If it hadn’t been for his mother’s strong hand, his life would certainly have taken a turn in a very bad direction. It almost did. But she stood strong, and she saved him from the gangs and the dangers of the streets.

She was his savior. And now she was gone, too.

Feeling a hollowness in the pit of his stomach, Juan closed his eyes as the painful memory bubbled to the surface.

“Ay ay ay, mijo… el dolor…” Mom moaned in Spanish as the pain wracked her body.

Tears blurring his vision, Juan watched over her. He knew she had little time left. Despite the strong odor of camphor coming from her nebulizer, her breathing was shallow and strained. She’d refused hospice care, preferring to stay at home until the very end.

With a sudden inhalation, Mom grimaced and squeezed Juan’s hand. He clasped her hand in both of his.

And then her grip loosened. The grimace disappeared. And she closed her eyes.

A tear ran down the side of her face. “I’m sorry, mijo… I can’t fight anymore…”

Juan softly whispered the words aloud. “I can’t fight anymore.” His mother’s last words. Eight years later, those words still haunted him.

Cancer had taken both his parents from him, and those deaths had shaped the man he was today. His father’s death had filled Juan with an unstoppable drive, and his mother had given him the desire to prevent others from suffering from the same hideous disease.

He was driven by a single-minded obsession.

To find a cure for cancer.

###

Juan glanced up at the clock and groaned. He’d promised Lisa that he’d be home hours ago. Glancing around at the lab bench scattered with his notes, printouts and then at various other computer terminals, Juan shook his head and announced to nobody in particular, “Okay, that’s enough for today.”

But before he could close his laptop, it dinged with an e-mail from AgriMed’s HR department.

To all North American employees:

As many of you know, the pharmaceutical industry has been experiencing an economic downturn. We have weathered such events in the past by increasing our investments in research and development so that we can come out stronger when the economy improves.

Unfortunately, our forecasts show that the economic malaise is spreading across Europe and Asia. Therefore, it has been decided that we will take a closer look at our investments, and in some cases, separation from the company will be the result.

All employees should expect to have one-on-one meetings with their immediate supervisors on whether or not they are affected.

Further details on separation packages will be made available within the next week.

Juan read the e-mail a second time, glanced at the disorganized mess of notes and partial results scattered across his workspace, and groaned.