I’m Kate, founder of Health Decoded by Kate. I provide independent medical case and data analysis for individuals and families navigating complex, unexplained or rare medical conditions.

Before becoming a mum, I built my career in technology as a programmer, software developer and data analyst. I worked with databases, complex information systems, testing and technical investigation, spending years learning how to identify patterns, inconsistencies, relationships and anomalies within complicated data.

I loved that work. Analysis, investigation and problem-solving have always been a passion of mine. I enjoy taking something complex, working out how the pieces fit together, and finding the information that makes the bigger picture clearer.

When I later found myself navigating complex medical care within my own family, I had no idea how important those skills were about to become.

Where it began

My daughter was born with a collection of symptoms that did not seem to fit together. We were given individual explanations for what was happening, but the overall picture did not make sense.

My then-husband and I both worked in technology, so our instinct was to investigate. We began gathering information, researching, and looking for connections between symptoms that were being considered separately.

With the help of an endocrinologist in the United States, we identified the likely cause when she was still very young. Further investigation and testing confirmed a rare medical condition involving complex endocrine problems and bone disease, which helped explain why so many apparently separate symptoms were occurring together.

The diagnosis was a relief, but it was also the beginning of a medical journey that would span decades.

Learning to understand the data

Because my daughter’s condition was rare and complex, and affected multiple systems in the body, understanding what was happening required continual research, monitoring and comparison of medical information.

Blood testing became part of everyday life from infancy. I learned to follow results over time, compare changes and look at trends rather than isolated numbers.

Thyroid function became a major part of that process. I became very familiar with thyroid blood test results, including TSH, T3 and T4, and with tracking how those results changed over time. Her wider endocrine history also meant following growth hormone and other hormonal changes over many years.

As her bone health became increasingly complex, the information expanded to include X-rays, bone scans, imaging reports, surgical records and specialist findings. I learned to bring information from very different areas of medicine together and look at the wider medical picture.

While she was still very young, she also joined a long-term specialist research programme in the United States, giving us many years of experience navigating complex medical information, specialist assessments and ongoing monitoring.

My experience of diagnostic complexity

I have also experienced diagnostic challenges personally.

For many years, I was treated for one explanation for my symptoms before a broader picture emerged later in life. That experience gave me first-hand insight into changing diagnoses, medication response, and the importance of asking whether the current explanation truly fits the person in front of you.

It also gave me a personal understanding of how difficult it can be when symptoms overlap, diagnoses evolve and different parts of a medical history are considered separately.

Why family history matters

Family history has always been an important part of the way I think about medical information.

Some conditions are inherited, while others arise through more complex genetic or environmental mechanisms. Patterns of cancer, mental health conditions, cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and other illnesses across generations can provide valuable context when trying to understand an individual case.

For me, family history is another part of the wider picture, alongside symptoms, test results, imaging, diagnoses, medications, genetics and changes over time.

My experience of navigating complex medical histories has also made me very aware of how family history, genetics, hormones and other risk factors can intersect. It has reinforced the importance of looking beyond individual symptoms or test results, and considering the wider context when deciding what questions may be worth exploring.

Cancer care and medical advocacy

At the same time, I was also supporting my mum through a long and difficult cancer journey.

She faced several different cancers over many years, and I became her medical advocate and support, helping her navigate appointments, investigations, treatment decisions, medical information and the practical realities of complex cancer care.

Between my daughter’s complex medical journey and my mum’s cancer care, I spent years immersed in medical records, specialist services, test results, imaging, treatment decisions and long-term follow-up.

That experience taught me how overwhelming a complex medical history can become, especially when information is spread across many years and many different professionals.

A little about me outside the work

“The greatest wealth is health“

That has always been something I’ve believed: health underpins almost everything else in life.

Outside Health Decoded, I value a balanced approach to physical and mental wellbeing. I practise yoga, kayak and cycle whenever possible, and generally follow a simple, largely whole-food diet. Music is also an important part of my life, particularly singing and attending live performances.

I have an interest in both conventional medicine and complementary approaches, while keeping decisions about health and treatment grounded in evidence and appropriate professional care.

When specialist care is needed, my priority has always been finding the most appropriate expertise and asking the right questions. In my own family, that has sometimes involved significant personal expense, international travel, major personal sacrifices and, at one point, relocating countries in order to access the care my daughter needed.

I am also very aware that not everyone has the financial freedom, flexibility or support to make those choices. Good medical advocacy should never depend on wealth. Often, some of the most important first steps are understanding the information already available, identifying what does not fit, knowing which questions to ask, and making the best possible use of the care and resources that are accessible.

For me, health comes before cost or convenience, but that principle is about priority, not privilege. It means taking health concerns seriously, seeking appropriate expertise where possible, and making informed decisions within the reality of each person’s circumstances.

That combination of analytical thinking, practical experience, open-mindedness and respect for appropriate specialist expertise is also a large part of how I approach Health Decoded.

About Health Decoded by Kate

Why I created Health Decoded

Over time, I realised that the work I had been doing in my personal life was closely connected to the skills I had developed professionally.

I had spent years analysing complex datasets in technology, and years doing something remarkably similar with medical information: gathering records, comparing results, tracking changes, investigating inconsistencies and trying to understand how different pieces of a case fitted together.

Health Decoded by Kate brings those two parts of my life together.

It allows me to return to the analytical work I have always loved, but to use those skills for something that now means far more to me: helping people who are struggling with confusion, uncertainty and fragmented medical information.

I know what it is like to search for answers, to feel that pieces of the story are not connecting, and to wonder whether something important has been missed. I also know how much clearer things can become when information is brought together, organised and considered as a whole.

That is where my passion for this work comes from.

I wanted to build something worthwhile from everything I have learned; something that allows me to give back and help other individuals and families who are struggling to make sense of a complicated medical story.

If my experience and analytical skills can help someone understand their information more clearly, identify the questions that matter and feel better prepared for conversations with medical professionals, that is work I find genuinely meaningful.

My role

My role is not to diagnose, prescribe treatment or provide medical advice.

My role is to organise and analyse the information already contained within medical records, identify patterns, discrepancies, gaps and unanswered questions, and help individuals and families understand their medical history more clearly.

The aim is to help people approach conversations with appropriate medical professionals with better organised information, greater context and a clearer understanding of the questions they may want to ask.

If any of this sounds familiar, I’d love to help. Get in touch to find out how Health Decoded by Kate could support you or your family.