IT Channel Executive & Cancer Survivor Sandy Preto Lives with Purpose

This blog post is part of a month-long focus on breast cancer awareness and prevention. Throughout October we’ll spotlight three courageous women—employees, friends and colleagues—who have touched our lives while battling the disease.

Sandy Preto was living the dream. As a rising star in the technology industry, she had a growing family and a full and happy life in Moraga, Calif. But in 2011, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma – a rare form of breast cancer – and her world was changed forever. Over the past five years she’s endured numerous surgeries (including one that lasted 15.5 hours), along with chemotherapy and a host of other treatments.

Most of us might have slowed down after going through so much. But not Sandy. In fact, today, more than ever, she’s a woman on a mission. In addition to her job at Channel Impact, she runs Notes4Hope, a charitable organization she founded to bring people and live music together. Her goal? To raise funds and build awareness for a more integrative approach to treating and preventing breast cancer.

Sandy believes that cancer doesn’t necessarily happen by accident. There are genetic and behavioral drivers for the disease, but there are also environmental drivers. Through Notes4Hope, she is focused on educating others about these environmental drivers – from pesticides, to GMOs and more. She wants to help those around her build healthy habits to facilitate recovery, too.

Because Sandy has learned a lot about battling cancer, she wants those now fighting it to know that it’s important to stay true to yourself as you go through treatment. Be mindful of what you can handle, she says. Friends and family might tell you to stop work, for example. In Sandy’s case, she didn’t mind working because she’s always thrived on the energy of a fast-paced workplace. But it took some effort to find an employer that would support her on her journey, giving her strength – not stress. At Channel Impact, she has that support.

All of us at Channel Impact have found a new hero in Sandy Preto. How about you?