This episode is sponsored by Lightstone Direct LLC. (https://lightstonedirect.com/) 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. Highlights 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?” Top 3 Takeaways 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. Guest Bio 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 (http://matthewzachary.com) About the Host: 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. About the Show: 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: (https://www.doctorsmakingadifference.com) doctorsmakingadifference.com (http://doctorsmakingadifference.com) LMC Series Note: 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 (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.