Proud to lead Team ImpediMed

As we close out Lymphedema Awareness Month, I wanted to share my family’s story of resilience and how that’s connected to my immense sense of pride in joining the team at ImpediMed.

In the summer of 2021, my wife, Stacey, began experiencing unusual pains in her stomach. She consulted her doctor, who diagnosed her with a relatively benign condition that could be resolved with a simple outpatient procedure. But her specialist didn't feel quite right about the diagnosis, so they sent her for a CT scan.?A jarring sequence of additional tests quickly followed, ultimately leading to the diagnosis of Stage IV Fallopian Tube Cancer, the rarest form of gynecologic cancer.

Our world quickly turned upside down, but we gathered ourselves and focused on the battle ahead. I decided to stay home with Stacey to support her through her frontline therapy, which included several rounds of chemotherapy, an extensive surgery, and several more rounds of chemotherapy. We were initially told to expect about six months of treatment, with the hope of achieving remission. Fortunately, Stacey responded remarkably well to the therapy, and rang the remission bell on schedule.

What we didn’t anticipate was the second battle she would have to face – complications resulting from the surgery – which is commonly referred to in the cancer community as a “survivorship” issue.

Survivorship encompasses the physical, mental, emotional, and financial aspects of a person’s health and wellbeing from the moment of cancer diagnosis until the end of life. We learned that it involves ongoing management of the myriad of side effects that can arise from cancer therapy and treatment.

Stacey’s survivorship issue stemmed from a devastating side effect of her cancer surgery that almost claimed her life on more than one occasion. She was readmitted to the hospital numerous times, spending nearly 60 days there in total. She required daily wound care, and it took a full year from the date of her surgery for her to finally recover. Despite enduring an extremely traumatic year, she is one of the lucky ones as she has now completely healed from her “survivorship issue” and continues to be cancer-free.

Just as Stacey was in the final stages of her recovery and regaining her independence, I received a call from an executive search firm regarding a CEO role at ImpediMed. ImpediMed’s flagship platform, SOZO, accurately and noninvasively measures a patient’s total body water and extracellular and intracellular fluid volumes to aid in the assessment and interventions for chronic diseases. ImpediMed’s initial commercial focus is to measure for the earliest stages of one of the worst survivorship issues, cancer-related lymphedema.

Lymphedema is severe swelling, most often in the arms or legs, that occurs due to a blockage in the lymphatic system. Cancer-related lymphedema can occur from a surgical procedure, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy.?It’s not easy to diagnose in the early stages, so if a patient isn’t being prospectively tested for the onset of lymphedema, it can progress to an incurable, chronic condition that sentences a patient to a lifetime of swollen limbs, infection, pain, discomfort, and emotional trauma.

That’s where the magic of our FDA cleared SOZO platform comes in. It can catch lymphedema in the earliest stages of progression where the disease can be stopped in its tracks. In fact, in the largest randomized trial to assess lymphedema prevention, (the PREVENT Study) 92% of patients with early detection using ImpediMed’s L-Dex technology did not progress to chronic lymphedema.

The opportunity to take the helm of a company that offers such an impactful solution was one I could not pass up. I jumped at the chance to take leadership of this company and help make a positive difference in the lives of cancer survivors who suffer from cancer-related lymphedema.

I could not be more honored to lead Team ImpediMed on this journey to improve the lives of cancer survivors and help to rid the world of at least one survivorship issue, cancer-related lymphedema.