Passing of Our Colleague, Friend & Founder Stephen Aldrich
It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of our dear friend, colleague and founder Stephen Aldrich. After a courageous three-year battle with Stage IV esophageal cancer, Stephen passed away on July 7, 2020 with his family by his side.
Stephen was a visionary. At the beginning of his cancer journey, he obtained his full genomic sequencing data and used it to access personalized immunotherapy options – including a personalized neoantigen vaccine which led to his surviving and thriving for three full years beyond expectations. He quickly realized his approach to treatment could work for many other people with cancer and, true to his entrepreneurial nature, formed a team who shared his passion and vision to lay the foundation for MyCancerDB. Stephen paved the way for every person suffering from cancer to be able to use their personal genomic and health data to treat their disease and achieve optimal health and wellness. He was a passionate and eloquent advocate of our message of patient empowerment.
Stephen was truly an extraordinary man who impacted everyone he touched. We celebrate all of who he was, including his can-do positive attitude and his will to never stop fighting. Stephen will live in our memories as an intelligent, articulate, inspiring, caring, and exemplary man. He was a master organizer, bringing people with diverse backgrounds together to create a better world. We are now all on a shared mission thanks to Stephen.
Ultimately, Stephen succumbed to a severe internal reaction to chemo and radiation, not to the cancer itself. After a regrowth of his tumor in recent months, the timing was such that recourse had to be made to these traditional, more risky cancer treatments rather than a more personalized variety. It is for this reason that MyCancerDB’s mission to facilitate the rapid identification of safe and effective personalized-treatment options for cancer patients is stronger than ever.
We offer our deepest sympathies and condolences to Stephen’s wife Deborah, two children Noah and Mia, and the entire Aldrich family.
Stephen will be greatly missed as both a friend and core member of our team. More than anything, he wanted to help as many people as possible. MyCancerDB’s goal is to enhance the lives and outcomes for cancer patients and to make certain this shared vision becomes a defining part of Stephen’s legacy.
We ask that you partner with us to help other people with cancer accomplish what Stephen did and to fully realize the true potential of MyCancerDB. Additional messages from us will follow, focusing on how to get involved, highlights of the team that is building and running the company, and more on the mission of MyCancerDB.
