Walking past the bookshelves at Navigating Cancer, you will see several framed photos. When I began my work here, I found that many employees have family members who have faced cancer, and we are all encouraged to give these special people a prominent place in our office, which is why we proudly display them – as a reminder of our mission. Here are two employees who have shared their thoughts with me on Why We Do What We Do.
What motivates you about working at Navigating Cancer?
Jeff Oberlander, VP of Engineering:
It’s hard for me to frame that in a small way. I walked away from a good company to come here because I know when there is a unique intersection of things that are important to me. One is a very personal connection. My sister Shelly had melanoma and passed away three years ago. It came out of nowhere and progressed pretty quickly. Then she was gone. It was quite a shock. It was a nightmare for her to manage her healthcare. The last thing you should be dealing with is the administration of the disease.
Fred Ancheta, Software Engineer:
I always tell people: Any way I can make cancer suck a little less, I will get involved. My brother was diagnosed with NHL a couple years ago. He’s good now. He’s been in remission for about a year and a half. He was the motivation for me wanting to work here.
From my perspective, I get a lot of satisfaction from working at a company that develops tools to help patients have more control over their health information. It would have been much easier for my mom and dad, who both battled cancer, to keep track of their appointments, scans and blood work, had those tools been available when they went through it. Like many of my friends here at Navigating Cancer, this personal connection is what motivates me to work here.
– Fred Ancheta
Why We Do What We Do will feature more Navigating Cancer employees in future blog posts and on our Facebook page.