This is a podcast featuring inspirational patient stories of perseverance to find the answers!
Welcome to The Desperate for a Diagnosis Podcast with Laura Nozicka.
I am so thrilled to be launching this podcast. I had intended to launch back in February of this year, 2023, but God had another plan. My dad passed away on January 29, 2023. He had been diagnosed with congestive heart failure and type 2 diabetes in 2012. The thing is he was not unhealthy, he didn’t abuse himself, wasn’t a drinker or smoker but had a silent heart attack that was found on a fluke when we went to the hospital for another reason. So often these unexpected findings pop up and I’d like to think that God or the universe is watching out for us when those things happen. My hope is that my dad is watching over me as I pursue this podcast journey on behalf of making the healthcare system better and more compassionate while helping patients and caregivers find answers for symptoms and help them cope along the way.
Have you seen doctor after doctor begging to put a name to your symptoms? How long have you been seeking answers? Months? Years? Are you tired of the healthcare revolving door? How many times have you heard these words from doctors, family, and friends?
"It’s all in your head!"
"You don’t look sick."
"Your tests are normal."
"It’s probably anxiety."
"There’s nothing wrong with you!"
If this describes your experience, The Desperate For a Diagnosis Podcast wants to tell your story.
My podcast was born out of my own experience with hearing "your tests are normal and there's nothing wrong with you," when all along I knew something was not right. After seeing multiple physicians, some of my symptoms have resolved. Some remain a mystery.
The creation of this podcast is also driven by having interviewed hundreds of patients via market research interviews (market research is what I do for a living). So often patients have expressed feeling dismissed, labeled, pigeonholed, and completely frustrated. They also have been led to feel as if they are crazy and that it really is "all in your head!" So many patients are exhausted from swirling through the healthcare "revolving door" and feel as if they have nowhere else to turn. Many have given up and have accepted their mysterious symptoms.
The goal of the podcast is to...
- Offer hope to people without answers as they may hear guest stories that makes them say, "that sounds like me!" and instill the confidence patients need to advocate for themselves.
- Bring these medical mysteries, diagnostic roadblocks, and potential solutions to a broad reach of patients and medical professionals.
- Encourage healthcare leaders to think differently about early, cost-effective diagnostics and the associated benefits to getting patients into treatment sooner.
- Illuminate the patient experience as a reflection of how patients perceive the healthcare system and their hope and belief that they can and will get a diagnosis.
- Present viewpoints from both sides of the bedside...the patient and healthcare providers.
I’m your host Laura Nozicka. I'm from Chicago and have an extensive career in healthcare working in non-clinical positions. I've worked side-by-side with physicians and clinicians in dozens of specialties, and interviewed hundreds of medical professionals and patients gleaning insights from their experiences.
To learn more or to become a guest, visit www.desperateforadiagnosis.com or email lauramarie@desperateforadiagnosis.com.
*I am not a medical professional, nor am I affiliated with any healthcare, pharmaceutical or device company. I am an entrepreneur, and I am an independent market researcher focused on helping healthcare organizations and pharmaceutical companies better understand the patient’s perspective. The podcast is not intended to offer medical advice but to merely share the stories and perspectives of podcast guests.