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Author Fajgenbaum, David C., author.

Title Chasing my cure : a doctor's race to turn hope into action : a memoir / David Fajgenbaum.

Publication Info. New York : Ballantine Books, [2019]

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Bristol, Main Library - Non Fiction  616.99 FAJGENBAUM    Check Shelf
 Glastonbury, Welles-Turner Memorial Library - Adult Department  BIO FAJGENBAUM    Check Shelf
 Newington, Lucy Robbins Welles Library - Adult Department  616.99446 FAJGENBAUM    Check Shelf
 West Hartford, Noah Webster Library - Non Fiction  616.9944 FAJGENBAUM    Check Shelf
Edition First edition.
Description 241 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : color illustrations ; 22 cm
Summary "The inspiring memoir of a young doctor and former college athlete who became a champion for people suffering from rare, under-researched diseases--all while battling his own. A former Georgetown quarterback nicknamed 'The Beast,' David Fajgenbaum was also a force in medical school, where he was 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 over a condition they had yet to even diagnose; floating in and out of consciousness, Fajgenbaum prayed for the equivalent of game day overtime: a second chance. Miraculously, Fajgenbaum survived, but 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 disease. When he relapsed 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 proposed to align them himself. More than five years later and now married to his college sweetheart, his hard work has paid 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 forces of determination, love, family, faith and serendipity collide"-- Provided by publisher.
Subject Fajgenbaum, David C. -- Health.
Lymph nodes -- Cancer -- Patients -- United States -- Biography.
Physicians -- Diseases -- United States.
Physicians -- United States -- Biography.
BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Personal Memoirs.
PHILOSOPHY / Mind & Body.
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Death & Dying.
Health. (OCoLC)fst00952743
Physicians -- Biography. (OCoLC)fst01062845
Physicians -- Diseases. (OCoLC)fst01062856
United States. (OCoLC)fst01204155
Other Form: Online version: Fajgenbaum, David C., author. Chasing my cure First edition. New York : Ballantine Books, [2019] 9781524799625 (DLC) 2019012931
ISBN 9781524799618 (hardback)
1524799610 (hardback)
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