. And consider connecting with other caregivers…
What is a Gleason score?
The Gleason score is a system used to evaluate the aggressiveness of prostate cancer based on patterns of cancer cells in a biopsy. The first number represents the most common pattern, the second the next most common — together they help guide treatment decisions.
WHY THIS MATTERS
Caregivers don't always have someone to ask. ZERO's resources reached one today within 90 seconds of her first message — without a phone call, without paperwork, without waiting on hold.
Second-Opinion Support · 13 messages
A patient weighing two doctors' opinions — in his own time.
2:48 PM — 2:58 PM ET
Treatment options — based on available studies, is it better to include lymph nodes in radiation after radical prostatectomy with rising PSA, positive margins, but no lymph node spread?
In cases like yours, monitoring for recurrence is one common approach. External Beam Radiation Therapy is also considered, sometimes with hormone therapy, to target areas where cancer cells may remain.
First doctor wants to include lymph nodes — second-opinion doctor doesn't believe it's necessary.
When there are positive surgical margins but no lymph node spread, monitoring is often the preferred approach. Discussing the specific clinical reasoning with both providers will help you weigh the trade-offs.
The PSA has been rising and was never undetectable after surgery — Gleason score was 5+3.
WHY THIS MATTERS
This is the conversation that doesn't fit into a 15-minute appointment. Zach gave him space to think out loud, surfaced the relevant context, and kept him grounded in evidence — without overstepping into clinical advice.
Local Connection · 25 messages
Seven years of unanswered questions. One conversation.
11:40 AM — 1:19 PM ET · Pass Christian, MS
I had prostate cancer and surgery and now I have ED for the past 7 years.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this. It's a common issue many men face. Have you been able to discuss this with your doctor, or are you looking for support and resources?
My doctor left and I was left with a NP who didn't have much knowledge. Tried injections — painful and didn't work well. Got a urologist appointment May 7.
It sounds like you've been through a lot, and it's frustrating when you don't have the support you need. Connecting with others who understand can be really helpful.
Pass Christian, MS. 39571.
Virtual support groups are available, and our MENtorship program pairs you one-on-one with someone who's been through similar experiences.
Thanks 😊
WHY THIS MATTERS
He left with a urologist appointment confirmed, a virtual support group option, and a path to MENtorship. "Thanks 😊."
03 · BY THE NUMBERS
Beneath the stories, an unmistakable signal.
60
SUSTAINED CONVERSATIONS
Of 81 people who reached out, 60 stayed past the welcome — a 74% sustained-engagement rate on Day One.
19
DEEP CONVERSATIONS
Nineteen people exchanged 10+ messages — multi-turn dialogues with real clinical and emotional depth.
99
RESOURCE LINKS SHARED
Direct routes to ZERO360, support groups, financial resources, MENtorship, and event registration.
51
SUPPORT-GROUP SURFACES
Zach surfaced ZERO's community programs in 51 outbound messages — meeting people emotionally, not just clinically.
13
ZERO360 REFERRALS
Direct routes into your flagship navigation service for patients in need of insurance, financial, or treatment-cost help.
3
OPT-OUTS (STOP)
A 3.7% opt-out rate among engaged users. Industry-strong — especially for Day One.
30s
MEDIAN RESPONSE TIME
Half of all responses arrived in under 30 seconds. 78% within a minute. 85% within two.
For ZERO, that's the difference between a man scrolling himself into a panic at 9 PM, and a man getting a calm, grounded answer in a single breath.
04 · WHAT WE'RE FIXING
What Day One surfaced.
Launch days always show what the real world looks like. Here's what we observed — and what's already on the docket.
The QR-code prefilled message needs trimming.
Your team made a great call updating the QR-prefill text. The bracketed line — (Tap to send your message to ZACH. You'll see a quick confirmation message next.) — is still appearing in users' first message bubble, and on a few conversations today it caused confusion. Our suggestion: have your team remove that bracketed instruction so the prefill reads cleanly — happy to walk through it together if helpful.
A small batch of double-replies.
On 38 conversations, Zach sent two responses to a single user message within the same minute (16 of those involved 3+ near-simultaneous responses). The content was good in each case — but the duplication can read as glitchy. We've identified the pattern and a fix is going into the next prompt iteration.
A new diagnostic — the "PSE test" — Zach hasn't been trained on yet.
One user today asked specifically about the PSE test, a newer alternative to PSA. Zach correctly defaulted to "I don't have specific information on this" rather than fabricating an answer — exactly the right behavior. But it's a useful signal: the knowledge base should expand to include emerging prostate-specific diagnostics. We'll work with the ZERO team to get the right information into Zach's knowledge base.
DAY ONE · APRIL 30, 2026
Eighty-one people reached out today, in their own words, on their own time. You answered every one.
Choosing to launch Zach was a leap of faith — for any nonprofit, AI-powered patient engagement is unfamiliar territory. What today proved is that the people you exist to serve want this. They asked questions they wouldn't have called a hotline to ask. They asked the same question three times because they needed it answered. They thanked Zach. They came back hours later.
That's not a launch metric. That's a mission metric. And it belongs to ZERO.
We'll keep iterating. The fixes above are already in motion. Week-one trends to follow.