Health@WPP and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) recently announced the launch of ‘The Most Beautiful Sound’, the first-ever audible sound of cancer cells being destroyed using pioneering technology.
One in three people are expected to be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime. In order to support patients during their treatment journey, Grey Health & Wellness came up with the concept of giving people receiving treatment for cancer more of an understanding of how their medication or chemotherapy can directly impact cancerous cells. The team then worked with researchers at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital to isolate the sound of breast and lung cancer cells at the precise moment of cellular death.
The sound was shared for the first time at the 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting, where conference attendees were able to experience the sound via an immersive listening station and watch a video produced by Hogarth showing the reactions of patients with cancer.
To find out more, LBB’s Addison Capper spoke with Grey Health & Wellness chief creative officer Tim Jones and chief strategy officer Ankit Vahia.
What We Did
There is no sound more beautiful than the sound of cancer dying, and now - for the first time ever - patients, caregivers and oncologists who are on the front line against cancer, can hear the sound of their greatest enemy being defeated.
The Problem
For patients who are fighting cancer, they are facing an invisible foe and the ability to make something invisible truly tangible would give them a sense of hope and motivation that their efforts are worth it.
Ideation
We had a simple approach: that there is nothing more motivating than the sound of your disease dying, and that no sound is more beautiful than the sound of cancer dying.
Based on this simple call to action we set out to understand, identify and isolate the sound of cancer cells dying. This was, however, not an easy task given that the technology to do this did not exist. We identified a clear protocol to make this happen. We would first measure the vibrational shift within cancer cells upon cell death and transcribe this into audible sounds.
Additionally, this aligns with the fact that sound itself has true therapeutic importance and value, especially in the emerging field of psychoimmunotherapy, and can play an active role in recovery.

Prototype & Design
Our biggest challenge was identifying a technique and approach to help us achieve this. This had never been done before. After months of doing our own secondary research and speaking with multiple experts, we identified Raman Force Spectroscopy as a technique we could use. We then established a collaboration with Dr Conor Evans and his lab from Mass General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. While this first breakthrough was key, he then helped us develop the research protocol to start acquiring the data of cancer cells dying. This data, of the vibrational shift when cells die, was then translated into the sound you hear.
The biggest revelation and impact of this work has been the reactions we have received from cancer patients, those who have overcome and those who are still fighting. For them to see this as a source of hope and inspiration and a true representation of what ‘The Most Beautiful Sound’ is, and has been both emotional and extremely gratifying.
Live
When we released the sound at the world’s biggest oncology conference – ASCO – we were expecting the campaign to inspire the oncology community… and it did! The reaction has been incredible, and we are working on how we can get ‘The Most Beautiful Sound’ to those who need to hear it the most. The sound is now an open-source sound file that can be downloaded and used in new ways to inspire hope and improve treatment outcomes. Please download the sound here. In terms of real patient and oncologist reactions, here are some of the most powerful feedback we have received:
"This changes everything."
"The sound of victory."
"Death never sounded so sweet."
"A sound that transcends all languages."
"The sound authenticates the incredible. And gives the patients hope.”
"This is Powerful. Powerful audible patient empathy."