Cancer cells Image credit Pixabay/Skeeze
Cancer cells

There are few people who have not been impacted by cancer during their lives. Cancer Research revealed that 1 in 2 people born after 1960 will develop cancer in their lifetime. NetSuite has announced one of its pro bono projects, as part of the Oracle NetSuite social impact, is aiming to make a difference.

BRCA Foundation sees NetSuite project launch.

NetSuite co-founder and Global Business Unit EVP of Development, Evan Goldberg and his wife setup BRCA in 2016. Goldberg helped create the foundation after his birth mother tested positive for the mutated BRCA gene. The gene leads to an increased risk of cancer and Goldberg’s mother suffered two bouts of breast cancer.

The foundation was set up to research for a cure for the cancer and improve the ability to screen for the mutated gene. The Foundation also aims to bring together the disparate nonprofit organisations and research centres to push forward the research faster. We caught up with Goldberg at SuiteWorld earlier this year and discussed the latest developments at BRCA.

The BRCA Foundation looked to take advantage of the NetSuite support for nonprofit organisations. Part of this is the opportunity to apply for assistance in creating solutions to meet the nonprofits needs.  BRCA applied to the pro bono program. This allows employees to register to support nonprofit organisations working on projects submitted by that organisation.

The registration project

Jerome Wi, Solution Consulting Manager at NetSuite (Image credit Linkedin)
Jerome Wi, Solution Consulting Manager at NetSuite

The submitted project looked to gather information voluntarily from a genomics testing partner. Participants signed up and left demographic and contact information. That information wasd used to contact them later about relevant news. It also advised them of studies they could participate in.

The data was also made available to researchers. This allowed them to identify if there were enough participants in subsets to make the study worthwhile. Identifying potential participants is important for research in a field that has a relatively unknown target audience.

A team of four people from NetSuite supported individuals from the BRCA foundation. Together they created the relevant modification to the NetSuite software that now retains the data securely. Participants are able to register from the BRCA website.

One of the NetSuite employees involved in the project was Jerome Wi, Solution Consulting Manager at NetSuite and Project Manager for Suite Pro Bono. Wi commented: “This project was so gratifying to be a part of. I got to lend my development skills to support a project that will ultimately help to fight against cancer, all while using the SuiteCloud development platform.”

What does this mean

This is only one of many projects that Oracle NetSuite has completed across the world. More than 10,000 pro bono hours have been completed by employees since its inception in 2013. For the BRCA Foundation it provides a significant step forward in capability for the non profit.

Gail Fisher, Deputy Director of the BRCA commented: “NetSuite has been incredibly helpful and supportive of our mission every step of the way. It’s amazing what talented people can do with such a flexible platform. The registry is going to go a long way in the fight against cancer and have a huge impact on people with BRCA.”

NetSuite are one of several companies that offer significant support to nonprofit organisations. It is estimated that 1 in 500 women in the US carry the mutated gene. The gene can be passed down through either the male or female side. This is a significant number. It is estimated that $10 billion are spent on cancer research each year.  The time and effort that NetSuite and its employees spent in delivering this project could have a significant impact on future research. It is this kind of long term thinking that will help to diminish risks of cancer and increase the survival statistics for the disease.

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