‘Rare’ Documentary in Kickstarter Campaign to Raise $45K by Oct. 28

‘Rare’ Documentary in Kickstarter Campaign to Raise $45K by Oct. 28

A crowdfunding campaign aims to raise $45,000 to support “Rare,” a documentary film featuring the struggles and achievements of people living with rare diseases and their families. Sweis Entertainment and Digital Cave Media launched the campaign — allowing filmmakers to finish producing and to release the documentary — on Kickstarter.

Hanging From the Grab Bars of Humor in My ALS Life

I realize the words “ALS” and “humor” don’t always hang out together, but in my life they often do. I’ve been living with ALS since 2010, and over the years, I’ve learned not to let a day go by without finding humor in the absurdity of it all. Most of…

Advocacy Groups Invited to Try for Cytokinetics Communications Grants

Cytokinetics is accepting applications from advocacy groups working in cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), for grants worth $20,000 each that will help them expand their communications and community engagement. In total, five Cytokinetics Communications Fellowship Grants will be awarded winning organizations. The deadline for applications…

Does It Ever Get Easier?

“Does caregiving for ALS ever get easier?” I pondered the question someone had posted on social media. I couldn’t sleep for days after my husband, Todd, was diagnosed. I was consumed with anxiety and fear for the future. How was I going to parent our children as a single mom?…

When the Reaper Comes A-Knockin’, We Must Get A-Rockin’

When I was in elementary school, my mom would occasionally take my brother and me to Woolworth’s, our local five-and-dime store. We would often have lunch there, and my staple was the open-faced roast beef platter, followed by a hot fudge sundae. Afterward, my brother and I were left…

New Quality of Life Survey Aims to Help Inform ALS Community Needs

Bionews Insights is launching a survey, in collaboration with ALS News Today, with the goal of understanding how different aspects of this disease affect an individual’s quality of life. The survey, which is expected to take about 15 minutes to complete, opens with WHOQOL-100, a set of questions developed by…

New Data-sharing Program Aims to Speed Innovation in Rare Diseases

A new U.S. initiative called Rare Disease Cures Accelerator–Data and Analytics Platform — dubbed RDCA–DAP — aims to accelerate treatment innovation across rare diseases by sharing existing patient data and promoting the standardization of new data collection. Launched during a virtual workshop in September, the U.S. Food and Drug…