I might be a little more outspoken about cancer and being a cancer survivor than many, especially on LinkedIn which is considered a b2b social network. And many might wonder what on earth does cancer have to with business. My answer is simply that it has everything to do with business.
Though we like to think of our “professional” lives as a refuge from our “regular” lives, it just doesn’t go that way anymore. Especially in this world of never-ending connectivity and working from wherever we are albeit the office, home, beach, hiking, or any other place we thought we were going “offline”.
Even before the pandemic which relegated us to our homes for a period of time, our professional and personal lives began melding quite a long time ago and I for one, am grateful.
When I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma twenty-nine years ago, there was no place to talk to the people you spent most of your time with on a day to day, month to month, and year to year basis.
The good news is that whatever exigent factors have brought us these changes to our personal interactions, it gives us additional opportunities to see more of what we have in common than we don’t. Along with this, it gives us a better chance to be more transparent and open with each other. And it’s unbelievable what support can come from this.
There are a couple of little-known facts about cancer that are rarely spoken about, and they are as follow:
1. Cancer doesn't care what private equity firm you work for
2. Cancer doesn’t care who you pray or who don’t pray to
3. Cancer doesn’t care what state or country you live in
4. Cancer doesn't care who you voted for
5. Cancer doesn’t care what your pronoun is
6. Cancer doesn’t care who you love or who loves you
7. Cancer doesn’t care if you’re a carnivore or a vegan
8. Cancer doesn’t care how much money you make or have
9. Cancer doesn’t care which side you’re on in the Kendrick/Drake issue. Though KL did crush it at the Superbowl.
10. There are 1000’s of other things cancer doesn’t care about other as well
As we're navigating ourselves in a more polarized world, it’s my belief that if we approached each other from this place and with the understanding that on a cellular level, we're all pretty much the same, my hope is that the temperature could come down a few degrees.
And my promise and my mission are to keep walking down this road and try to bring more healing, peace, and love to the planet.
In the meantime, get checked regularly. Early detection is the best cure.
Stay healthy!
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