For financial advisor Rob Shick, winning the Community Service Award at the 2015 Community Leadership Awards was particularly meaningful. “I was honored and humbled to be selected as a winner. I was diagnosed with cancer 10 years to the month earlier and to have my family with me for the celebration was incredibly heartwarming,” Rob shared.
Rob decided to become involved with early cancer detection efforts at the Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) Foundation on September 12, 2005 – the day he was diagnosed with leukemia.
In the years that followed, Rob quickly became essential to the OHSU Foundation’s fundraising efforts. His most notable accomplishment, the Knight Cancer Challenge, raised $1 billion in two years for an early cancer detection research program. Rob shared his inspirational cancer survival story at more than 150 events, gaining the support needed to meet their goal.
He is truly grateful for the recognition from Invest in Others, although it was certainly unexpected. “When I was diagnosed with leukemia and began to give back I could have never imagined that I would be honored in this way. I have been humbled by the accolades that I have received from my colleagues since receiving this award,” he explained.
Today, Rob is able to watch his work come to life. “We have begun design plans for the new state of the art cancer center building that will house our early detection research and serve as a clinic to cancer patients. We’ve also started the process of recruiting some of the best and brightest researchers in the country to collaborate on this important early detection work. The best is yet to come,” he said.
Despite his impressive accomplishments, Rob has no intention of stepping back. He said, “it is a lifelong mission. I continue to strive to do all I can to help bring the same life saving treatments to other cancer patients.”