Episode 10: Fernando Goldsztein on the Medulloblastoma Initiative

This episode is a deeply personal one.

The Soapbox Redemption podcast has always been aimed at the big questions- and of course, served with swagger. Since my last podcast, I’ve come across the biggest question yet in my life with my seven year old son William’s brain and spine cancer diagnosis called medulloblastoma.

Words fail to relay the horror that this reality is for a family. Everything immediately looks different and the life you knew before (and expected ahead) is forever changed.

This episode features a conversation with Fernando Goldsztein who has also felt the horror of a medulloblastoma diagnosis. Fernando is married and has two children and is a businessman from Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil with an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

After Fernando’s son Federico was diagnosed with medulloblastoma which then relapsed after treatment, Fernando founded the Medulloblastoma Initiative in 2021 to accelerate the development of a cure. the Medulloblastoma Initiative serves as a beacon of hope for families like Fernando who have been told "there is nothing further we can do."

The Medulloblastoma Initiative is an entirely unique model. It's an open source innovation model with physicians with 14 of the world’s most prestigious labs and hospitals from across North America, Europe, and Brazil all working together - no bureaucracy or red tape - just full transparency - and 100% of private donated funds going towards actualizing cutting edge clinical trial therapies NOW - and two such trials have been initiated with three more in the pipeline.

This model is extremely timely given the cut-backs to recent pediatric cancer research - and has far reaching implications beyond medulloblastoma. On his recent MSNBC interview, Fernando has assertively stated "giving up on my son was not an option" and "finding a cure is not an if, but a when."

Like in one of my favorite Bruce Hornsby songs "That's Just the Way It Is", Fernando and the Medulloblastoma Initiative have stated in their actions - and in no uncertain terms - "ah, but don't you believe them."

Please enjoy this conversation and donate to the Medulloblastoma Initiative here.