At 17, Mason Smith was your typical teenager and living a life filled with school, sports, lots of hanging out with friends and more growing up. That all came to an abrupt stop when his mother was diagnosed with a fatal and ultra-rare neurodegenerative disease, adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP). This young man who was just sprouting his wings took a harsh turn into adulthood as part of his Mom’s primary care team when she began to exhibit behaviors that were noticeable to Mason’s Aunt Heidi. Together, they both felt the need for further medical testing given that ALSP had already taken the lives of other family members. Mason knew that an ALSP diagnosis would change his mother’s life and usher him into adulthood and caregiving. To learn more visit insickness.org.

If you’re looking for a fair fight, don’t pick one with cancer. Odds are that cancer rarely loses and its adversary won’t have a puncher’s chance of bringing on defeat. Anyone confronted with caring for someone with a cancer diagnosis typically has no shortage of personal will, but not necessarily successful in finding a way to beat cancer. Just ask Miguel Barron who supported his wife in her two-year ordeal living with metastatic breast cancer, providing constant love, compassion, and dedication. Miguel also endured the emotional pressures of caring for someone with a progressive and punishing illness like cancer as he lived with loneliness and an overwhelming sadness during this time. Miguel captured his experience in a no holds-barred book, The Boxer’s Corner, that peers deep into his soul and shines a questioning light on the industry that creates medicines and supports patients. To learn more visit insickness.org.

John Crowley’s life was on the upswing after completing his MBA studies at Harvard Business School and beginning a new position as an investment banker. Without any warning his seemingly good fortune changed dramatically with the diagnosis of two of his children who contracted a rare, inherited disorder for which there were few treatments. His new path directed him towards creating a start-up biotech company that would research this once fatal disease and discover new treatments for his kids. John’s story is heroic and what he accomplishes against unimaginable odds is riveting. To learn more about this podcast, go to insickness.org. There, you can hear other episodes, see the producer's bios and connect with them!

Coming Soon: In Sickness. Men and the Culture of Caregiving is a monthly podcast that will focus on stories of male caregivers who have supported individuals with various diseases and medical conditions across all therapeutic areas including select cancers, ALS, Alzheimer’s, and numerous rare diseases. The podcast will highlight the growing population of male caregivers who are caring for their spouse, life partners, children family members, and friends, and joining the ranks of the throngs of women caregivers who have historically been central to this effort. The podcast is co-hosted and produced by Bob Coughlin and Paul Kidwell, with technical supervision provided by Dan Thibeault of Fast Twitch Media.