Doctors Making A Difference

This episode is sponsored by Lightstone DIRECT. Lightstone DIRECT invites you to partner with a $12B AUM real estate institution as you grow your portfolio. Access the same single-asset multifamily and industrial deals Lightstone pursues with its own capital – Lightstone co-invests a minimum of 20% in each deal alongside individual investors like you. You’re an institution. Time to invest like one.

–

When a psychologist told Dr. Kumar Ramlall that his son ranked “third worst out of 1,000,” he refused to accept the story being handed to him. That moment — that instinct to rewrite the script — became a turning point not just for his son, but for his entire career.

In this powerful episode of Doctors Making a Difference, Dr. Peter Crane speaks with Dr. Ramlall about a life shaped by adversity, reinvention, and an unwavering belief that outcomes are not predetermined.

Raised in Guyana and once a high school dropout, Dr. Ramlall rebuilt his life to become a physician, academic leader, and founder of a provincial pediatric pulmonary service in Saskatchewan. But nothing prepared him for raising a son with severe autism. The journey to help Amit thrive led the family around the world and ultimately inspired the creation of The Chintan Project, a global human-behavior consultancy built from Amit’s own writing and thinking.

That same drive to challenge conventional wisdom later led Dr. Ramlall to uncover one of medicine’s biggest hidden financial traps: the $500 billion that physicians collectively lose each year due to out-of-network underpayments and missed arbitration windows under the No Surprises Act. Through his work with CAG Recovery, he’s helping doctors recover 8–12x what insurance companies initially offer — money that keeps practices alive and independent.

This episode is about more than medicine. It’s about protecting your family, your legacy, and the profession itself by learning how to fight back.

• The devastating moment a psychologist ranked his son “third worst” — and the decision to rewrite the script anyway.
• How a homemade letterboard helped Amit read thousands of books and write manuscripts that now power a global consultancy.
• Why Dr. Ramlall walked away from academia to protect his son’s intellectual property from university ownership claims.
• The origin story of The Chintan Project — and how a child once expected to struggle now inspires leaders worldwide.
• The shocking truth about out-of-network payments: 90% of eligible cases go unfiled, leaving billions on the table.
• How CAG Recovery has reclaimed over $1.18B for physicians through the federal arbitration process.
• The tight timelines and intentionally confusing processes insurers rely on to avoid paying doctors fairly.
• Why protecting the business of medicine is essential for protecting the practice of medicine.

1. If you don’t like the movie, change the script.
   Your circumstances don’t define your ending — your decisions do.
2. Doctors are losing staggering amounts of money without realizing it.
   Insurance companies leverage complex systems most physicians don’t even know exist.
3. Protecting your financial foundation is an ethical obligation.
   Because when practices fail, patients lose access to care.

Physician, entrepreneur, and co-founder of The Chintan Project, Dr. Ramlall blends medical expertise with deep human-behavior insight. From building a provincial service in Saskatchewan to creating a global advisory firm rooted in his son’s extraordinary thinking, Dr. Ramlall’s mission is to help both families and physicians reclaim what’s rightfully theirs — in life, work, and purpose.

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is sponsored by Lightstone DIRECT. Lightstone DIRECT invites you to partner with a $12B AUM real estate institution as you grow your portfolio. Access the same single-asset multifamily and industrial deals Lightstone pursues with its own capital – Lightstone co-invests a minimum of 20% in each deal alongside individual investors like you. You’re an institution. Time to invest like one.

–

When New York entrepreneur Joel Horowitz was diagnosed with solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) in 2018, he didn’t just enter treatment — he entered the fight.

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Peter Crane is joined by Joel and renowned sarcoma specialist Dr. Gina D’Amato, clinical lead of the Sarcoma Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. Together, they share the story of how one patient’s passion and generosity helped ignite a groundbreaking research initiative that is already reshaping what’s possible for people living with SFT.

Joel recounts his diagnosis, his exposure history as a 9/11 survivor, and the moment he realized he wanted to fund the team he believed could change the future of this disease. Dr. D’Amato shares the extraordinary progress underway — from engineered mouse models and molecular profiling to a newly launched global patient registry designed to finally bring answers to a cancer so rare that most oncologists may see only one case in their career.

This episode is about science, yes — but even more, it’s about hope, human connection, and the belief that when patients, clinicians, and researchers unite, lives can change.

💬 A Patient’s Mission — How Joel transformed fear into momentum, becoming a key force behind a major research initiative.

🧬 Behind the Research — Dr. D’Amato explains the three-pronged strategy: molecular profiling, engineered mouse models, and a global SFT registry.

🌍 Registry for the World — Why solitaryfibroustumor.org is a breakthrough moment for patients, families, and clinicians.

🔥 Matching Hope With Action — Joel’s commitment to match up to $100,000 in donations to accelerate clinical trial development.

🏥 The Dream Team — How collaboration across Miami, New York, Spain, and Texas is pushing SFT research into new territory.

1. Connection Changes Outcomes.
   Progress accelerates when patients, researchers, and clinicians move together with shared purpose.
2. Data Is Power.
   The new global registry is the key to understanding SFT and developing targeted, effective treatments.
3. Hope Requires Movement.
   Funding, awareness, and participation from patients and families directly shape the research that may save lives.

Joel Horowitz is a New York entrepreneur and longtime advocate for solitary fibrous tumor research. After surviving 9/11 and later receiving an SFT diagnosis, Joel chose not only to fight his own disease but also to support the scientific team he believed could change the future for others.

His philanthropic leadership created the Horowitz Solitary Fibrous Tumor Initiative, funding molecular research, mouse models, and the global SFT patient registry. His commitment continues today as he pledges to match up to $100,000 in new donations to advance clinical trials.

Gina D’Amato, MD is a nationally recognized sarcoma medical oncologist and Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami. She serves as the Medical Director of the Comprehensive Treatment Unit, Assistant Director of Clinical Research, and the Administrator of the Horowitz Solitary Fibrous Tumor Initiative Fund, a program accelerating research and clinical discovery for patients living with solitary fibrous tumor (SFT).

Research Fund: https://development.miami.edu/page.aspx?pid=383&id=ec01162f-1d17-4c44-89d6-addb185e07b5

A University of Miami alumna from undergraduate training through medical school and residency, Dr. D’Amato completed her hematology/oncology fellowship at the Moffitt Cancer Center, where she trained under world-renowned sarcoma leaders including Dr. Trent. For more than two decades, she has led and contributed to numerous Phase 1–3 clinical trials through the National Cancer Institute and industry partners, and she remains a dedicated educator through her leadership in the Oncology Pathway at the Miller School of Medicine.

Dr. D’Amato oversees multiple arms of the SFT research initiative — including molecular profiling, engineered mouse models, and the newly launched Solitary Fibrous Tumor Patient Registry, now open globally.

Registry: https://www.solitaryfibroustumor.org/

With more than 25 peer-reviewed publications, NIH-funded research, and deep expertise in connective tissue oncology, Dr. D’Amato is widely regarded for her scientific leadership, compassionate patient care, and commitment to advancing treatment options for individuals facing rare sarcomas.

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is sponsored by Lightstone DIRECT. Lightstone DIRECT invites you to partner with a $12B AUM real estate institution as you grow your portfolio. Access the same single-asset multifamily and industrial deals Lightstone pursues with its own capital – Lightstone co-invests a minimum of 20% in each deal alongside individual investors like you. You’re an institution. Time to invest like one.

–

When headaches and dizziness sent Dr. Edmond Ghosn to the ER, he never imagined he’d wake up from brain surgery with a rare cancer diagnosis.

A physician who once helped shape cancer treatment systems in the Middle East, he suddenly found himself on the other side of the equation – as a patient fighting for his life.

In this episode, Edmond recounts his extraordinary journey: from his early career building electronic health records for oncology in France, to his leadership role in pharmaceutical medical affairs, and finally to facing his own diagnosis of meningeal solitary fibrous tumor, an ultra-rare form of cancer.

He opens up about the emotional shock of going from doctor to patient, the challenges of finding evidence-based care for a disease with virtually no data, and the power of family, community, and mindset in healing. Edmond also shares how his wife, psychologist Yara Kamel, developed a psychosocial rehabilitation program to help cancer survivors return to work — a model inspired by their shared journey.

Through honesty and grace, Edmond’s story reminds us that medicine is not only science — it’s also surrender, resilience, and human connection.

💬 Doctor to Patient – How a rare tumor forced a physician to confront vulnerability and faith in others.

🧠 Science Meets Humanity – What happens when the evidence runs out and judgment must take over.

🌍 Healing in Community – Why asking for help early can rebuild the foundation for recovery.

💪 Mind Over Medicine – How discipline, exercise, and mindset carried him through chemo and radiation.

💼 Purpose Beyond Survival – The initiative Dr. Ghosn launched to help other cancer patients navigate the healthcare system.

1. Control What You Can, Release What You Can’t. Healing begins with surrender — focus on choices within your power.
2. Ask for Help Early. Emotional, psychological, and logistical support are as vital as the medical plan itself.
3. Transform Pain into Purpose. Adversity can become a platform for helping others and redefining meaning in life and work.

Edmond Ghosn, MD, MBA is a Lebanese-born physician and healthcare strategist based in Dubai. After earning his medical degree from St. Joseph University in Lebanon and an MBA in Healthcare Strategy from France, he joined the pharmaceutical industry, helping advance oncology research and patient access across the Middle East.

In 2023, he was diagnosed with a rare meningeal solitary fibrous tumor, an experience that reshaped his view of medicine, resilience, and compassion.

Today, Dr. Ghosn advocates for cancer awareness and patient empowerment through his free LinkedIn initiative that guides patients and families through diagnosis and treatment decisions.

Connect via LinkedIn: https://ae.linkedin.com/in/edmond-ghosn-md

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is sponsored by Lightstone DIRECT. Lightstone DIRECT invites you to partner with a $12B AUM real estate institution as you grow your portfolio. Access the same single-asset multifamily and industrial deals Lightstone pursues with its own capital – Lightstone co-invests a minimum of 20% in each deal alongside individual investors like you. You’re an institution. Time to invest like one.

–

Dr. Nanette Nuessle’s medical journey began with trauma and resilience—surviving severe burns as a child and finding safety in hospitals. That early experience shaped her desire to become a physician, but the reality of modern medicine brought relentless hours, administrative bullying, and emotional exhaustion.

In this episode, Nan reflects on her evolution from overworked pediatrician to hospitalist and trauma coach. She shares how understanding personality types and values transformed toxic workplaces, reduced staff burnout, and restored team trust. Through her Beat Down Burnout coaching practice, Nan helps healthcare professionals reclaim their agency, heal workplace trauma, and communicate across divides with empathy and purpose.

Now nearing retirement, Nan is preparing for a new chapter—building wellness programs at a luxury villa in Italy. Her story reminds us that fulfillment in medicine isn’t about quitting; it’s about rediscovering what lights you up.

💬 Burnout to Breakthrough — How Dr. Nuessle turned administrative bullying and exhaustion into a mission for healing.

🧠 Trauma in Medicine — Why unresolved trauma fuels burnout—and how to release it.

🤝 Communication as Medicine — Learning to connect across personality types to transform team culture.

🏥 From Clinic to Coaching — Why moving from pediatrics to hospitalist work reignited her joy.

🌿 New Beginnings — From TEDx Italy to running a wellness program in Florence, Dr. Nuessle’s next chapter redefines balance.

1. Communication Heals Teams. Understanding values and personality types can neutralize toxic dynamics and improve patient care.
2. Unprocessed Trauma Fuels Burnout. Healing the healer is the foundation of restoring joy and purpose in medicine.
3. Fulfillment Evolves. You don’t have to leave medicine to love it again—just find the role that aligns with who you’ve become.

Nanette Nuessle, MD is a frontline Pediatrician providing excellent care to patients for over 35 years. She founded the coaching company Beat Down Burnout in 2020. This company coaches individuals and organizations to a higher level of communication skills, emotional intelligence, and relationship building, allowing organizations to improve staff retention, increase patient safety, and reduce risk management, and for staff to live their best life.

Dr. Nuessle has been a guest on multiple podcasts, including the popular KevinMD. She has recently completed a TEDx talk on neurotransmitters and mindfulness. She holds multiple masters’ certifications, including neurolinguistic programming, root cause coaching, and the quantum energy shift.

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is sponsored by Lightstone Direct LLC. Lightstone DIRECT invites you to partner with a $12B AUM real estate institution as you grow your portfolio. Access the same single-asset multifamily and industrial deals Lightstone pursues with its own capital – Lightstone co-invests a minimum of 20% in each deal alongside individual investors like you. You’re an institution. Time to invest like one.

–

As a 21-year-old music prodigy and film student, Matthew Zachary was given six months to live after being diagnosed with a rare brain cancer. Thirty years later, he’s still here—and his story has changed the landscape of cancer care.

In this candid conversation, Matthew opens up about his journey from a misdiagnosed college student to a survivor, advocate, and founder of Stupid Cancer, the global movement that gave a voice to young adults facing cancer. He reflects on the lessons of empathy, shared decision-making, and why doctors must ask one key question: “What’s most important to you—besides not dying?”

Matthew also shares the birth of his next mission: We The Patients, a new national movement to establish a Cancer Patient Protection Act that ensures every patient has access to advocacy, navigation, and protection from medical and financial harm.

This episode is a heartfelt reminder that healing begins with honesty, empathy, and the courage to challenge the system—for the sake of patients and the doctors who care for them.

🎹 Defying the Odds: How a 21-year-old pianist turned a six-month prognosis into a 30-year mission for change.

🩺 The Empathy Gap: What happens when doctors treat data instead of people—and how that’s finally shifting.

💪 Birth of a Movement: How Stupid Cancer became a global rallying cry for young adults facing cancer.

📘 We The Patients: The next frontier—protecting both patients and doctors from a broken healthcare system.

💬 Honesty Over Optimism: Why the most healing words can simply be, “How can I support you?”

Empathy is Medicine. The difference between surviving and thriving often begins with how we’re treated as human beings, not just patients.

Patient Voices Create Change. Advocacy movements like Stupid Cancer prove that systemic change begins when patients speak up.

Redefine Advocacy. True reform means protecting both patients and doctors—preserving humanity in healthcare.

Matthew Zachary is a 30-year brain cancer survivor, advocate, and media pioneer. He’s the founder of Stupid Cancer, the nonprofit that launched the young adult cancer movement, and host of the award-winning podcast Out of Patients. A former concert pianist and film composer, Matthew now leads We The Patients, a national initiative to build the first cancer patient rights movement in America. His upcoming book, We The Patients, publishes in June 2025.

🎙Podcast: Out of Patients
🌐Website: MatthewZachary.com

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is sponsored by Lightstone Direct LLC. Lightstone DIRECT invites you to partner with a $12B AUM real estate institution as you grow your portfolio. Access the same single-asset multifamily and industrial deals Lightstone pursues with its own capital – Lightstone co-invests a minimum of 20% in each deal alongside individual investors like you. You’re an institution. Time to invest like one.

–

When the pandemic hit, Dr. Rob Beck was already running on empty.

An internist from Tennessee, Rob and his wife—also a physician—were raising three kids and juggling the pressures of modern medicine when COVID turned patient trust and hospital culture upside down. Accusations, exhaustion, and disillusionment followed.

But instead of walking away from medicine, Rob decided to reinvent how he practiced it. In 2020, his family sold their home, packed their lives, and crossed the border to start over in Canada. The move wasn’t easy—bureaucracy, licensing exams, and uncertainty tested them at every turn—but it became the catalyst for change that saved his career and his sanity.

Now living on Vancouver Island, Rob practices internal medicine as a specialist in a system that prioritizes patient relationships over paperwork. He shares how the Canadian model restored his sense of purpose, simplified his billing (seriously, there’s an app), and gave his family the slower, more balanced life they craved.

This episode is a raw, hopeful reminder that medicine doesn’t have to break you—and that reinvention might just be one bold decision away.

• 🌍 Crossing Borders: Why Dr. Beck left the U.S. medical system behind for a new start in Canada.
• 🧠 From Burnout to Renewal: How self-honesty and courage helped him rediscover joy in practicing medicine.
• 💬 The COVID Catalyst: How pandemic-era mistrust and frustration became the final push toward change.
• 💡 A Simpler System: Inside the Canadian healthcare model—fewer authorizations, less paperwork, more patient time.
• 🏖️ Life by the Ocean: Finding peace, perspective, and a better work-life balance on Vancouver Island.

1. Burnout Can Be a Signal, Not a Sentence.
   Sometimes the exhaustion isn’t failure—it’s your body and soul telling you it’s time for change.
2. Courage Creates Possibility.
   Reinvention requires risk, but bold moves often lead to the breakthroughs we need most.
3. Redefine Success.
   True success in medicine isn’t about prestige or position—it’s about peace, purpose, and presence.

Dr. Robert Beck is an internist and public health specialist who spent nearly two decades practicing medicine in the United States before relocating with his family to Vancouver Island, Canada. A graduate of the University of Tennessee and Tulane University School of Public Health, he’s also the host of the podcast Interesting MD, where he highlights the fascinating lives and passions of physicians beyond the clinic.

Having experienced burnout firsthand, Dr. Beck now advocates for physician well-being, balance, and the courage to pursue meaningful change. He continues to practice internal medicine while enjoying life by the ocean with his wife and three children.

🎙️ Podcast: Interesting MD

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This episode is sponsored by Lightstone Direct LLC. Lightstone Direct LLC connects you to institutional-quality real estate investments backed by a $12-billion AUM firm that co-invests alongside you—your partner in building lasting wealth. All investments involve risk. Please visit LightstoneDirect.com for a full list of disclosures.

---

When Gwen Orilio was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer at 34—just 18 months after her daughter was born—she was told she might not live long enough to see her child grow up.

Ten years later, Gwen is still teaching high school math, coaching track, raising her daughter, and flying to Boston for clinical trials that continue to save her life.

In this heartfelt episode, Gwen shares how she faced her diagnosis head-on, chose immediate treatment over preserving fertility, and became one of the earliest participants in phase-one targeted therapy trials for the ROS1 mutation. She discusses the science behind her treatments, the role of persistence, and why she keeps teaching—to stay grounded and to model resilience for her students.

With humor, humility, and gratitude, Gwen also opens up about parenting through uncertainty, advocating for cancer funding, and finding beauty in small moments. Her story redefines what it means to live with cancer—not just to survive, but to thrive and make memories that last.

• 🧬 A Diagnosis Through an Eye Exam: How a simple vision check revealed a tumor that led to a life-changing discovery.
• ✈️ Flying for Hope: Why Gwen travels monthly to Boston for cutting-edge clinical trials. 
• 👩‍🏫 Teaching Through Treatment: Staying in the classroom helped her maintain purpose and normalcy.
• 💪 Resilience & Advocacy: How she uses her experience to educate others about lung cancer and raise awareness for non-smoker cases.
• 💡 Redefining the Future: Opening a Roth IRA, planning trips, and embracing life despite uncertainty.

• Science Saves Lives. Targeted therapies and clinical trials can turn a terminal diagnosis into a manageable condition.
• Live While You Can. None of us know how much time we have—so spend it on memories, not regrets.
• Advocacy Matters. Cancer awareness and patient persistence push research and funding forward for everyone.

Gwen Orilio is a high school math teacher in Clayton, North Carolina, who has been living with stage IV lung cancer for over a decade. Diagnosed at 31 with a grim prognosis, she has defied expectations—navigating years of cutting-edge treatments that have transformed her diagnosis into a chronic condition.

A former collegiate track athlete, Gwen competed in the long jump at SUNY Geneseo, where she met her husband, Justin Orilio. After graduating in 2005, she began her career in education and has continued to inspire both in and outside the classroom.

Gwen hasn’t let cancer slow her down. She maintains a full schedule teaching, coaching, and raising her 12-year-old daughter, while also participating in clinical trials that advance research for ROS1-positive lung cancer. With her optimism and advocacy, Gwen continues to inspire others and raise awareness about the critical need for funding and innovation in lung cancer research.

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

When Dr. Shannon Dowler says she dives into life “feet first,” she means it. A North Carolina native with deep Appalachian roots, Shannon has spent 25 years serving her community as a family physician, educator, and advocate.

In this episode, she shares her unconventional path—from cleaning cages at a veterinary clinic as a teen to leading Medicaid reform for an entire state. She reflects on the realities of rural medicine, where power outages can last for weeks, neighbors show up with pickup trucks full of supplies, and family doctors become lifelines.

Dr. Dowler also opens up about the myth of “work-life balance,” her love for animals (including her goats, who double as meditation partners), and how creativity—through rap videos, writing, and laughter—keeps her grounded.

Most powerfully, she discusses the urgent challenges facing family medicine today: underfunded primary care, shrinking Medicaid coverage, and the need for advocacy that starts at the grassroots. Through her lens, being a family doctor isn’t just a job—it’s an act of service, resistance, and love.

🏡 Roots in Rural North Carolina: Why Shannon traded city life for “Feet First Farm and Forge,” a mountain haven with more cows than people.

⚕️ Family Medicine as a Calling: From wanting to be a vet to realizing her impact would be greater caring for people.
🧘‍♀️ Finding Her Balance: How goat yoga, meditation, and creativity became her antidotes to burnout.

💪 The Power of Advocacy: Her time as North Carolina’s Medicaid Chief Medical Officer during COVID-19 and what she learned about resilience in crisis.

🩺 Reclaiming the Narrative: How family doctors can rewrite the story of primary care—through leadership, service, and community connection.

1. There’s No Perfect Balance—Only Presence. True peace in medicine comes not from doing less, but from being fully present where you are.
2. Primary Care is the Backbone. Family medicine keeps communities alive, especially in rural America—and it needs to be valued as such.
3. Advocacy is Medicine. Speaking up for patients and colleagues isn’t politics—it’s healing work.

Shannon Dowler, MD is a family physician, educator, and advocate whose career reflects the true spirit of service in medicine. A proud North Carolina native, she’s spent over 25 years caring for communities across the Appalachian mountains — from rural clinics to leadership at the state level.

Dr. Dowler currently serves on the Board of Directors for the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and previously led North Carolina’s Medicaid program as its Chief Medical Officer, guiding the state through historic healthcare reform and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Known for her humor, heart, and creativity, Shannon doesn’t just talk about physician wellness — she lives it. At her mountain home, affectionately named Feet First Farm and Forge, she practices goat yoga, writes, creates health-focused rap videos, and uses storytelling to reconnect physicians to their purpose.

Through her leadership and advocacy, Dr. Dowler continues to champion access to care, physician resilience, and the vital role of family medicine in every community.

🌐 Learn more about Dr. Dowler →

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this physician-to-physician conversation, Dr. Hinshaw traces two decades of progress in interventional oncology—from early radiofrequency ablation to modern microwave ablation and the dawn of histotripsy. He explains why indolent, chronic cancers (like many solitary fibrous tumors and neuroendocrine tumors) are especially well-suited to repeatable, organ-sparing treatments that preserve quality of life, and how multi-disciplinary care guides the “right tool for the right lesion” approach. He also previews what’s next: better targeting (e.g., cone-beam CT), safety learnings, and where histotripsy could realistically expand beyond the liver. 

• From RF to Microwave: Why microwave ablation became a turning point—larger, faster, safer zones; shorter procedures; and better consistency compared with early RF systems.
   
• Histotripsy 101: Noninvasive, ultrasound-guided, FDA-cleared (liver) therapy with a strong safety profile to date; active kidney trials and future potential in other ultrasound-accessible organs.
   
• Patient Impact: For indolent metastatic diseases, ablation can be repeated over years, controlling disease while preserving recovery time and daily life.
   
• Team Sport: When radiation, intra-arterial therapies, surgery, or ablation takes the lead—and why humility and multidisciplinary planning produce the best outcomes.
   
• What’s Next: Better targeting (e.g., cone-beam CT), workflow refinements, and continued lab/animal/patient-level research from UW’s ablation program.
   

1. Repeatable, organ-sparing care: Minimally invasive ablation lets clinicians control metastatic disease across years with quick recovery. 
    
2. Histotripsy is promising (and young): Early clinical use shows a favorable safety profile; efficacy and targeting workflows are rapidly evolving. 
    
3. Match the tool to the tumor: Outcomes improve when ablation, radiation, surgery, and intra-arterial options are chosen case-by-case via a collaborative team. 
    

• For clinicians: Refer appropriate patients to centers with established ablation programs; consider multidisciplinary boards for complex cases.
   
• For patients/caregivers: Ask your team whether minimally invasive ablation or clinical trials (e.g., histotripsy) are options for your tumor type and location.
   
• For researchers/industry: Collaborate on targeting, safety, and outcomes studies to accelerate adoption and guidelines.
   

• About UW Radiology & Interventional Programs (faculty profiles, publications).
   
• About the LMC series — candid physician–patient conversations on science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of advanced disease.
   

J. Louis Hinshaw, MD is Professor of Radiology and Urology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Chief of Abdominal Imaging, and Fellowship Director. His research and clinical leadership span image-guided tumor ablation (microwave, RF, cryo) and advancing minimally invasive oncology care, with numerous peer-reviewed publications and national awards. 

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Chris Hills has taken an unconventional path in medicine. From medical school in Arizona to an Army scholarship and deployments overseas, his career in orthopedics was forged on the battlefield and refined in fellowship at Duke. Now settled in Jackson, Wyoming, he combines spine surgery with a love of the outdoors.

Chris reflects on lessons from military medicine, the importance of balance in sustaining a career, and why professional detours often lead to the deepest growth. He also shares his family’s story of loss and how the Brody Hills Foundation—a program teaching mental resiliency through dirt biking and outdoor mentorship—was born.

This conversation blends medicine, service, personal resilience, and the power of thinking outside the box to reach young people where they are.

• Military track: Why Chris chose an Army scholarship, the reality of “all-expense-paid trips” to the Middle East, and how battlefield medicine shaped his skills.
• Training + growth: Returning to fellowship at Duke after years as a practicing Army surgeon, and why that experience sharpened his education.
• Work-life balance: Practicing in Jackson, WY, and making intentional choices to prioritize both family and recreation.
• Facing loss: How his son’s death by suicide led Chris and his family to channel grief into meaningful outreach.
• Wide Open: The Brody Hills Foundation: Using dirt bikes, outdoor adventure, and mentorship to give teenagers resilience, connection, and hope.

1. Service shapes skill. Military medicine offers unparalleled training and perspective—preparing physicians for both clinical and leadership roles.
2. Balance prevents burnout. Sustaining decades in medicine requires drawing boundaries, honoring family, and enjoying the place you live.
3. Resilience is teachable. Youth can thrive when given mentors, meaningful outlets, and community—sometimes found in unexpected places, like dirt bikes.

Learn more about the Brody Hills Foundation and its mission to build resilience in youth through outdoor adventure.

🌐 Website: brodyhillsfoundation.org
🔎 Social Media: Search “Wide Open – Brody Hills Foundation”

• Brody Hills Foundation – programs, clinics, and mentorship opportunities.
• Veteran-to-Veteran partnerships and training for mentors.

Chris Hills, MD is an orthopedic spine surgeon based in Jackson, Wyoming. After earning his MD in Arizona, he trained in orthopedics through the U.S. Army and completed fellowship at Duke University. He served nine years active duty, including deployment to Afghanistan. Today, he balances surgical practice with leading the Brody Hills Foundation, dedicated to mental health resilience in youth through motorsports and outdoor activities.

Dr. Peter Crane is a board-certified physician, educator, and storyteller with a heart for service and a calling to spotlight doctors who make a difference—in their communities, in medicine, and in the lives they touch.

Through Doctors Making a Difference, he brings you into intimate conversations with physicians who have overcome challenges, redefined success, and found purpose in and beyond the clinic. His goal is simple: to help more doctors stay in medicine by showing them what's possible.

Doctors Making a Difference is more than a podcast—it’s a movement to highlight the good, the gritty, and the deeply human side of medicine.

In every episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews physicians whose stories defy the script. From burnout recovery to bold career pivots, health challenges to quiet leadership, this show honors the truth that healing begins with connection—and doctors, too, deserve to be whole.

Visit: doctorsmakingadifference.com

Living with Metastatic Cancer (LMC) explores the science, decisions, and day-to-day realities of life with advanced disease—through candid physician–patient conversations.

The Doctors Making a Difference Podcast is for informational purposes only and does not substitute for medical, legal, or professional advice. Always consult appropriate experts regarding your unique circumstances.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.