The fight to rid Hong Kong of cervical cancer
Seth Fischer set up a foundation in 2012 to help prevent cervical cancer after the disease claimed the life of his friend and colleague, Karen Leung.
The death of one of his employees from cervical cancer proved a turning point for hedge fund boss Seth Fischer, leading him to play a key role in establishing a foundation to prevent the disease in Hong Kong.
Fischer first met Karen Leung in a job interview in Tokyo, when she applied for a job as his staff manager for the Japan and Hong Kong office.
He hired her immediately, impressed by the smart and detail-oriented woman who went on to work with him for eight years, becoming a very good friend in the process.
Her diagnosis in 2012 with cervical cancer, when she was aged just 34, took everyone who knew the energetic young woman by surprise. She died less than one year after her diagnosis.
In the wake of her death, Fischer and Leung’s husband Waqas Khatri were both struck by the fact that the deadly female cancer is actually preventable.
In memory of Karen, Fischer and Khatri founded the Karen Leung Foundation in 2012, which is the first non-government organisation in Hong Kong that focuses on raising awareness about cervical cancer, one of the most common cancers for women worldwide.