According to the World Health Organization, over one million clinical trials are conducted annually across the world. In 2024, the U.S. hosted approximately 20% of all trials, followed by China and India. Imagine all those thousands of patients traveling to clinics, submitting their samples, taking their treatments, and hoping that they – or those who follow […]
Champions
Wow! How? Every Cure
David Fajgenbaum was in medical school when his body began shutting down. A former college quarterback, he lay in bed, nearly helpless, as a priest read him his last rites. Then a doctor pitched a Hail Mary pass by administering seven different types of chemotherapy, hoping to blast Castleman disease out of Fajgenbaum’s body. It […]
Jill Dopf Viles, DIY scientist
Jill Dopf Viles suspected a killer was hiding in her family’s genetic code. Symptoms popped up among her siblings, her father, her uncle, her grandmother, but, despite 15 annual visits to the Mayo Clinic, no clinician suggested anything more specific than muscular dystrophy. Viles studied genetics in college and spent hours in the library, reading […]
Wow! How? Psychedelic Outlaws
Imagine the nerves behind one of your eyes suddenly bursting into flames of pain, relentlessly burning for hours. The pain recedes, then roars back, day after day. You try to describe what is happening inside your head to your family, your clinicians, even yourself, but words fall short. It is the worst pain a human […]
Wow! How? Cancer Treatment Innovation
This post is the latest in my series of “Wow! How? Health” stories, also shared on LinkedIn if you want to follow the conversation on that platform. When Michael Katz was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, he was fortunate to connect with someone who had recently completed treatment, the “just-in-time someone-like-me” that could guide him. He vowed to do the […]
Jean Nidetch, Rebel Health leader
Jean Nidetch and six friends decided to try to lose weight together, meeting at her home to encourage and support each other in their quest. Their success drew more friends and in May, 1963, Nidetch launched a company based on the idea that peer support is key to weight control. Over 400 people showed up […]
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