Fast Company editor Jon Gluck was diagnosed with multiple myeloma and given 18 months to live. Twenty years later, he has found that work helps him put things in perspective and provide a welcome distraction from his diagnosis and treatment. 

"I have been working this whole time. I’ve hardly missed a day of work, even when I’ve been hospitalized, [thanks to] remote work and Zoom. Sometimes people say, 'That’s so brave or courageous or wonderful of you to have worked the whole time.' Believe me, it has nothing to do with bravery in my case, it’s just an incredibly great distraction. The pressure and deadlines we deal with in our business were great for me because it was like whatever the problem is here at work, it’s not as big as that [cancer] problem.

"People often talk about getting that kind of perspective when they’ve received a diagnosis like mine. That’s absolutely been true in my case. I really came to see that I love what I do, and so there was just pleasure and enjoyment in doing the work. When you’re sick and not feeling well all the time or getting treatment and feeling even worse, pleasure and enjoyment are in short supply."

Read more of Gluck's story here.