046: Parul Somani — Resilience in the Face of Health Challenges

More than the F word, it’s the C word that scares so many of us, especially women who have a history of cancer in their family. As mothers, we try to be hyper aware of the carcinogens all around us - in the environment and nutrition - and try to steer clear of them to protect our kids. But when you’re predisposed, it’s a situation that often feels helpless because there’s nothing you could have done to prevent it.
Cancer affects the world population in such an invasive way - we all know at least one person who is currently fighting cancer, is a survivor, or has passed away. Today’s episode is about the measures we can take to prevent ourselves from becoming a statistic -- how to screen for breast cancer and how to deal with it if you do happen to be diagnosed or have a friend or family member who is.
Parul is a healthcare executive and cancer survivor turned inspirational speaker championing health, resilience, and a positive mindset. As the Founder & CEO of Silver Linings, Parul combines her experiences as a young working mother diagnosed with breast cancer in her early 30s, a caregiver who transformed her parents' lives with her patient advocacy, and a businesswoman with 15+ years of experience in management consulting and executive roles in consumer, technology, and healthcare companies. Parul's mission is to help improve the state of healthcare by sharing her experiences, and inspiring others to live a healthy, thankful, and fulfilling life. She has shared her personal story through her cancer blog that's been read in ~80 countries, films on survivorship and mindset, TV and radio segments, podcast interviews, and public speaking engagements.
Prior to becoming a professional speaker, Parul was Head of Global B2B and B2B2C Marketing at Color Genomics, where she built and led the team responsible for the entire sales and customer success marketing funnel for Color’s enterprise and clinical channels. Before that, as VP of Growth for Weddington Way, Parul led the vertical integration and retail growth strategies that led to the company's acquisition by Gap Inc. As a management consultant at Bain & Company, Parul led teams advising Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms, and helped launch Bain's first consulting office in India. Parul currently serves on the advisory board for Stanford's Health Communication Initiative and early stage start-ups.
Parul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Minor in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Parul and I are connected through our mutual friend Payal Kadakia Pujji. Payal is the founder of ClassPass which is the first female led start-up to hit unicorn status this year and Creative Director Sa Dance Company - Parul and I are members. I love that we are bonded by our passion for Indian dance.
Meet My Guest:

WEBSITE: ParulSomani.com

INSTAGRAM: @pdsomani

TWITTER: @pdsomani

FACEBOOK: /DesigningSilverLinings

LINKEDIN: Parul Somani 

Press:
THE SOUTH ASIAN TIMES: Parul Somani: Inspiring Others with Silver Linings 

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More than the F word, it’s the C word that scares so many of us, especially women who have a history of cancer in their family. As mothers, we try to be hyper aware of the carcinogens all around us - in the environment and nutrition - and try to steer clear of them to protect our kids. But when you’re predisposed, it’s a situation that often feels helpless because there’s nothing you could have done to prevent it.

Cancer affects the world population in such an invasive way - we all know at least one person who is currently fighting cancer, is a survivor, or has passed away. Today’s episode is about the measures we can take to prevent ourselves from becoming a statistic -- how to screen for breast cancer and how to deal with it if you do happen to be diagnosed or have a friend or family member who is.

Parul is a healthcare executive and cancer survivor turned inspirational speaker championing health, resilience, and a positive mindset. As the Founder & CEO of Silver Linings, Parul combines her experiences as a young working mother diagnosed with breast cancer in her early 30s, a caregiver who transformed her parents' lives with her patient advocacy, and a businesswoman with 15+ years of experience in management consulting and executive roles in consumer, technology, and healthcare companies. Parul's mission is to help improve the state of healthcare by sharing her experiences, and inspiring others to live a healthy, thankful, and fulfilling life. She has shared her personal story through her cancer blog that's been read in ~80 countries, films on survivorship and mindset, TV and radio segments, podcast interviews, and public speaking engagements.

Prior to becoming a professional speaker, Parul was Head of Global B2B and B2B2C Marketing at Color Genomics, where she built and led the team responsible for the entire sales and customer success marketing funnel for Color’s enterprise and clinical channels. Before that, as VP of Growth for Weddington Way, Parul led the vertical integration and retail growth strategies that led to the company's acquisition by Gap Inc. As a management consultant at Bain & Company, Parul led teams advising Fortune 500 companies and private equity firms, and helped launch Bain's first consulting office in India. Parul currently serves on the advisory board for Stanford's Health Communication Initiative and early stage start-ups.

Parul holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a Minor in Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Parul and I are connected through our mutual friend Payal Kadakia Pujji. Payal is the founder of ClassPass which is the first female led start-up to hit unicorn status this year and Creative Director Sa Dance Company - Parul and I are members. I love that we are bonded by our passion for Indian dance.

Meet My Guest:

INSTAGRAM: @pdsomani

TWITTER: @pdsomani

FACEBOOK: /DesigningSilverLinings

LINKEDIN: Parul Somani 

Press:

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