Doctors Making A Difference

SFT is rare—~17,000 sarcomas/year vs. ~300,000 breast cancers—and SFT is only a small slice of that number. Dr. D’Amato traces her path into sarcoma, the unmet need that drew her from lymphoma research, and the mentorship network that helped her build programs at Moffitt, Emory, and now Sylvester.

We talk about modeling SFT in the lab (cell lines and engineered mouse models), why NAB2-STAT6 matters, promising signals (e.g., HDAC inhibition) being vetted before a first-in-disease trial, and the new Solitary Fibrous Tumor Patient Registry—a global effort to connect patient stories, molecular profiles, and outcomes so care teams can match treatments to tumor biology.

Bottom line: more data → smarter trials → targeted options. Patients and clinicians can help—by enrolling in the registry, sharing pathology reports, and amplifying the work.

• Origin story: Family experiences with cancer → oncology → pivot to sarcoma to meet a critical gap.
• Why SFT is hard: 100+ sarcoma subtypes; each one rare within rare. Evidence takes time.
• What’s new: Building SFT cell lines, NAB2-STAT6 mouse models; early drug-screen “hits” under validation; HDAC inhibitors on the shortlist for a clinical trial.
• Registry mission: Capture diagnosis journeys, exposures, germline testing, pathology, and treatment response to map variant → site → therapy sensitivity and guide care.
• Real talk on research: Slow-growing tumors = slow cell-line culture; IRB, protocols, and flyers take time; philanthropy + institutional support bridge to federal grants.

1. Precision beats guesswork. Understanding SFT at molecular and epigenetic levels enables targeted therapy—beyond “try this, then that.”
2. Data is the accelerator. A well-run registry connects the dots between variants (NAB2-STAT6 subtypes), sites of origin, and treatment response.
3. Everyone can help. Patients, families, and clinicians can enroll, refer, and share records to speed breakthroughs.

Join or Refer to the SFT Patient Registry (University of Miami – Sylvester)

• Who can join: Adults (18+) diagnosed with solitary fibrous tumor or hemangiopericytoma, fluent in English, Spanish, or Haitian Creole, willing/able to consent.
• What it involves: Short surveys about diagnosis/treatment, optional donation of blood/tissue, and sharing pathology reports.
• Contact: Peggy Gonzalez – 305-243-8091, [email protected].
  Show Notes (2)
• This registry helps researchers understand causes, biology, and treatment response in SFT—accelerating trials and future targeted options.

Support the Horowitz Sarcoma Research Fund

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

Funds support SFT research at Sylvester, including lab models, drug screening, and clinical translation.

• SFT Patient Registry – Sylvester (contact): 305-243-8091 | [email protected].
  20241120_D'Amato_Solitary Tumor…
• Horowitz Sarcoma Research Fund (donate): see link above.
• Key terms: NAB2-STAT6 fusion, HDAC inhibitors, epigenetics, sarcoma subtypes.

Dr. Gina D’Amato is the Medical Director of the Comprehensive Treatment Unit, Assistant Director of Clinical Research, Sarcoma Medical Oncologist, and Professor of Clinical Medicine at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami.

She earned her undergraduate degree in biology and her M.D. from the University of Miami, followed by internal medicine residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital. During her fellowship at Moffitt Cancer Center, she pivoted into sarcoma under the mentorship of global experts such as Dr. Jonathan Trent.

Dr. D’Amato has since built sarcoma programs at Moffitt, Emory, and Sylvester, where she is Clinical Lead for Sarcoma Medical Oncology. She is extensively involved in Phase I–III clinical trials sponsored by NCI and industry partners, co-directs oncology curriculum at the Miller School, and serves as Medical Director for Sylvester patient education programs. She also administers the Horowitz Solitary Fibrous Tumor Initiative Fund.

She has authored or co-authored more than 25 peer-reviewed publications on sarcoma and connective tissue oncology, reviewed for leading journals (Cancer Medicine, Clinical Cancer Research), and received multiple NIH research grants, including a prestigious NIH Career Development Award (2002–2005).

Dr. D’Amato is board-certified in Internal Medicine and Medical Oncology by the American Board of Internal Medicine.

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. Marleen Temmerman always wanted to make sure “people around the world had the same chances.” That vision carried her from early roadblocks (“But you’re a woman…”) to residency, then to Nairobi in the 1980s as HIV emerged. She helped stand up maternal–newborn research and services in high-volume public hospitals, founded NGOs advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, and later served two terms in Belgium’s senate and as a department lead at the WHO.

Now based in Kenya, she’s focused on durable system improvements: strengthening a major coastal referral hospital, launching a new medical school in partnership with local government and universities, expanding cancer screening/treatment, and training the next generation of Kenyan clinician-leaders. We discuss why funding shocks set programs back, how philanthropy and grant capacity can close gaps, and the practical ways physicians anywhere can contribute—through excellent local care, twinned research, mentorship, telemedicine, and targeted giving.

• Origin story: Pushing past gender barriers to train in OB-GYN and public/global health.
• Nairobi in the HIV era: Building perinatal research while scaling essential maternity services.
• From clinic to policy: Why she stepped into parliament and later the WHO to move women’s health forward.
• Capacity over charity: Scholarships, PhDs, and reciprocity so Kenyan clinicians lead the work.
• Systems work now: Upgrading a 700+ bed county hospital; standing up a coastal medical school; expanding breast/cervical cancer programs.
• Funding reality: Abrupt donor cuts ripple into maternal care and PMTCT; how foundations and local philanthropy can soften the blow.
• AI & telemedicine: Useful only when they reach public-sector patients—not just the few who can pay.
• Advice to trainees: Don’t take no for an answer; leave your comfort zone; aim high and build with communities.

1. Education compounds across generations. Training local clinicians, researchers, and administrators is the highest-leverage intervention.
2. Continuity matters. Gradual funding transitions preserve hard-won capacity; sudden cuts reverse progress in HIV, maternal health, and oncology.
3. Everyone can help. Deliver excellent care at home, join twinned research/teaching projects, mentor via telemedicine, or direct donations to programs building local leadership.

Prof. Dr. Marleen Temmerman is a global leader in women’s, adolescent, and child health and rights. She currently serves as Director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya, and holds the UNESCO Chair in Youth Leadership in Health, Education, Gender, and Sciences. She also chairs the Board of Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital in Mombasa and is an Adjunct Professor at the Technical University of Mombasa.

Previously, Dr. Temmerman directed the Department of Reproductive Health Research at the World Health Organization in Geneva, served two terms as a Senator in the Belgian Parliament, and founded the International Centre of Reproductive Health (ICRH) in Belgium, Kenya, and Mozambique. With over 600 peer-reviewed publications, she is recognized internationally for her scholarship on HIV/AIDS, maternal and child health, gender equity, and global health systems.

She has supervised more than 60 PhD students across four continents and received numerous honors, including membership in the US National Academy of Medicine, Honorary Membership in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellowship in both the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the African Academy of Sciences, the BMJ Lifetime Achievement Award, the title of Commander in the Order of King Leopold (2024), and Kenya’s Moran of the Burning Spear (2019).

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.

Dr. Chrissie Ott has lived more than one medical life: nearly a decade in primary care, another in hospital medicine, and now medical director of a skilled nursing facility serving medically complex children and young adults—while moonlighting as a newborn hospitalist.

In this episode, Chrissie unpacks the moment of awareness that changed everything: realizing that the “dream” solo practice she built no longer sparked joy. She explains the practical (and emotional) steps of closing a micro practice, reframing sunk costs, and embracing the belief that reinvention is a sign of aliveness.

We explore why burnout is often a thought trap, how right-sizing your clinical “dose” protects your nervous system, and why coaching (not performative “resilience” lectures) can return clinicians to themselves. Chrissie also shares creative pathways to access coaching—from group models to residency-supported programs—and why financial independence should empower physicians to practice on their terms, not rush to retire.

• The awareness moment: daily meditation revealed misalignment—then gave permission to pivot.
• Closing a micro practice: the logistics, the losses, and the gain of personal wellbeing.
• “Dose makes the poison”: reshaping workload to fit a human nervous system.
• Coaching vs. “resilience”: action-oriented tools that change habits, not blame clinicians.
• The greenest growth edge: a practical lens for your next professional step.
• Staying in medicine: redesigning scope and schedule so joy and service can coexist.

1. Reinvention signals life, not failure. Career chapters can evolve while your identity as a healer remains intact.
2. Right-size your dose. Adjusting hours, setting boundaries, and redefining roles can turn exhaustion into engagement.
3. Coaching works when it’s practical. Values-aligned goals, small experiments, and accountability outpace generic “be resilient” advice.

Chrissie Ott, MD is a dual-boarded Med-Peds physician with a third certification in integrative care. She has served across primary care, hospital medicine, newborn hospitalist work, and currently leads a skilled nursing facility for medically complex children and young adults. As the leader of the Physician Coaching Summit, Dr. Ott coaches clinicians to cultivate alignment, meaning, and delight in their work.
Connect: www.Chrissieottmd.com • www.joypointsolutions.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

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.

Heather Hayenga never set out to study cancer. Her career began in cardiovascular research, fueled by the sudden loss of her father to a heart attack at just 52. But in 2013, everything changed when Heather herself was diagnosed with solitary fibrous tumor, a rare and aggressive cancer.

In this powerful conversation, Heather opens up about:

• How personal tragedy inspired her early work in cardiovascular modeling
• The pivot from heart disease to oncology after her own diagnosis
• Developing CRISPR-based, RNA-targeting, and immunotherapy approaches in her lab
• Balancing life as a mom, professor, and patient while paving new pathways in rare cancer research
• Why she believes individualized medicine is the future of both oncology and cardiovascular care

Heather’s story is one of grit, hope, and the belief that science and humanity are strongest when they work together.

• From basketball court tragedy to a lifelong career in medical research
• Building cardiovascular modeling tools that may soon change clinical decision-making
• Engineering CRISPR and RNA-based solutions for solitary fibrous tumor
• Navigating the realities of rare cancer: few patients, limited data, and creative therapies
• Balancing academia, motherhood, and patient life with unshakable determination

1. Hardship fuels innovation — personal experiences can ignite a research mission that impacts millions.
2. Rare doesn’t mean hopeless — breakthroughs in ultra-rare cancers can ripple into treatments for more common diseases.
3. Medicine is becoming personal — the future lies in patient-specific therapies and collaborative care.

Heather Hayenga, PhD is an associate professor of bioengineering at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her career began in cardiovascular modeling after the sudden loss of her father to a heart attack. In 2013, Heather was diagnosed with solitary fibrous tumor, a rare cancer that radically reshaped her research path.

Since then, she has spearheaded efforts in CRISPR-based therapies, RNA-targeting strategies, immunotherapies, and drug repurposing—merging her expertise as a scientist with her lived experience as a patient. A devoted mother and mentor, Heather is proof that resilience and innovation can coexist even in life’s hardest battles.

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.

Dr. Christina “Christy” Gomez has built a career defined not only by expertise in gastrointestinal cancers but also by her unique approach to narrative medicine. Raised in Miami by Cuban immigrant parents, she knew from childhood that medicine was her calling, even when her father reminded her of the sacrifices it would demand.

In this intimate conversation with Dr. Peter Crane, Christy shares:

• Her early conviction to pursue medicine despite being the first in her family to do so
• The lessons her patients have taught her—captured in handwritten scraps of quotes that became her book, Stopped in My Tracks
• Why silence, listening, and narrative medicine matter just as much as tests and treatments
• How parenting her adopted son has deepened her perspective on healing, patience, and resilience

This episode is a reminder that medicine is more than diagnosis and treatment—it’s about being fully present with the person in front of you, and about honoring the sacredness of their story.

• Turning bedside conversations into Stopped in My Tracks—and why patients’ exact words matter
• Narrative medicine 101: listen first, pause before answering, reflect back stories with care
• Teaching trainees to keep purpose alive during residency/fellowship
• Facing uncertainty with patients: naming it, walking together, and planning A/B/C
• Parenting through a physician lens: using everyday “healing moments” to teach resilience

1. Medicine is storytelling. Listening deeply—and sometimes letting silence work—creates room for healing.
2. Honesty builds partnership. Patients want clear truth delivered with compassion and options.
3. Choose medicine because you love it. Purpose sustains you when the work is hard and the path is uncertain.

Dr. Christy Gomez is a gastrointestinal medical oncologist whose career blends rigorous science with the art of narrative medicine. Born and raised in Miami to Cuban immigrant parents, Christy felt called to medicine from an early age, a conviction that carried her through medical school, residency, and fellowship into a field she deeply loves. Specializing in GI cancers, she pairs clinical expertise with an uncommon gift for listening—collecting patient quotes that capture the raw truths of life with cancer. These stories became the foundation for her book, Stopped in My Tracks: A Physician’s Collection of Cancer Patients’ Quotes, a work that reflects her belief that healing begins with human connection.

Beyond her clinical practice, Christy is a mother, mentor, and advocate for patient-centered care. She is passionate about teaching the next generation of physicians to pause, listen, and honor the sacredness of the patient-doctor relationship. Whether through her writing, her conversations in the exam room, or her role as a parent, Christy reminds us that medicine is not only about treating disease but also about witnessing humanity and carrying patients through uncertainty with compassion.

🌐 Website: christinagomezmd.com
📖 Book: Stopped in My Tracks: A Physician's Collection of Cancer Patients' Quotes

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.

Steve McBee was on top of the world—literally—logging hundred-mile ultramarathons, running a successful marketing firm, and living life at full tilt. Then, a chance MRI after a minor accident revealed a tumor deep in his left temporal lobe.

What followed was a series of surgeries, proton beam radiation, and 15 years of clean scans. Until, in 2021—just two days after standing on the podium at a three-day ultra—Steve learned his rare cancer had returned and spread to his pancreas, thigh, and liver.

In this candid conversation with Dr. Peter Crane, Steve opens up about:

• The shock of moving from “cancer-free” to metastatic in a single appointment
• Why he’s turned his experience into advocacy for patients with rare cancers
• Building a “patient brand” to improve communication with care teams
• The creation of the Solitary Fibrous Tumor Foundation to unite patients, clinicians, and researchers worldwide

This is more than a story about a rare disease. It’s about refusing to be defined by it, finding purpose in the middle of uncertainty, and creating the community you wish you had when you started.

• Running a hundred miles days before a life-changing diagnosis
• Turning a rare, isolating condition into a connected global community
• How to prepare for medical appointments like a pro—even when you’re the patient
• Lessons from 19 years of navigating a disease with no known cure
• Why collaboration between patients and doctors is the future of rare disease care

Steve McBee is a lifelong endurance athlete, entrepreneur, and rare cancer advocate. Diagnosed in 2006 with a then little-known tumor (hemangiopericytoma, now classified as Solitary Fibrous Tumor), he has undergone multiple complex surgeries—including brain, pancreatic, thigh, and liver resections—plus systemic therapy.

Today, Steve is the driving force behind the Solitary Fibrous Tumor Foundation, a patient- and supporter-led nonprofit dedicated to:

• Connecting the global SFT community
• Building a clinical registry and natural history study
• Driving collaborative research
• Advocating for better treatments and awareness

When he’s not walking 5–10 miles a day in recovery, Steve is mentoring patients, building advocacy tools, and reminding the medical community that patients can—and should—help lead the way.

🌐 Learn more: sftcommunity.com/newsletter
💼 Connect on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stevemcbee

1. Build your patient brand. Clearly communicate who you are, what you value, and how you prefer to work with your medical team.
2. Connection is treatment. Rare diseases demand collaboration—between patients, doctors, and researchers—across borders.
3. Do hard things on purpose. Voluntarily facing challenges prepares you for life’s involuntary ones.

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.

What happens when the dream you’ve chased since childhood stops feeling like your dream?

For Dr. Jordan Grumet, medicine started as a mission—a way to honor his father, who died suddenly when Jordan was just seven years old. Becoming a doctor was supposed to fix everything. But instead, years of stress, endless charts, and emotional exhaustion left him wondering if this was all there was.

On this episode of Doctors Making a Difference, Dr. Peter Crane sits down with Dr. Grumet to talk about:

• Burnout and the hidden grief that fuels it
• How personal finance became his “lifeboat” out of misery
• Why chasing “Big P Purpose” can trap you—and how “little p purpose” can set you free
• The surprising way hospice care helped him fall in love with medicine again
• How a blog, a podcast, and a few books ended up impacting millions

This is more than a conversation about burnout. It’s about reclaiming your agency, finding joy in the process—not just the goal—and building a life that truly lights you up.

Dr. Jordan Grumet is an internal medicine physician, hospice doctor, and the voice behind the popular Earn & Invest podcast. Known to many as Doc G, Jordan blends personal finance, purpose, and medicine into powerful lessons on living fully and intentionally.

After nearly burning out early in his career, he discovered financial independence—and eventually realized that money was just one tool for designing a meaningful life. Today, he shares that message through his writing (Taking Stock, The Purpose Code), podcasting, and speaking engagements, helping thousands of professionals rethink success, purpose, and impact.

📘 Learn more at: https://jordangrumet.com

📖 Books: Taking Stock, The Purpose Code

🎧 Podcast: Earn & Invest

• Burnout isn’t just about long hours—it’s about losing sight of what lights you up.
• Financial independence is powerful, but purpose—not money—is the real endgame.
• Agency is what most physicians crave—not escape from medicine.
• “Little p purpose” can multiply your impact far more than chasing big audacious goals
• True success feels like joy in the process, not pressure to perform.

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

👍 Like, comment, and subscribe to hear more stories from doctors making a difference.

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 begins 30,000 feet in the air.

A man clutches his chest mid-flight. The crew calls for a doctor. And luckily, one’s onboard—with an AED, a portable ultrasound, and the exact meds needed to save a life.

That doctor? Dr. TJ Trad.

But the story doesn’t end there.

As Dr. Trad tells it, this wasn’t luck. It was a ripple effect—set in motion by a childhood memory: a 9-year-old boy walking miles through the Lebanese countryside to a United Nations clinic for a tooth infection, where a gentle, kind doctor gave care without a word or a bill.

That moment shaped his life.

Today, Dr. Trad is an interventional cardiologist in Tulsa, Oklahoma. But his impact stretches far beyond clinic walls. He’s the founder of Cura for the World, a nonprofit that builds sustainable medical clinics in underserved communities—and the founder of a MedTech company developing a revolutionary tool to monitor heart failure remotely.

In this conversation with Dr. Peter Crane, Dr. Trad opens up about grief, grit, and the moments that change everything.

This isn’t just an episode about medicine. It’s about how one doctor turned his own pain into purpose—and how we all can, too.

Dr. Jawad “TJ” Trad is an invasive cardiologist, humanitarian, and founder of CURA for the World, a nonprofit building permanent, community-run clinics in underserved regions.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon during the civil war, Dr. Trad grew up surrounded by both the trauma of conflict and the compassion of those who showed up anyway. After losing his father at age nine, he made a quiet vow: to one day be the kind of doctor who doesn’t look away.

After moving to the U.S. as a teenager, Dr. Trad earned degrees in biochemistry, biomedical sciences, and cardiology. But his mission didn’t fully come into focus until medical service trips to Haiti and the Lebanese-Syrian border opened his eyes to the power of sustainable care. CURA for the World was born soon after.

Dr. Trad’s work has impacted thousands of lives across clinics in Uganda, Tanzania, Peru, Congo, and the U.S.—and his story made national news when he helped save a man suffering a heart attack mid-flight after returning from a medical mission. Read the CNN article here.

Today, Dr. Trad continues to serve as a frontline physician while building medical innovations through his startup, R Medical Technologies. His mission is simple: to heal, to educate, and to love in a world that desperately needs more of all three.

• You don’t need permission to make an impact.
• The most powerful stories don’t start with money—they start with meaning.
• Medicine isn’t just about saving lives—it’s about honoring them.
• The ripple effect of kindness can stretch across generations.
• Sometimes your best invention is the life you build on 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.

How does a physician stay engaged after four decades in the exam room? According to Dr. Scott Abramson, the secret lies in one small word: the. Or more precisely, in removing it.

Instead of asking “what’s the matter?”, what if we simply asked: what matters?

In today’s episode, Dr. Peter Crane interviews Dr. Abramson, a retired neurologist who spent over 40 years at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California. But it’s not just his longevity that’s remarkable—it’s the evolution of his purpose. In the second half of his career, Scott became a passionate advocate for physician wellness and communication, ultimately capturing his insights in the moving book, Bedside Manners: For Physicians and Everyone Else.

From his storytelling process (involving a tiny spiral notebook by his bed) to the powerful impact of one heartfelt question, this episode is a love letter to medicine—not as a science, but as an art of connection.

Highlights include:

• Why asking “What are you most afraid of?” can save more than time
• What he learned from writing 20 years of monthly physician articles
• Why moral injury—not just admin burden—is at the core of burnout
• His personal story of fearing melanoma, and the physician who unknowingly gave him his life back
• The mindset shift that helped him stay in medicine joyfully: “I get to live this life.”

Dr. Scott Abramson is a retired neurologist who spent over four decades caring for patients and mentoring colleagues at Kaiser Permanente in the San Francisco Bay Area. For the last 20 years of his career, he led physician communication and wellness efforts—helping colleagues find joy and meaning in medicine again. 

His book, Bedside Manners: For Physicians and Everyone Else, is a beautifully curated collection of real-life stories that reflect the emotional richness of medicine.

• Connection over correction. Patients aren’t just looking for answers—they’re looking to be seen.
• Mindful self-gratitude is an antidote to burnout. Even routine care changes lives.
• Your mindset is the medicine. The question isn’t just “what’s the matter?” but “what matters?”

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.

Today’s episode is a field recording from Uganda - complete with birdsong, village sounds, and the unmistakable energy of meaningful work. At the start of June 2025, Dr. Peter Crane joined a medical service team partnering with Child2Youth Foundation, a grassroots Ugandan organization that’s been transforming lives through education, clean water, and healthcare for two decades.

Recorded on location, this episode features raw and inspiring conversations with Ronnie Kyambadde, a social worker and director of the foundation; Dr. Angela McKellar, an ER physician from Utah; and Maureen, a dedicated clinical officer who lives and works in the rural heart of Uganda. Their reflections - on medicine, poverty, purpose, and partnership - reveal just how much impact a small, consistent effort can make.

Highlights include:
● Building health systems from the ground up, literally
● Why education, clean water, and healthcare must go hand in hand
● The ripple effect of sponsoring just one child
● How service abroad can reignite a physician’s passion for medicine
● The raw realities of rural healthcare, and the hope found within

Ronnie Kyambadde is a Ugandan social worker and director with Child to Youth Foundation, a nonprofit started by his father to help children access education through sponsorships and local support. He’s been at the heart of the foundation’s growth for 20 years—advocating for grassroots impact and accountability.

Dr. Angela McKellar is an emergency physician based in Salt Lake City, Utah, with a long history of medical service work around the globe. She brings heart, humor, and humility to her work and reminds us why we got into medicine in the first place.

Steven Ssenyonjo is the founder and director of Child2Youth Foundation and grew up in rural Uganda. He is from a very poor background and had the opportunity to become a teacher. He started Child2Youth Foundation after finding many needy children growing up in extreme poverty. 

Maureen is a clinical officer at the Sisters of St. Joseph Medical Clinic in rural Uganda. With a sharp eye for critical cases and an unwavering commitment to her community, she is the boots-on-the-ground hero quietly saving lives—one patient, one mosquito net, one check-up at a time.

• Local work, global reach. When you support grassroots initiatives, your impact ripples through generations.
• You don’t have to be rich to make a difference. A little time, a small donation, or one child’s sponsorship can change a life.
• Medicine, stripped to its core, is connection. In the absence of high-tech tools, it’s the human touch that heals.

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.