Rare In Common

Rare disease is a specialized field. You may wonder how some doctors or executives choose this career path. While Dr. Ed Kaye started out caring for pediatric patients living with rare diseases, he moved into key leadership roles at biopharma companies that develop groundbreaking therapies to treat them. Dr. Kaye shares his unique industry perspective and the important things he has learned from both his successes and failures along the way.

This episode is the first in a special series recorded live at the 7th annual Global Genes RARE Patient Advocacy Summit—the largest worldwide gathering of rare disease patients, advocates, and thought leaders. First, Angie Rowe, Interim Executive Director of Global Genes, reflects on how exciting it is to spend time at the conference after all of her team’s hard work in bringing it to life. She also talks about how the summit inspires and empowers attendees, newcomers and veterans alike. Next, we hear from 2 first-time summit attendees, Christine Von Raesfeld, who was diagnosed with a bleeding disorder called thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura at the age of 14, and Amanda Jaksha, mother of a child who was diagnosed with CDkl5 deficiency in 2012. After just a few hours at the summit, these women speak about the electricity and camaraderie at this event that make it unique.

Episode 7 — Blood brothers and sisters: the bond of hemophilia A by Cambridge BioMarketing

Episode 6 — Two rare: fighting Marfan and Ehlers-Danlos by Cambridge BioMarketing

Gain a deeper understanding of Sturge-Weber syndrome by seeing it through the eyes of 13-year-old Olivia, whose younger brother, Jameson, has the rare neurological disorder. As they balance fun-filled times with the realities of living with a rare disease, these siblings share a bond that’s as powerful and pure as it gets.

After a decade of frequent bouts of acute pancreatitis, including 30 hospitalizations and many painful episodes at home, it was Justin’s wife Naomi who helped lead their physician to a diagnosis of familial chylomicronemia syndrome (FCS).

After years of misdiagnosis by physicians, Patty diagnosed her daughter’s Ehlers-Danlos syndrome through her own independent research. Since then, she’s worked tirelessly to advocate for the rare disease community, inspiring truly rare artwork along the way.

When two of Jenn’s children were diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), it changed her life. Since then, she’s fought for access to clinical trials and new treatments and inspired others to join the cause along the way.

Those living with rare diseases refer to themselves as “zebras”. Janis is no exception. Her son Luke has a genetic mutation so rare it’s never been reported before. As her family works toward a diagnosis, she finds support among other zebras like her.