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Peter
Cobb '82 |
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A second
chance to carry on
By
Deborah L. Wood
For Peter
Cobb '82, the power of the Internet saved his life.
In 1997,
Cobb was diagnosed with a cancer so rare his doctors weren't
sure how to treat it - or if it could be treated. So he did
what any desperate computer-age consumer would do: He scoured
the Internet for experts. Several replied and recommended
an oncologist in Denver, near his home.
Cobb was
told his type of sarcoma doubles in size every 10 days and
leaves victims with a 20 percent three-year survival rate.
But his aggressive approach helped him beat the odds. After
five rounds of chemotherapy and two surgeries performed by
Lance Armstrong's doctor, Cobb says his doctors told him to
"figure out what to do with the rest of my life."
That was
easy. In 1998, he and a few friends started eBags.com, the
first Internet business to sell luggage and handbags using
drop-shipping. With no inventory, because manufacturers ship
items directly to customers, eBags is able to offer more than
15,000 products. The company has expanded into Europe and,
in 1999, launched a second site, Shoedini.com, specializing
in (you guessed it) footwear.
But Cobb's
experience with cancer was not over: His wife had a recurrence
of breast cancer and died in 2001.
He remarried
in 2003 and has a family that includes his son, 11, and two
stepdaughters, 9 and 12.
Cobb credits
the Kellogg School for "teaching me to look at other ways
to find a solution." He credits being cured for giving him
"a second chance at life and the opportunity to create something
that has never been done before, something my kids are proud
of."
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