Genetic disorders can be really scary, but learning that I have one probably saved my life. It also led me to my current career. As a fundraiser for a children’s cancer hospital, my work supports research on Li-Fraumeni syndrome, a rare genetic condition that I actually have.

Originally, I was planning to become a pediatric oncology nurse. But my own cancer diagnosis and Li-Fraumeni syndrome took me down a different path. I dropped...