Review of Chasing My Cure: A Doctor’s Race to Turn Hope into Action; A Memoir, by David Fajgenbaum

David Fajenbaum was, by his own admission, an ordinary kid. He wasn’t especially talented academically or athletically, but he did have an almost autistic-like hyper focus which allowed him to spend hours watching game films after his football teammates had already gone home. It allowed him to power through study sessions when other friends had wandered off to watch TV.

It was this hyper focus that allowed Fajenbaum to play football at a Division I school, despite a broken leg his senior year in high school. It was his hyper focus that he relied on when his long-time girlfriend said she didn’t feel like he was making her a priority, and they should take a break. “Fine,” he said. “We’ve got lots of time.”

But as this young med student pressed into his studies and gym workouts, he experienced an unexplainable fatigue, enlarged nodes, and blood moles. What was this? Fajenbaum’s organs began to shut down and doctors could not identify the problem. In the ICU on the brink of death Fajgenbaum insisted on a test for cancer. When the nurse came back with the results of no cancer, but something called Castleman Disease, she thought she was bringing good news. Not so.

What could Fajgenbaum, a young doctor, do stop his body from succumbing to this little known disease? Could he find a cure in time to save himself?

This is a true medical thriller, being played out in real time for some Castleman patients. Find out what happened to Fajgenbaum, and if there is any hope for others diagnosed with Castleman disease.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

As someone with rare diseases, I could relate to this author on so much.
The author definitely made the "medical" aspects of this book easy to understand and follow. You were definitely be inspired by his story!

If you or anyone you have loved has experienced the pain of a missing diagnosis— or the frustrations of the FDA drug approval process— or even having to learn to roll with life’s punches and put your self-care first, this memoir is a must-read.

"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." Throughout his memoir, he continues to write in metaphor, continually comparing his experience as a patient to that of a football player in his younger life, to his experience as a caretaker for his mother when she lived with cancer, and to that of his life as a medical student. He was able to precisely recall details throughout a difficult period, providing a window into life with a rare-- "orphan"-- disease for those of us who are unaware of Castleman Disease.

He is an extraordinary human, demonstrating how to battle physical and mental challenges while using them to guide one's sense of purpose. I believe this memoir will provide inspiration for people both with and without medical conditions, as it speaks to finding your purpose and learning to go after whatever your heart truly desires. I look forward to following his journey in the future.

“Fear disintegrates. Doubt disorganized. Hope clears the way…”

So writes Dr. David Fajgenbaum, the author of a truly heroically inspiring book. Part romance, part medical thriller, and all memoir and true, this book will leave you in awe. How the Beast of football became the Beast of rare diseases is incredible.

David played Division I college football. His mother died of brain cancer while he was still in college and it understandably rocked him. He vowed to become a doctor to fight cancer. And then he ended up becoming a doctor to fight his own rare disease. While still in medical he became alarmingly ill. Fatigue and unwellness quickly changed to a failure of his major organs. Was it cancer?

No, his diagnosis, which took awhile, turned out to be Castleman’s Disease, first discovered in 1954. Only one drug was available, and that drug didn’t help David. He suffered through 4 more agonizing relapses, where he was near death and given last rites.

David decided to use his hyper focused thinking skills to research and defeat Castleman’s. In the book, he tells of his disease, treatments, and how he established the Castleman’s Disease Collaborative Network. He first became ill in 2010, and he has all ready accomplished so much. His research has now given him 5 years without a relapse. And his organization has changed the way rare disease research and funding is handled. “I became invincible in hope only after I realized I was called to act …on my hope.”

Also since 2010, he married his true love and they had a baby in 2018! He noted that his “experience has liberated me to follow my passions. I have an incredible sense of purpose now.” Be sure to read his biography at the end of the book- well-done Dr. Fajgenbaum.
You can learn more about Castleman’s and rare disease research at https://www.cdcn.org/

The author writes with a clear and energized style. He makes the medical parts easy to understand. I will pray for him and his family that they can continue to stay strong.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group Ballantine for a digital review copy. This is my honest review.

When his mother died of a vicious brain tumor while he was in college, David Fajgenbaum decided to devote his life to taking down cancer. But before he finished his residency, it would be his own life he was fighting to save.

It started with an odd fatigue, a constant need to sleep. And some swollen lymph nodes. But even as he tried to convince himself everything was okay, even as he put off getting bloodwork done or getting CAT scans, because he wanted to finish his current rotation, a part of David knew he was dying. He told his friends that he would be gone soon. He sensed his body was about to shut down. And he was right: he went from fatigue to full-blown multi systemic organ failure in a period of days. He said his goodbyes to all his friends. Only the realization that he didn't want to put his family, still grieving his mother's death, through another loss, caused him to push through.

He spent months in the hospital, and no one knew what was happening to him or why. When he finally, gradually, started to improve, and went home to recuperate, his doctor said to him, "We don't know what this was. Let's just hope it doesn't come back."

A month later, it did. Another multi system organ failure. Platelets plummeting. Body shutting down. And still no one knew why.

Once his disease was finally identified, David was overjoyed. But that was followed quickly by devastation, when he asked "What are the treatments for this disease?" And the answer was, "There are none."

"What clinical trials are taking place?"

"There are none."

He was facing a horrible enemy and even worse, there was no opposing force. He literally had no weapons and no resources with which to fight it.

So he decided to make his own.

I wish I could give this book two different ratings. On the first front, as a medical mystery/memoir, Dr. Fajgenbaum tells a fascinating story, and this is a five star story. It's the mystery of what was happening in his own body and, beyond that, why modern medicine is not set up to help him, or people like him. He uses his own experience to explain the incredible shortcomings of modern medicine, which only seeks to develop mass treatments for mass diseases, diseases that affect huge portions of the population -- like prostate or breast or colon cancer -- while the literal millions of people who suffer from thousands of "orphan diseases" never get any research or help at all.

Dr. Fajgenbaum makes a compelling case for creating a new model of research and treatment, to break out of the silos of modern medicine, to look for common ground across many different kinds of diseases, to be more innovative and nimble in the search for a cure. He starts with his investigation into his own disease, and then from there, how to take what he found and learned to apply it to a search for other people, and other illnesses. It's a fascinating, relevant, and important story. And the fact that Dr. Fajgenbaum is alive to write the book is, in itself, a triumphant ending. (No spoilers as to how he gets there!)

However, I did find myself wishing that the story had been told by someone else. Dr. Fajgenbaum is many things, but he is not a writer. And the book's prose is at best workmanlike, and more often just sort of dull. He tells us of his deep love for his girlfriend, but we never see why. The other characters in the story, other than his mom, are just dry sketches, not fully realized people. Even Dr. Fajgenbaum himself, I suspect, would be more interesting if he had been written by someone else. And when he gets into the heart of the story, the medical research, it gets very dry and hard to read. I think a really great nonfiction writer could have created a really phenomenal book with this material. But in the hands of an amateur writer who can only see from one perspective, it falls a bit short.

So. Five stars for the story itself. Ten stars for the work that Dr. Fajgenbaum is doing! But as a piece of writing, it's hard not to wish for a different approach.

First, I would like to thank David Fajgenbaum, Ballantine Books, and NetGalley for providing me this book so I may bring you this review.

Chasing my Cure A Doctor’s Race To Turn Hope Into Action’s author David Fajgenbaum is a must read book if you like Medical Memoirs like I do. David Fajgenbaum is the bravest man I know to open up his heart and tell his story the way that he did. He is also the strongest men I know who didn’t give up on finding a cure for his mysterious disease. At times it seemed so frustrating and I wanted to just give him a hug.

He would like to dedicate this book to his mom, dad, sisters, and Caitlin and Amelia. They taught him how to live, supported him when he was dying and inspired me to chase cures for my disease and others. He loves you.

One big lesson you walk away with in this is that family is extremely important. His family was amazing each and every one. I loved reading about the bond he had with his Mom and how they were so close. My heart ached when she passed. But I think she was with him as a guardian angel looking over him during all the bad times.

Caitlin in my eyes is a saint with a beautiful heart of gold. Her role in this story is amazing. David is blessed to have her in his life!

For me I loved this book because I think medicine is fascinating. I wouldn’t wish anyone go through what David went through or what he has. However, I found this book fascinating. He educated his readers on the disease and the line of treatment that he was receiving.

There was a part in the book that made me laugh. He was delivering a baby his first baby and he kept thinking don’t drop it, Dave. Don’t drop it. Dave. Don’t drop it Dave. I always wondered if Doctors thought that way.

A young man is diagnosed with a deadly disease and told there is no hope. He finds that hope. This a brilliantly told memoir that will give everyone hope.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy free of charge. This is my honest and unbiased opinion of it.

What an inspiration! The author is clearly a brilliant scientist, doctor and researcher who is also a great storyteller and he has the rare knack of making complex topics understandable for the lay reader. But even if you choose to skim over the more technical science you will still get so much from this book. I read it in one day (guess I’ll be doing my client work over the weekend;). After reading this book you’ll never forget the importance of turning your hope into action.

Thank you to Netgalley and Ballantine Books for providing me with and early release of this book in exchange for an honest and fair review.

This book truly shows that one can accomplish anything that he/she desires if the effort is there. David was on the brink of death and everyone was telling him that there was no hope, but against all odds, he proves them wrong. The language, story line, and writing in this book are top notch, and keep the reader engaged.

“Chasing My Cure” is an amazing story of one Doctor’s race against time to find a treatment for Castleman Disease before it takes his own life. It is a story of courage and perseverance even when the odds didn’t work in his favor. And more than just one man’s story it speaks to the practice of medicine, the state of medical research, the limitations of our current system as well as the hope of that system and the difference one person truly can make. It is a thoughtful and optimistic book but does not ignore the many barriers placed before those caught in a complicated and often confusing medical system. Ultimately though it is a story of hope not despair-a story of the strength and wisdom that comes from family and friends and doctors that care. It is a book you are not going to want to miss. I was honored to receive a free advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the Publisher, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine in exchange for an honest review.

A young doctor afflicted with a rare diagnosis a doctor who fought to find a cure.A true inspiring story of the doctors chase to find the cure for this illness.@A very inspiring story a very brave smart man.#netgalley#randomhouse.

Chasing My Cute is a eye opening experience this young doctor had to go through fighting Castleman disease. His own struggles fighting it and trying to find a cure. A very interesting and enlightening book.