I was diagnosed with idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease at the end of my second year of medical school in May 2013. Out of the blue, and over a period of weeks, I became progressively fatigued and cachexic and my kidneys began to fail. Only after weeks of dialysis, numerous medications including chemo, and nearly a month long hospitalization did my doctors finally find a life-saving drug to treat me. Unfortunately, the drug that worked for me is neither a cure nor a treatment that works for all patients, and those that it doesn't work for often pass away. As a patient, patient advocate, and future physician, I’m working to bring awareness to physicians, raise funds for research, and ultimately find a cure for this rare, poorly understood, and deadly disease.

Our team has three research projects lined up which will cost approximately $150,000 in total. We're hoping to launch these studies this year and need your help to do so. Please consider donating to our cause!

You can also check out the presentation on my hospitalization that I gave at the Drug Information Association's 2015 meeting below: