{"id":83572,"date":"2018-01-05T16:05:30","date_gmt":"2018-01-06T00:05:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/securingtomorrow.mcafee.com\/?p=83572"},"modified":"2025-05-26T20:18:58","modified_gmt":"2025-05-27T03:18:58","slug":"3-lessons-ive-learned-battling-cancer-cybercriminals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mcafee.com\/blogs\/other-blogs\/life-at-mcafee\/3-lessons-ive-learned-battling-cancer-cybercriminals\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Lessons I\u2019ve Learned Battling Cancer and Cybercriminals"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Celeste, Senior Principal Engineer<\/em><\/p>\n

With our people at the heart, we are McAfee<\/em><\/p>\n

As Chief Data Scientist, Senior Principal Engineer, a Ph.D. in engineering, and the most senior female technical lead at McAfee, some might say my job is complicated and technical. But I believe we at McAfee are all<\/u><\/em> technical, no matter the field or position. In fact, any marketing or human resource strategy leaves me glazed over with awe, trying to understand that which I will likely never completely grasp in those fields. The common underlying fundamental we do<\/u><\/em> have in all of these areas, however, is our resolve to make the world a safer place for our families, our children and our communities. We all play a vital role in the battle against cybercriminals.<\/p>\n

My story just so happens to involve two battles\u2014one against cybercriminals and the other against cancer\u2014which have both shaped my career at McAfee and my personal life at home. Let me share how these worlds have collided and three lessons I\u2019ve learned along the way.<\/p>\n

1. Balancing home and work life is key for a healthy you<\/strong><\/h2>\n

As a metastatic breast cancer survivor, I appreciate the precarious balance of home and work. While in remission (two years and counting), I\u2019m still subjected to maintenance chemotherapy every three weeks that pulls the rug out from under me. The nightly side effects are brutal and require additional medication that \u2013 you guessed it \u2013 have even more<\/u><\/em> side effects. It\u2019s a never-ending cycle, and I will likely be on the maintenance chemo the rest of my life. Thankfully, I have a great support team at home and within a Facebook-post away. I believe that has helped me keep a positive outlook and strengthened my grit to beat the disease. The same is true at McAfee. Even though I work remotely, I have a great connection with my manager and team. Because I have the full support and trust of my manager, I can easily balance my work priorities at McAfee and the day-to-day things that are important \u2013 like my chemotherapy treatment.<\/p>\n

2. Tenaciousness and determination will drive you to success<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Adding to the attributes for juggling home and work are tenaciousness and determination.\u00a0 These qualities have been key in my battle against cancer, as well as my 38-year career in tech. I can single-handedly drive an oncologist insane with my never-ending questions about my care. And I suspect that I do the same thing with anyone speaking analytics with me! You\u2019ll find this type of mentality throughout McAfee; it\u2019s through our passion, curiosity, and tenacity that we unite and remain laser focused on keeping people protected.<\/p>\n

At home and work, I bring the same perseverance that has guided me throughout my life. As I pursued my graduate studies, my professors would say, \u201cCeleste is like a dog with a bone.\u201d <\/em>If you believe in something, I think it is important to resolutely pursue it, just like a dog after a bone. While it took seven years to complete my Masters and nine years for my Ph.D., I never let go of the dream and was determined as I could be in everything I pursued.<\/p>\n

3. Never stop learning<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The cybersecurity world has brought my work and my passion under one roof. While I have applied analytics for nearly four decades to many markets outside of the cybersecurity industry, having that experience has helped me to think of new approaches to security. I also have great colleagues that teach me security nuances as well as those analytic skills I\u2019m not familiar with; I believe it is important to surround yourself with very smart people and, at McAfee, there is no shortage!<\/p>\n

Sometimes my passion and work-life balance falters. Sometimes the analytic model doesn\u2019t work. And at times, sitting in the chemo chair drains my energy and resolve. It is then I reach out to those around me to give me a dose of reality. I continue to learn about security and analytics. I continue to be in remission. I constantly remind folks to get their mammograms. I chew on that next set of security data. I work at beating the bad guy every day, whether it be cancer or cybercriminals. It typically brings my perspective back into focus, and my positivity, tenacity, and determination return. Whether it be at home or at work, each comes with a choice to be passionate and be the best we can be, fighting for what\u2019s right for our health or what\u2019s right in security. I, for one, am very fortunate that my worlds collide at McAfee!<\/p>\n

For more stories like Celeste\u2019s, follow\u00a0@LifeAtMcAfee<\/a>\u00a0on Instagram and on Twitter\u00a0@McAfee\u00a0<\/a>to see what working at McAfee is all about.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Celeste, Senior Principal Engineer With our people at the heart, we are McAfee As Chief Data Scientist, Senior Principal…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":674,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5062],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3973],"class_list":["post-83572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-at-mcafee"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThree Lesson I've Learned Battling Cancer and Cybercriminals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Read now to learn some of the lessons Celeste has learned battling cancer and cybercriminals and how both battles have shaped her career at McAfee and her personal life at home.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta 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