Living a Life of Consequence
In the summer of 2024, I was diagnosed with mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common type of skin lymphoma.
My symptoms first appeared in 2022 and were initially misdiagnosed as eczema. As it slowly spread over the next two years, it became clear something else was going on. A biopsy confirmed MF, and I was referred to a lymphoma specialist.
The timing could not have been worse. The biopsy results arrived a week before my son was due, and my specialist appointment wasn’t until about ten days after he was born. I was told we had caught it early and that it was very treatable. Still, hearing the word “lymphoma” right before becoming a dad was a lot to process.
Because I work in oncology, the entire experience felt surreal. I spend my professional life focused on cancer therapies, outcomes, and access to care. For the first time, I was walking into a cancer hospital as a patient. That changes your perspective quickly.
Over the last year, through conversations with my doctors and watching how my skin responded to treatment, the initial fear eased. But the experience stayed with me. It reshaped how I think about my work and clarified what it means to live a life of consequence.
In MedTech, it’s easy to focus on the device, the data, and the clinical applications. But this reminded me that the people we build these technologies for aren’t abstractions. Behind every diagnosis is a person navigating uncertainty, fear, and stress in the middle of real life.
It also pushed me to think about something deeper: living a life of consequence means having an obligation to show up fully for the people around us. Not to stand on the sidelines and watch the world go by, but to engage—to act intentionally—and to support work that matters.
That is why I am supporting Blood Cancer United (formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, LLS) through their Shred for Red campaign. I’m aiming to raise $3,000 by March 28, and I’d be grateful for your help if you’re able.
LLS has helped drive therapies that have doubled, tripled, and in some cases even quadrupled blood cancer survival rates. Many LLS-supported treatments are now being used beyond blood cancers and are being studied across a wide range of cancers and other diseases. This work changes outcomes and changes families’ trajectories.
If you are able, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. Your contribution helps fund research, patient services, advocacy, education, and community support for people facing blood cancer today.
Thank you for being part of this.
To learn more, visit LLS.org.
