High drug costs: the tale of 4 women
In 2016, Berna Heyman testified before a U.S. Senate committee about her personal experience with sudden and dramatic increases in drug prices. She was forced to switch drugs to treat her [...]
98-year-old drug inventor chastises pharma for “behaving badly”
By: Rhonda Rowland, WDA PresidentBy: Rhonda Rowland, WDA President I’ve spent my career reporting medical news. It’s an important topic to me because I live with my own health [...]
1983: The 35th Anniversary
This is the 35th anniversary of 1983 – an important year in my life. And, for anyone living with a rare disease. It was a year full of historic landmarks, too: the [...]
How a Chance Conversation Led Me to a New Treatment
You never know when a chance conversation will change the course of your life. It was the year 2000, and I was attending the International Health and Medical Media Awards, better known [...]
Rare Disease is Not Rare
When was the last time you felt competitive? My last time surprised me, because it was at my book club. It wasn’t about that month's book selection – rather, it was when [...]
No More Martinis For Me
Imagine practicing medicine without the internet. In 1983, doctors relied on the medical books in their office or a nearby medical library for reference. Medical journals describing new scientific studies arrived through [...]
How Martinis Led to my Rare Disease Diagnosis
The night I drank my first martini would also be my last. My husband says the martinis saved my life. I’m not sure about that, but by the end of that weekend [...]