Michael and Ashlee Cramer have a unique mother son relationship. They share a podcast about their cancer journey. They have a website, a YouTube channel and they even do rap songs about their hospital experiences together. But let’s go back. Ashlee was a dancer, on tour in France when she met her future, French husband Patrice Cramer. Life was good. But in 2014, it was the first time their world was turned upside down due to a cancer diagnosis. Patrice, strong, healthy, non-drinker, non-smoker, vegetarian with a weakness for French bread and cheese, was diagnosed with Large B-Cell Lymphoma. It is a quote “treatable” cancer, but chemo was too much for him and 17 months after diagnosis, May 12, 2016, Patrice died. It was a devastating shock, but it brought the tight family, now of 4, even closer. When Michael was first feeling tired in 2020, no one imagined cancer. He was young, healthy, and an athlete. At first they thought maybe he was anemic. Watch this video for a firsthand account of an unthinkably profound and brave journey from both of their perspectives. Find out from real patients what life with chronic disease feels like. The invisible pain, the insurance battles, and the hidden full-time job “being sick” entails, can feel like too much at times, and it is a weight you shouldn’t have to carry alone. It is so important that patients with rare and chronic diseases are heard.

Follow patient stories detailing life with lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroiditis, Chron’s, RA, and other chronic and rare diseases.  Are you an infusion patient that wants to help shed light on the chronic disease journey? Reach out to the Infusion Access Foundation team so we can hear your story and help you find the right pathway for you to be really heard.