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Chasing My Cure
- A Doctor's Race to Turn Hope into Action; A Memoir
- Narrated by: David Fajgenbaum
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
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Publisher's summary
Los Angeles Times and Publishers Weekly Best Seller
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.
“A wonderful and moving chronicle of a doctor’s relentless pursuit, this book serves both patients and physicians in demystifying the science that lies behind medicine.” (Siddhartha Mukherjee, New York Times best-selling author of The Emperor of All Maladies and The Gene)
David Fajgenbaum, a former Georgetown quarterback, was 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 a second chance, the equivalent of a dramatic play to second the game into overtime.
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.
Praise for Chasing My Cure
“A page-turning chronicle of living, nearly dying, and discovering what it really means to be invincible in hope.” (Angela Duckworth, number-one New York Times best-selling author of Grit)
"A remarkable memoir.... Fajgenbaum writes lucidly and movingly.... Fajgenbaum’s stirring account of his illness will inspire readers.” (Publishers Weekly)
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Critic reviews
“Inquiring physicians have discovered much from studying patients with rare diseases, but rarely has the physician been the patient. Dr. Fajgenbaum tells his own remarkable story of fighting a mysterious, nearly fatal multisystem disease, and of his brilliant deduction that a long-known drug may be the cure. This book - part detective story, part love story, part scientific quest - shows how one indefatigable physician can bring hope to patients who suffer from a rare disease that is barely on the radar screen of medical science.” (Michael S. Brown, MD, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Medicine, 1985)
“This is a remarkable and gripping story of how a potentially fatal rare illness inspired the patient to commit himself as a physician/scientist to search for its cause and cure. Dr. Fajgenbaum’s description of his journey is a tale of courage, dedication, and brilliance that will enthrall and fascinate its readers.” (Arthur H. Rubenstein, professor of medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania)
"“Moving... A powerful, highly personal chronicle of a doctor’s feverish rush to find a cure for the disease that afflicts him. Fajgenbaum writes with consistent urgency and great emotion.... Offering a distinctively uncommon perspective on disease and doctoring, Fajgenbaum also writes earnestly and frankly about the unique brand of humility one must accept as a medicinal healer with a mysterious, possibly deadly malady.” (Kirkus Reviews)
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- By Audiophile on 05-13-07
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Confessions of a Surgeon
- The Good, the Bad, and the Complicated...Life Behind the O.R. Doors
- By: Paul A. Ruggieri MD
- Narrated by: Eric Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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As an active surgeon and former department chairman, Dr. Paul A. Ruggieri has seen the good, the bad, and the ugly of his profession. In Confessions of a Surgeon, he pushes open the doors of the OR and reveals the inscrutable place where lives are improved, saved, and sometimes lost. He shares the successes, failures, remarkable advances, and camaraderie that make it exciting.
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Enjoyed the anecdotes!
- By suzanne on 07-31-17
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When Breath Becomes Air
- By: Paul Kalanithi, Abraham Verghese - foreword
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated.
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Phenomenal book!
- By A. Potter on 01-16-16
By: Paul Kalanithi, and others
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Less Medicine, More Health
- 7 Assumptions That Drive Too Much Medical Care
- By: H. Gilbert Welch
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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The author of the highly acclaimed Overdiagnosed describes seven widespread assumptions that encourage excessive, often ineffective, and sometimes harmful medical care. You might think the biggest problem in medical care is that it costs too much. Or that health insurance is too expensive, too uneven, too complicated - and gives you too many forms to fill out. But the central problem is that too much medical care has too little value.
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The truth will set you free
- By Rene B Milner on 04-01-16
By: H. Gilbert Welch
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The Family Gene
- A Mission to Turn My Deadly Inheritance into a Hopeful Future
- By: Joselin Linder
- Narrated by: Khristine Hvam
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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When Joselin Linder was in her 20s, her legs started to swell. She thought little of it until her health problems started to compound in ways that baffled her doctors. Diagnosed with extreme liver blockage and dangerous levels of lymph fluid, Joselin turned to the most similar case she could think of - her father's.
By: Joselin Linder
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The Inheritance
- A Family on the Front Lines of the Battle Against Alzheimer's Disease
- By: Niki Kapsambelis
- Narrated by: Callie Beaulieu
- Length: 9 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Every 69 seconds, someone is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. Of the top 10 killers, it is the only disease for which there is no cure or treatment. For most people, there is nothing that they can do to fight back. But one family is doing all they can. The DeMoe family has the most devastating form of the disease that there is: early onset Alzheimer's, an inherited genetic mutation that causes the disease in 100 percent of cases, and has a 50 percent chance of being passed onto the next generation.
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A Cover-to-Cover Slug in the Gut, but Inspiring
- By Gillian on 04-16-17
By: Niki Kapsambelis
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Changing the Way We Die
- Compassionate End-of-Life Care and the Hospice Movement
- By: Sheila Himmel, Fran Smith
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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There’s a quiet revolution happening in the way we die. More than 1.5 million Americans a year die in hospice care - nearly 44 percent of all deaths - and a vast industry has sprung up to meet the growing demand. Once viewed as a New Age indulgence, hospice is now a $14 billion business and one of the most successful segments in health care. Changing the Way We Die, by award-winning journalists Fran Smith and Sheila Himmel, is the first book to take a broad, penetrating look at the hospice landscape.
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Sadly, not very engaging.
- By Debra S. Long on 06-16-18
By: Sheila Himmel, and others
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Black Man in a White Coat
- A Doctor's Reflections on Race and Medicine
- By: Damon Tweedy M.D.
- Narrated by: Corey Allen
- Length: 8 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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When Damon Tweedy begins medical school, he envisions a bright future where his segregated, working-class background will become largely irrelevant. Instead, he finds that he has joined a new world where race is front and center. The recipient of a scholarship designed to increase black student enrollment, Tweedy soon meets a professor who bluntly questions whether he belongs in medical school, a moment that crystallizes the challenges he will face throughout his career.
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Absolutely eye opening!
- By Kelene on 02-23-16
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A Shot to Save the World
- The Inside Story of the Life-or-Death Race for a COVID-19 Vaccine
- By: Gregory Zuckerman
- Narrated by: Jack Armstrong
- Length: 12 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Few were ready when a mysterious respiratory illness emerged in Wuhan, China, in January 2020. Politicians, government officials, business leaders, and public-health professionals were unprepared for the most devastating pandemic in a century. Many of the world’s biggest drug and vaccine makers were slow to react or couldn’t muster an effective response. It was up to a small group of unlikely and untested scientists and executives to save civilization.
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Wow! Do not miss this one.
- By Jacob on 11-18-21
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The Desperate Hours
- One Hospital's Fight to Save a City on the Pandemic's Front Lines
- By: Marie Brenner
- Narrated by: Kirsten Potter
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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In the spring of 2020, COVID-19 arrived in New York City. Before long, America’s largest metropolis was at war against a virus that mercilessly swept through its five boroughs. In The Desperate Hours, award-winning journalist Marie Brenner, having been granted unprecedented 18-month access to the entire New York-Presbyterian hospital system, tells the story of the doctors, nurses, residents, researchers, and suppliers who tried to save lives across Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn and the northern periphery of the city.
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Way too much politics
- By Josh on 07-18-22
By: Marie Brenner
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Your Heart, My Hands
- An Immigrant's Remarkable Journey to Become One of America's Preeminent Cardiac Surgeons
- By: Arun K. Singh MD, John Hanc - contributor, Delos Cosgrove MD - foreword
- Narrated by: Shridhar Solanki
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Leaving a life marked by crippling setbacks and his father's doubt, in 1967 a 20-something doctor from India arrived in America with only five dollars and the desire to claim his American dream. Faced with an entirely new culture, racism, and the lasting effects of disabling childhood injuries, through hard work and perseverance he overcame all odds. Now having performed over 15,000 open-heart surgeries, more than nearly every surgeon in history, Dr. Singh reflects on his most memorable patients and his incredible personal life.
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Remarkable!
- By Stacey on 12-01-22
By: Arun K. Singh MD, and others
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The Heart Healers
- The Misfits, Mavericks, and Rebels Who Created the Greatest Medical Breakthrough of Our Lives
- By: James Forrester MD
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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At one time heart disease was a death sentence. By the middle of the 20th century, it was killing millions, and, as with the Black Death centuries before, physicians stood helpless. Visionaries, though, had begun to make strides earlier. On September 7, 1895, Ludwig Rehn successfully sutured the heart of a living man with a knife wound to the chest for the first time.
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Great review of the landmark achievements in Cardiology.
- By Trauma NP on 12-14-15
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The 20-Month Legend
- My Baby Boy's Fight with Cancer
- By: Steve Tate
- Narrated by: Steve Tate
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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As if juggling a life with half-a-dozen kids, including triplets, isn’t enough, Steve Tate receives the life-altering news that one of his triplets, Hayes, has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The once-star collegiate football player finds himself fighting for his son’s life. This memoir takes you through the various challenges he faced raising a family of six kids and balancing a career, all while his son battled the odds. Both Steve and his high-school sweetheart, Savanna, found hope and happiness through the example of their 20-month-old son Hayes.
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Very touching story
- By Nicole on 03-16-23
By: Steve Tate
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In Pain
- A Bioethicist’s Personal Struggle with Opioids
- By: Travis Rieder
- Narrated by: Travis Rieder
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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A bioethicist’s eloquent and riveting memoir of opioid dependence and withdrawal - a harrowing personal reckoning and clarion call for change not only for government but medicine itself, revealing the lack of crucial resources and structures to handle this insidious nationwide epidemic.
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An essential read in a time of crisis
- By Kelly Heuer on 06-25-19
By: Travis Rieder
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The Spectrum of Hope
- An Optimistic and New Approach to Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
- By: Gayatri Devi MD
- Narrated by: Wendy Tremont King
- Length: 12 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Imagine finding a glimmer of good news in a diagnosis of Alzheimer's. And imagine how that would change the outlook of the five million Americans who suffer from Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, not to mention their families, loved ones, and caretakers. A neurologist who's been specializing in dementia and memory loss for more than 20 years, Dr. Gayatri Devi rewrites the story of Alzheimer's by defining it as a spectrum disorder - like autism, Alzheimer's is a disease that affects different people differently.
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Aging with Grace
- By Lisa F on 05-19-21
By: Gayatri Devi MD
What listeners say about Chasing My Cure
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Elaine M
- 09-30-21
Excellent story of one mans fight for life.
Amazing book, It’s absolutely incredible what this guy goes through to find a cure for castleman disease. Highly recommend!
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- Campion Quinn, MD
- 11-12-23
Inspiring
A great medical memoir. It provides insight into a rare disease and the people that suffer from it. Fajgenbaum shows great intellect and courage.
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- B. Hermann
- 02-20-21
Engaging Read
I listened to this book and found it fascinating. It was horrible to hear of his disease, but also very enlightening. Since the author read his own book, I felt as though I was with him while he told his story. It was inviting and engaging. This book has left my mind reeling with thoughts about iMCD and other orphaned diseases out there. Thank you for spreading the word and sharing your story.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Gina Alsdorf
- 09-15-19
Dx Inspirational
The doctor faces rough odds and through pure grit and ingenuity, is able to create a new paradigm to find an already approved treatment for a life threatening disease. Admittedly not everyone would have the brain power, training and tenacity required to get this done. He is a Georgetown, Wharton guy. it's his resilience and relentless optimism that gets him through it.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Chris G
- 06-12-20
Amazing and inspiring
Amazing and inspiring that David had the spirit to get through everything so far. Fantastic to hear how he stopped hoping for a cure and started pushing to find it. Very well read by the author as well. An audiobook is always so much better when read by an author willing to put in the extra effort to record it themselves!
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-10-20
Highly recommend!
As a fellow patient of a rare disease I understood what he was going through hoping and wishing for a cure. His triumph at finding one felt like one for all of us. The narration was excellent; it made you feel more connected to the story even if you haven't been through it yourself.
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- Trent
- 08-27-20
Great book
As a physician I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It definitely helped me think of how I approach my patients and how I could take a more personalized approach to patient care and rethinking treatment paradigms for those cases that don’t respond to the standard approach.
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- Ye Ji Kim
- 01-26-20
Must read!
Really challenged me to my hopes into action as a doctor and gave me a glance into how the unknown, “know one knows the cure” could be translated back into real tangible hope.
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- Lauren Jones
- 12-17-20
An inspiration for those diagnosed with rare diseases
Especially those of us that share that diagnosis with being a healthcare provider ourselves. Thank you David!
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2 people found this helpful
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- DocBasia
- 09-27-20
Superb ... a must listen .
The book is narrated by the author which feels like a personal conversation . He is an excellent narrator which presses even more the need for medical research in all diseases .
A non medical person gains insight into the complexities of diagnosis , therapy , and still needed research of rare diseases .
The book is full of heartbreak but hope .
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2 people found this helpful