Protocol Behavioral Health Launches to Transform Cancer Care with Integrated, Oncology-Specific Behavioral Healthcare

NEW YORK, Feb. 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Protocol Behavioral Health ("Protocol") today announced its official public launch, bringing oncology-specific behavioral health and supportive care directly into oncology practices and cancer clinics nationwide. Protocol partners with oncologists and their care teams to deliver evidence-based mental health care that is coordinated, measurable, and purpose-built for the diverse needs of today's cancer patients.

When confronted with a cancer diagnosis, patients must navigate a complex, multi-faceted journey through treatment, labs, scans, side-effects, pain, and financial toxicity, often while experiencing significant psychological distress. More than 50% of cancer patients experience anxiety, depression, trauma, or cognitive impairment at some point during their course of treatment, yet fewer than 10% receive behavioral health support. While the need is widespread, many patients are met with fragmented care pathways that include hand-offs to outside therapists, long waitlists, significant out-of-network costs, and mental health clinicians who may have limited training in the clinical and emotional complexity of oncology. Protocol was built to close this gap, ensuring patients have timely access to high quality, evidence-based care when they need it most.

"Cancer care has made incredible strides in recent years with the development of novel therapies, accelerated drug discovery, and growing adoption of precision medicine, yet too often the emotional and psychological needs that accompany treatment go unmet," said Jack Fitzgibbons, Co-Founder and CEO of Protocol. "Protocol exists because patients shouldn't have to navigate an entirely separate system just to get help. We embed oncology-trained behavioral health specialists into the oncology care team, so support is timely, evidence-based, and integrated into the treatment plan and existing workflows, not bolted on as an afterthought."

Protocol partners directly with oncology practices to provide cancer-specialized behavioral health services that help patients stay engaged in care, improve outcomes, quality of life, and reduce avoidable emergency department visits and hospitalizations. The company's model is designed to improve access and affordability for patients by aligning care delivery with reimbursable, practice-based workflows - enabling most patients to use their existing insurance and avoid the high out-of-pocket costs often associated with private behavioral health treatment.

"Oncology patients aren't just dealing with 'generic' stress," said Cara Bohon, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Clinical Officer of Protocol. "They face unique clinical challenges: medication changes and side effects, prognosis uncertainty, and family roles shifting overnight. We believe in oncology-specific care to help our patients navigate these challenges. We built Protocol so distress screening actually leads to meaningful, timely treatment that is connected to the oncology team and grounded in evidence-based care."

Protocol's care teams include behavioral health care managers and licensed clinicians trained in psycho-oncology, with psychiatric support to ensure patients receive the right level of care, tailored to the cancer journey. Protocol clinicians see all referred patients within 48 hours of a referral.

The company is led by an experienced team of executives with deep domain expertise in oncology, behavioral health, and technology-enabled care delivery.

Jack Fitzgibbons, Co-Founder & CEO — Fitzgibbons has extensive experience building and scaling tech-enabled healthcare services businesses across revenue cycle management, clinical services, and behavioral health. Prior to Protocol, he served as CEO of Assembly Health and CEO of Preferred Podiatry Group, providing outsourced clinical and administrative services to physician practices, behavioral health providers, and long-term care facilities nationwide.

Cara Bohon, PhD, Co-Founder & Chief Clinical Officer — Dr. Bohon is a clinical psychologist with 20 years of experience and is a nationally recognized leader in evidence-based behavioral health care. She is a former Associate Clinical Professor at Stanford University and previously served as SVP at Equip Health, where she led large clinical teams developing and implementing high-quality behavioral health treatment at scale.

Mark Ahern, Co-Founder & Chief Commercial Officer — Ahern brings extensive experience partnering with and supporting oncology practices nationwide. Prior to Protocol, he served as Chief Development Officer at US Oncology and Vantage Oncology, where he helped drive growth and practice partnerships across the national oncology landscape.

Today, Protocol is operating with leading oncology practices across five states and rapidly expanding to bring whole-person cancer care to more communities across the country. Built to scale, Protocol invests in training and supporting behavioral health care managers to specialize in psycho-oncology, expanding a workforce that is in short supply nationwide, while maintaining quality through measurement-based care and consistent collaboration with oncology teams.

ABOUT PROTOCOL BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Protocol Behavioral Health provides mental health care tailored to the unique needs of cancer patients. The company partners with oncology practices to integrate evidence-based behavioral health services directly into cancer care delivery. Protocol is backed by Juxtapose, a leading  investment firm focused on building category-defining companies from the ground up. To learn more, visit www.protocolcares.com.

SOURCE Protocol Behavioral Health