“Chasing My Cure”

Physician David Fajgenbaum discusses his new memoir about his struggle with a rare and fatal disease and his search to understand and cure it.

Air Date: September 10, 2019 10:00 am

Georgetown Football training. Courtesy of David Fajgenbaum
David with his Dad in the hospital. Courtesy of David Fajgenbaum
Released from the hospital in Spring 2011. Courtesy of David Fajgenbaum
Back in the hospital in Spring 2012 & prepared to battle. Courtesy of David Fajgenbaum
David Speaking at Wharton 2015 Commencement (Shira Yudkoff)
David and Caitlin's wedding photo. Courtesy of David Fajgenbaum
David, Caitlin and Baby Amelia. Courtesy of David Fajgenbaum

Guest: David Fajgenbaum

When DAVID FAJGENBAUM was in medical school at the University of Pennsylvania he was suddenly hit by a mysterious illness that caused his organs to fail. His doctors were unable to identify what was wrong and while he managed to survive that bout, he was struck four more times with near-death episodes. Eventually. Fajgenbaum was diagnosed with a form of Castleman disease, a fatal disorder and so rare that there was little research on it. So he set out to understand his disease and find his cure. Fajgenbaum, an assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, comes in to talk about his memoir, Chasing My Cure, and how he used his medical training and crowdsourcing among patients and researchers to tackle Castleman’s disease, a novel approach that eventually led to an effective therapy.

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