本文讲述了Matilda Narulita在27岁时被诊断出患有晚期癌症，但她并未因此停下前进的脚步。在接受化疗期间，她完成了MBA学业，并在毕业后重返麦肯锡工作。然而，慢性疾病的反复让她意识到需要停下来好好疗愈。于是，她毅然辞职，开启了为期一年的休假，专注于身心恢复，并在此期间探索了不同的运动方式。这段休假不仅让她找回了健康，更让她找到了人生目标，最终与商业伙伴共同创办了医疗AI初创公司Nexmedis，以全新的视角和坚定的决心投身于改变医疗健康行业。

💪 坚韧面对挑战：Matilda Narulita在27岁确诊晚期癌症，但她选择积极应对，在化疗期间仍努力完成MBA学业，并成功获得政府奖学金，展现了非凡的毅力和对生命的掌控力。

🚀 职业生涯与健康困境：即使重返麦肯锡并从事感兴趣的数字转型和能源项目，但慢性疾病的反复发作严重影响了她的工作表现，让她意识到健康是事业发展的基础。

🧘‍♀️ 疗愈与自我重塑：为了彻底康复，Matilda Narulita毅然辞去工作，开始了为期一年的休假，专注于身心调养，通过运动和家庭支持找回了力量和清晰的目标。

💡 创业新起点：在休养期间，她遇到了事业伙伴，并最终选择投身医疗AI初创公司Nexmedis，将过往的挑战转化为驱动力，致力于改善医疗健康服务。

🌟 人生意义的追寻：经历癌症、学业和职业的重重考验后，Matilda Narulita找到了自己的“ikigai”（生存的意义），并坚信过去的经历塑造了她，让她成为改变医疗行业最合适的人选。

Diagnosed with advanced cancer at 26, Matilda Narulita applied for an MBA during chemo.She juggled cancer, grad school, and McKinsey. Burnout came next — so she took a break.That year off led her to cofound Nexmedis, a healthcare AI startup in Indonesia.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Matilda Narulita, the cofounder of Nexmedis, a healthtech AI startup based in Indonesia. The story has been edited for length and clarity.

In 2014, I got diagnosed with cancer at the age of 27. By then, it was already in stage 3B, so it was quite advanced.

I was numb because I was still very young. It didn't even cross my mind that somebody at that age could have late-stage cancer. At the time, I was working at PwC.

Nobody around me wanted to talk about it. Instead of being sad, I was mainly angry with the condition.

In Indonesia, there's a big stigma that if you have a critical illness, even if you're young, your life is over. I wanted to prove that it is wrong.

The first daughter also always has to be strong. I felt responsibility for my family — as the first daughter, I needed to get out of this.

There were so many things to process. I kind of repressed it and decided to channel it to do something more productive.

During six months of chemotherapy in Singapore in 2015, I worked on my scholarship application for an MBA. During the good days, I worked on essays and recommendation letters. On the challenging days, I handled smaller tasks like rearranging my CV or collecting documents.

I interviewed between my 9th and 10th chemo sessions. On the day of my final treatment, I found out I got a government scholarship for an MBA.

I thought I was healed when I moved to the US — but I wasn't

A year after finishing chemo, I went to the University of Michigan Ross School of Business for my MBA. I thought by the time I had to go to the US, I would be recovered. Unfortunately, it was not the case.

I discovered another tumor. I was so scared. It was extremely challenging because I thought the recovery process was going to be a linear journey.

There was pressure for me to recover fast so that I could move on with my life and catch up. The MBA was full of very high-achieving, ambitious people.

I really struggled with the uncertainties. As a consultant, I like things to be well-planned and structured, and I had to throw that out the window.

After graduating from the MBA in 2018, I returned to McKinsey a year later and worked on a lot of digital transformation and energy-related projects, which were always my interest.

But I struggled due to my chronic illnesses. While I was consistently staffed on projects and studies, there were times I couldn't complete them due to flare-ups from my illnesses.

For two years, I had amazing peers, bosses, projects, and access to opportunities such as travel, training, and tailored staffing aligned with my goals. But my health often got in the way of fully embracing those experiences.

I took a sabbatical to heal

I realized I never gave myself proper time to heal, both physically and mentally. I was so afraid of losing the opportunity and time to achieve things.

I eventually quit McKinsey in 2021, took a sabbatical, and planned three years off.

I owed it to myself to focus and thank my body and mind for being so cooperative and strong throughout these years.

I needed to make sure I was ready for anything, whether it's being an entrepreneur, building a company, working full time as a consultant, or any other profession. It was going to be a marathon, not a sprint, and I'm running for myself.

For the first year, I focused on getting myself better. I began exploring different types of movement, such as strength training, swimming, and boxing, as a way to support my physical and mental well-being.

I also spent time between Jakarta and my hometown, Yogyakarta, where I got to be with my family, who is my greatest source of strength and support.

During that time, I met my business partner, who's now my CEO.

I started out just advising him on his other venture. When he asked me to build a company with him, it felt like the natural next step.

Up until two or three years ago, I didn't want to work in healthcare because I've always wanted to work in the energy sector. But I just needed to trust the process because everything brought me here.

I only ended up doing one year of sabbatical. But that year changed everything. I felt like I had more clarity in life about what I wanted to pursue. I found my ikigai — something I was excited to fight for and that gave me a sense of purpose.

Even though the sector was different, all those challenges shaped and prepared me for the present.

Without my experience, I wasn't going to be the best person to do this, to strive to change the way healthcare is delivered.

Do you have a story to share about a career pivot in Asia? Contact this reporter at cmlee@businessinsider.com.