About this item
The powerful memoir of a young doctor and former college athlete diagnosed with a rare disease who spearheaded the search for a cure - and became a champion for a new approach to medical research."An extraordinary memoir . . . It belongs with Atul Gawande's writings and When Breath Becomes Air." - Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of OriginalsDavid Fajgenbaum was a former Georgetown quarterback nicknamed the Beast in medical school, where he was also known for his unmatched mental stamina. But things changed dramatically when he began suffering from inexplicable fatigue. In a matter of weeks, his organs were failing and he was read his last rites. Doctors were baffled by his condition, which they had yet to even diagnose. Floating in and out of consciousness, Fajgenbaum prayed for the equivalent of a game day overtime: a second chance. Miraculously, Fajgenbaum survived - only to endure repeated near-death relapses from what would eventually be identified as a form of Castleman disease, an extremely deadly and rare condition that acts like a cross between cancer and an autoimmune disorder. When he relapsed while on the only drug in development and realized that the medical community was unlikely to make progress in time to save his life, Fajgenbaum turned his desperate hope for a cure into concrete action: Between hospitalizations he studied his own charts and tested his own blood samples, looking for clues that could unlock a new treatment. With the help of family, friends, and mentors, he also reached out to other Castleman disease patients and physicians, and eventually came up with an ambitious plan to crowdsource the most promising research questions and recruit world-class researchers to tackle them. Instead of waiting for the scientific stars to align, he would attempt to align them himself. More than five years later and now married to his college sweetheart, Fajgenbaum has seen his hard work pay off: A treatment that he identified has induced a tentative remission and his novel approach to collaborative scientific inquiry has become a blueprint for advancing rare disease research. His incredible story demonstrates the potency of hope, and what can happen when the forces of determination, love, family, faith, and serendipity collide."A page-turning chronicle of living, nearly dying, and discovering what it really means to be invincible in hope." - Angela Duckworth, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Grit
About the Author
David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc is a groundbreaking physician-scientist, disease hunter, and bestselling author of the acclaimed memoir, Chasing My Cure: A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope Into Action. Fajgenbaum went from being a beast-like college Quarterback to receiving his last rites while in medical school and nearly dying four more times battling Castleman disease. To try to save his own life, he spearheaded an innovative approach to research and discovered a possible treatment that has put him into an extended remission. Now, he is spreading this approach to advance cures for other diseases and sharing lessons he learned about living from nearly dying through Chasing My Cure.One of the youngest individuals ever appointed to the faculty at Penn Medicine and the top 1 percent youngest grant awardees of a leading NIH grant, Dr. Fajgenbaum is co-founder and executive director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN) and Associate Director, Patient Impact, for the Penn Orphan Disease Center. He has been recognized on the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, as a top healthcare leader by Becker's Hospital Review, the Global Genes RARE Champion of Hope: Science awardee, and one of three recipients--including Vice President Joe Biden--of a 2016 Atlas Award from the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia. Before co-founding the CDCN, Dr. Fajgenbaum co-founded and led the Actively Moving Forward Support Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting grieving college students. Dr. Fajgenbaum has been profiled in a cover story by The New York Times as well as by Good Morning America, CNN, and the Today Show, among others.Dr. Fajgenbaum earned a BS from Georgetown University magna cum laude with honors and distinction, MSc from the University of Oxford, MD from the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, and MBA from The Wharton School. He is a former Division I college quarterback, state-champion weight lifter, and co-founder of a national grief support network.Facebook.com/davidfajgenbaum or fb.me/davidfajgenbaumTwitter: @DavidFajgenbaum
