The Weekly Show: 3/21/25

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello, and welcome to the weekly show here on iHeartRadio
on ninety three nine LIGHTFM, one of the Red Kiss Up.
I'm in Rock ninety five to five. Today on the show,
we are chatting with our friends at Cure Epilepsy and
we are also chatting with doctor Roberto Rodriguez ruesca Fellow
of the American College of Surgeons. We are talking about
the leading cause of cancer death in men under fifty

(00:21):
and the second leading cause of cancer death in women
under fifty. So let's kick off the show.

Speaker 2 (00:26):
Welcome to Voices of Better Medicine, where we chat with
experts at Northwestern Medicine about health issues and questions that
matter to you our audience. I'm Mike Lead. Today we
have doctor Popianis androcinologist at Northwestern Medicine joining us. Doctor,
thank you so much for being here.

Speaker 3 (00:43):
Thank you for having me.

Speaker 4 (00:45):
Mick, I'm very glad to join and answer any questions
that you may have.

Speaker 2 (00:50):
Today, I wanted to discuss diabetes, which affects more than
thirty eight million people in the US. Help us understand
what is diabetes and what happens to your body when
you're diagnosed with it.

Speaker 4 (01:01):
As the years go by, and in our current society,
people accumulate a little bit of extra weight, eat a
little bit more processed or worse food, the body develops
what we call insulin resistance. Means that insulin does not
work as well as it needs to and the body
needs to make more and more insulin to help control

(01:24):
the input of calories. And when that happens over the years,
insulin eventually runs out and then your glucose starts going up.
And this is what we call diabetes. So diabetes, if
you will, is the end product of years of undiagnosed
insulin resistance.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
But what's the difference between type one and type two diabetes?

Speaker 4 (01:46):
So type two diabetes is the most common form of
diabetes that we encounter today. This is the process that
I previously mentioned. So with years and years of insulin resistance,
they insulin production of the human body eventually is not
able to keep up. That's when your glucose starts going up,
and that's when you develop type two diabetes. Type one

(02:11):
diabetes is less common nowadays, it used to be more
common like one hundred or two hundred years ago. This
is when you're insulin producing cells in your pancreas all
of a sudden, very suddenly stop making insulin. So this
is not years and years of insulin resistance. This is
a sudden onset of insulin loss that can happen from

(02:35):
usually autoimmune factors. This has traditionally been observed in kids,
but lately we've been more careful with detecting it in
adults as well. So some of that can be genetic,
but most of that can be entirely random, can be
precipitated by a viral infection, or some expose your early childhood,

(02:56):
so this is not something that's usually under our control.

Speaker 2 (03:00):
We're chatting with doctor popianus ender chronologists at Northwestern Medicine.
This is voices of better Medicine. So doctor, what symptoms
indicate it may be time to see you doctor.

Speaker 4 (03:11):
So usually by the time you have developed diabetes, some
of the symptoms includes increased thirst, increased urination, some unexplained
weakness or weight loss, and bloody vision, numbness and tingling
off the fingers or the choes. Now, these usually are
the symptoms kind of at the end of the spectrum,

(03:34):
so it's important to remember that in the early stages,
pre diabetes and diabetes have no symptoms that means that
the damage might have been ongoing for years before we
actually feel sick, and that's why it's important to follow
up with our primary care doctor undergo through our annual
physicals to detect this process early in the beginning, when

(03:57):
it can be treated easier or even reverse.

Speaker 2 (04:00):
So, yeah, pre diabetes is reversible. What lifestyle changes can
potentially prevent or delay type two diabetes.

Speaker 4 (04:08):
So it's a combination usually of diet and exercise. So
when it comes to diet, we want to avoid ultra
processed foods, We want to avoid simple carbohydrates. We want
to have a more balanced diet that incorporates vegetable fads,
that incorporates proteins a lot of fiber. Exercise is also

(04:30):
very important because it helps insutly work better. The end
point I would say is that we want to achieve
weight loss through a combination of a proper healthy diet
and exercise.

Speaker 2 (04:41):
And how often do you recommend getting tested for diabetes.

Speaker 4 (04:44):
Diabetes Association has guidelines regarding that, so usually we recommend at.

Speaker 3 (04:51):
Least every three years.

Speaker 4 (04:52):
In people who are adults without any previous history of diabetes,
either personal or in the family, people with the families
of diet. It is people who are overweight, people with
other metabolic diseases may want to do it every year
at least.

Speaker 2 (05:06):
Such important information. Doctor Popianis androcinologist at Northwestern Medicine, thank
you so much for joining us today on voices of
better medicine. We appreciate all the details you gave us
on diabetes and thank you for helping keep Chicago healthy.

Speaker 3 (05:23):
Thank you.

Speaker 5 (05:24):
March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. Now you might ask yourself, well,
what is colorectal cancer?

Speaker 6 (05:31):
Anyway?

Speaker 5 (05:31):
We'll get to that, but it has become the leading
cause of cancer deaths and men under fifty, and the
second leading cause of cancer deaths in women under fifty.
So let's discuss it as we bring in doctor Roberto
Rodriguez Esca. He's a fellow at the American College of Surgeons.
Doctor Rodriguez Rosca, thanks so much for the time.

Speaker 7 (05:50):
Thank you for the invitation. So let's be with you.

Speaker 5 (05:52):
Let's start off with that. What is colo rectal cancer?

Speaker 6 (05:56):
Anyway?

Speaker 7 (05:57):
Colo rectal cancer is cancer of the colon as simple
as that. The colonist the last part of the intestine,
that where the stool gets collected, stored and eliminated at
appropriate times, and it's there where the malignant cells can developed,
can develop, and then that's where what cool rectal cancer is.

Speaker 5 (06:21):
It is on the rise in all Americans. One in
ten colorectal cancer pations now under the age of fifty,
and you're seeing an increasing diagnosis and people as early
as their twenties and thirties.

Speaker 7 (06:34):
Yes, it's an alarming statistic. For instance, people that were
born in nineteen ninety have double the risk of developing
colon cancer if you compare them to people who were
born before nineteen fifty or were born in nineteen fifty.

(06:56):
And I think that there's actors, multiple factors that contribute
to that increase in incidents and younger individuals.

Speaker 5 (07:09):
It would lead me to believe that it has something
to do with our country, the way we're living our lives,
that our diet something.

Speaker 6 (07:15):
Do we know the causes for it?

Speaker 7 (07:17):
Absolutely, you're uh scored one hundred on on on that.
There's no there's no specific cause. There's multiple factors, the
things that we eating, processed food, use of pesticides, fertilizers,
environmental pollution, uh, you know, sedentary lifestyle, excessive consumption of alcohol,

(07:47):
all those things add up in over time, the strength
of the genetic structure starts to break, and all the
defense mechanisms that we have to prevent cancer start to fail,
and that's why that happens.

Speaker 5 (08:04):
Are these increases in cases of coorectal cancer something that
is unique to the United States because of our culture,
our food supply, all of those things, or are we
seeing it globally?

Speaker 7 (08:16):
Actually, we see the higher incidences of colon cancer in
highly developed countries. And I'm going to use just to
give you an example. The risk of developing cancer, corectal
cancer in Latin American countries is lower, presumably because of

(08:42):
the type of food that they're eating may be healthier.
But when those individuals migrate to the United States, the
incidence of colon cancer increases to the levels of the
United States. So it's definitely something that has to do

(09:02):
where where we're living. So all those things definitely contribute
to the increase into and cancer and younger people.

Speaker 6 (09:15):
What is screening like, Well.

Speaker 7 (09:19):
The gold standard for screening is colonoscopy, where you can
detect pillets, which are the precursors of cancer, and remove
them at the same time if they're small enough and
safe enough to remove. That's the gold standard. There's other
methods UH stool collection methods that can be also performed,

(09:46):
and there's few other ways. But in a way besides
the stool test, they also UH need for instance, X
rays or flexible sigmodosk we look inside the intestine to.

Speaker 5 (10:04):
Detect I'm in my mid fifties, so I've had my colonoscopy.
I believe the first one was in my late forties.
We're seeing this increased incidence of people in their twenties
or thirties demographics that would never get recommended a colonoscopy
unless they had reason to. So what are the symptoms

(10:26):
that somebody might look for if they wouldn't be in
the age bracket to get a colonoscopy.

Speaker 7 (10:31):
Yes, primarily changes about habits, blood or mucus in this tool,
abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss. Those would be the symptoms.
But the other thing that is very important that may
change the age of colonoscopy is family history. And typically

(10:58):
the standard record is you take the family members age
of the one that was diagnosed and then the duct
ten years and then after offspring should be scoped ten
years prior to the age where that individual was diagnosed,
unless there's a genetic condition mutation that would have a

(11:23):
much higher incidence of developing phone cancer. And in those cases,
the screening age could be dropping all the way into
their twenties early twenties. So finally, history is an important
factor to consider as to when you should be screened.

Speaker 5 (11:42):
We're discussing colon Cancer Awareness Month, which is March, and
colorectal cancer with doctor Roberto Rodriguez Ruesca. He is a
fellow at the American College of Surgeons. What are the
most common misconceptions that you come across people have about
colorectal cancer.

Speaker 7 (12:00):
Well, I think that probably the most common misconception is
that once you get diagnosed, then you're done, and that's
not the case. This is a disease that is curable
as long as is detected at an early stage, and

(12:21):
what's even better, is totally preventable if you proceed with
screening in time. So the other that's probably the number
one misconception that you're doomed with a diagnosis, And now

(12:41):
things have advanced so much that it's not the case.

Speaker 5 (12:46):
Early detection with any type of cancer, heart disease, anything
else is the key. Right, There's a reason it's called
preventative medicine. So how do you recommend that people go
about unless they're seeing some of those symptoms we've already discussed.

Speaker 6 (13:00):
Uh.

Speaker 5 (13:01):
Are doctors changing their recommendations because we're seeing this higher
incidence of younger people contracting colorectal cancer.

Speaker 7 (13:09):
Well, they all not really. I mean, the standard recommendation
is proceived with colonoscopy at age twenty five or not colonoscopy,
but other means of detecting uh corectal cancer stills that
we mentioned earlier, So so that that's the standard recommendation.
But I think the threshful to proceed with the valuation

(13:32):
should be very low, meaning that as soon as you
have symptoms, just go see your physician and an exam
should start with an exam uh and and and then
from there the side of what are the steps to follow?

Speaker 6 (13:47):
What is treatment like?

Speaker 7 (13:49):
The treatment is dictated by the states of the cancer.
It's it's a very personalized approach. Not two colon cancers
are the same. So in general, I can say that
the treatment could be as simple as removing a malignant

(14:10):
public colonoscopy and that's the end of it. And as
complicated as requiring chemotherapy, radiation and surgery, So the treatment
is dictated by the stage. The earlier the stage. Typically
the approach is surgical removing the segment. In all the

(14:33):
more advanced it would involve additional chemotherapy radiation depending on
the location.

Speaker 5 (14:41):
We talked about some of the causes, and it is clear,
at least my understanding from what you said that it
is the way we live in our country, our culture.
So in what ways do lifestyle cho choices are changing? Rather,
our lifestyle choices help us contain this or not become victims?

Speaker 7 (15:02):
Well, I think a sci fi or diet, low fat, exercise,
moderate alcohol consumption, maintain a good weight, fight obesity. I
think those no smoking. I think in general those are

(15:23):
the typical standard recommendations.

Speaker 5 (15:26):
Are there socioeconomic factors that you find in people who
contract colorectal cancer?

Speaker 7 (15:34):
Absolutely? Absolutely. I think the cost of treatment is quite impactful.
Access to care shouldn't be a problem here in the
United States compared to other places, so we're blessed from
that perspective, but some people may have UH less access

(16:02):
because of socio economic factors, so it's definitely important. And
then UH the highly UH successful executive that is diagnosed
will have to have down time to get chemotherapy and
he's not going to be as productive. You know, he

(16:26):
made not feel so well. Everybody responds different to treatment,
so I'm not I don't want to generalize, sure, but
definitely there's an impact when we're there's an impact and
not to let and not you not to mention the
emotional impact right on the individual and the family.

Speaker 5 (16:45):
Do you find there's a higher incidence and people contracting
being diagnosed with colorectal cancer UH and underprivileged communities, poorer
people or does it effect across all of those demographics.

Speaker 7 (17:00):
What I see, I think it's the same. But what
I see is unfortunately individuals with lower income present to
the physician at higher stages than in my experience.

Speaker 5 (17:16):
March, as we mentioned, happens to be Coorectal cancer Awareness Month,
and usually the goal of one of these things is
to bring awareness to the issue, how it's growing in
our country and the fight against the disease.

Speaker 6 (17:29):
Do you think it's accomplishing that.

Speaker 7 (17:31):
I think it is. I think we're making progress, which
is need to keep.

Speaker 5 (17:36):
Pressing on better access to screening and treatment for colorectal cancer.
Is that something that's part.

Speaker 7 (17:43):
Of the goal as well, correct, that is the goal, all.

Speaker 5 (17:46):
Right, Doctor Roberto Rodriguez throwesca fellow at the American College
of Surgeons. If you want more information on colorectal cancer,
you could go to FACS dot org slash colorectal cancer.
That's FACS dot org slash colorectal cancer, Doctor Rodriguez Ruscott.

Speaker 6 (18:07):
I appreciate the time. Thank you so much.

Speaker 7 (18:08):
Thank you having to day and keep pressing on. Thank you.

Speaker 2 (18:12):
This is Voices of Better Medicine as we talk to
the experts at Northwestern Medicine about health issues and health
questions that matter to you. I'm Mick Lee, and today
we have doctor popianis the enrocinologist at Northwestern Medicine. Doctor,
thank you for being here.

Speaker 3 (18:28):
Thank you Mike for having me today.

Speaker 2 (18:29):
I'd like to talk about thyroid conditions. About twenty million
people in the US have some type of thyroid condition.
Before we get into it, what is the role of
your thyroid.

Speaker 4 (18:38):
So, the thyroid is the internal clock of the human body.
It regulates how fast or how slow of the metabolic
processes work. So it regulates how fast how slow the
human body works.

Speaker 2 (18:52):
And what are the two main types of thyroid disease?
Can you give us the symptoms of each as well.

Speaker 4 (18:57):
The most common thorough disease is hypothera. This more failure
of the tharoid glant to work properly. That can affect
up to five percent of the population. So usually because
of a variety of reasons, the thoroid does not work
very well and is not able to keep up with
the demands of the human body, and essentially everything is

(19:19):
closed down. So people experience some fatigue, some cold intolerance,
They notice swelling, weaken constipation, mass lakes, join intakes, dry skin.

Speaker 3 (19:33):
And hair thos So these symptoms.

Speaker 4 (19:35):
Can be very tricky and can be confused for a
lot of other things or aging in general. So sometimes
it's really hard to exactly be sure what is a
thoroid problem and what's something else. And this is why
it's important to actually get checked when you have unexplained
symptoms like that, because if it is s thoroid disease,

(19:58):
it can be treated.

Speaker 6 (19:59):
Now.

Speaker 4 (20:00):
On the other hand, you can have hyperthoroidism, which is
the opposite where your thorough levels are to hide. This
is less common and the symptoms would be the opposite.
You would be feeling too hot instead of two cold.
You would be losing weight, you would have diarrhea instead
of constipation, increased sweating, a little bit of tremors, a

(20:20):
little bit of shaking, kind of the equivalent of what
you experience if you have way too much coffee. The
difference is that hyperthoroidism is a little bit faster progressing.
It will cause a lot more dramatic symptoms and a
lot faster and it's also because of that it's more
important to treat it early. Again, it's the opposite of hypothordism.

(20:41):
You maybe need to treat it for a short period
of time. Sometimes it goes away by itself. Sometimes it
persists and you may have to stay on the medication
forever or do something else with it. It would be
what I would call the flip side of the same coin.
So it's the same disease process, but it can present
with two different presentations hypo or hyperer and they're pretty different.

Speaker 2 (21:05):
And yeah, so there's a lot of different symptoms there
that could be anything. So if you're concerned, you see
a doctor. How is it diagnosed?

Speaker 4 (21:12):
So usually we start with a simple blood test, and
depending on the results of the blood test, we may
need more blood testing or even an ultrasound. Most of
the time, a simple blood test is enough to give
us the answer.

Speaker 2 (21:24):
This is Voices of Better Medicine. We're chatting with doctor
Poppianus and our chronologist at Northwestern Medicine, and today's discussion
is thyroid conditions. Doctor, how do you treat either of
these thyroid diseases that we're discussing.

Speaker 4 (21:38):
So we have human tharoid hormone, so essentially we replace
the actual faroid hormone that our body does not make anymore.

Speaker 3 (21:47):
So this would be one or more pills a day.

Speaker 2 (21:51):
So it's medication really the only option, or can you
do things to focus on your health, like eating better
or exercising.

Speaker 4 (21:58):
So it depends. If it's something that's really early in
the process. Some diet changes may be of help, but
if the thorough levels are low enough to actually require
a prescription, usually by that time, recovering thoroid function through
diet or exercise is not usual enough. So if something

(22:19):
is early in the process, it can be helped without needing.

Speaker 3 (22:22):
To take medication.

Speaker 4 (22:24):
If the process is too far gone, then we have
to treat it with a medication.

Speaker 2 (22:28):
So if you're ignoring symptoms, if you're not going to
the doctor to get diagnosed, what are the risk factors
for thyroid disease?

Speaker 4 (22:35):
Untreated hypothoridism can create a lot of problems for the
human body. It can decrease the ability of the human
body to fight stress if there is an infection, for example,
cause the cholesterol to be high, can cause the bones to.

Speaker 3 (22:52):
Be more brittle.

Speaker 4 (22:53):
So in general, it's not a directly lethal disease. If
you will it will not kill you tomorrow, but it
puts a lot of stress on your body.

Speaker 3 (23:04):
So this is something that needs to be treated.

Speaker 2 (23:06):
Such important information. If you're ever experiencing symptoms of that
of a thyroid condition, see a doctor as soon as
you can, and our friends at Northwestern Medicine are here
to help. Doctor Popianus and or chronologists at Northwestern Medicine.
Thank you for giving us all this information today, and
thank you for keeping Chicago Land healthy.

Speaker 3 (23:24):
Thank you.

Speaker 8 (23:25):
Hi, it's Robin Rock and joining me today is Beth Dean.
Beth is the CEO of Cure Epilepsy. Hello, Beth, Welcome,
good to have you here.

Speaker 9 (23:34):
Thank you for having me and.

Speaker 8 (23:35):
So, Beth, I want to talk a little bit about
Cure epilepsy and what you guys do. Can you tell
me about it?

Speaker 9 (23:41):
Absolutely?

Speaker 3 (23:41):
So.

Speaker 9 (23:42):
Cure Epilepsy is the largest non governmental funder of epilepsy
research in the United States. We were founded in nineteen
ninety eight by Susan Axelrod and a small group of
parents of children with epilepsy who were frustrated by their
inability to protect them from seizures and the side effects
that come with medications. They felt that living well with

(24:02):
epilepsy wasn't good enough and that the epilepsy research landscape
needed to start focusing on developing cures. And so that's
really what we do. We raise money and fund research
to find cures for epilepsy.

Speaker 8 (24:15):
So, okay, let's talk a little bit about epilepsy, because
I think all of us have heard the term. But
tell me a little bit more about what it is
and how prevalent it is.

Speaker 9 (24:23):
So, epilepsy is a very common neurological disorder that's diagnosed
when a person has two or more unprovoked seizures that
are more than twenty four hours apart. Feizures are really
the results of abnormal activity in the brain where the
regular electrical signaling that occurs between neurons becomes disrupted. You know,
it presents differently and each person, you know, their seizures

(24:46):
look different and happen at different frequencies. I mean, it
varies in the severity. About a third of the people
with epilepsy aren't able to get control of their seizures
using the existing medications available.

Speaker 8 (24:57):
Is it something that the runs in families?

Speaker 9 (25:00):
There is a small percentage of the community people with
epilepsy who do have a genetic component that runs through families,
but most do not.

Speaker 8 (25:08):
Why is there such a need for epilepsy research? What's
where are we with that right now?

Speaker 9 (25:14):
It's interesting epilepsy affects more people than multiple scrosis, muscular dystrophy,
Parkinson's and als combined, Yet despite how prevalent it is,
epilepsy receives less federal funding per person than all of
these other brain disorders combine, which means there's gaps in research.
About a third of the people with epilepsy don't have

(25:35):
control of their seizures when they take their medications, and
about fifty percent don't even know the cause of their epilepsy.
Why it's occurring. The National Institute of Health or the NIAH.
They are the largest funder of the epilepsy research in
the world. Many of our grantees, the people we give
money to go and conduct studies, many of them use
the data they generate through our grants to go on

(25:56):
and get larger government grants from the NIH they can
continue to progress their research and ultimately understand why eplepsy
curves and get to cures. Given how common it is
and the many different types of epilepsy, we really are
just underfunded.

Speaker 8 (26:12):
What's interesting, as you mentioned the different types of epilepsy,
and I think of what people maybe don't understand is
that this is a chronic neurologic disease. This is something
that people, I mean most of the people that you
come in contact, but they deal with this for a
lifetime exactly.

Speaker 9 (26:27):
It is a chronic disorder, and it's a spectrum disorder.
You know, there are people who are profoundly impacted, who
are cognitively impaired or have developmental disabilities and aren't able
to live independently. And at the other end of the spectrum,
there are people who seem neurotypical who take their medications.
They you know, they don't have feizures, and they go

(26:50):
to work, they live their lives and you would never
know they have epilepsy unless they tell you. And so
there are many different kinds of epilepsy. They present in
very different ways, and so we really are looking for
cures in the plural. It will be more than a
singular cure.

Speaker 8 (27:06):
Okay, So tell me what's going on currently in the
epilepsy community.

Speaker 9 (27:09):
Yeah, So this is a really exciting time for our community.
There's a lot of activity going on. Something I'm really
excited about is last month, the National Plan for Epilepsy
was reintroduced into Congress and this is legislation that would
create a coordinated federal strategy to improve research, care, and
services for people with epilepsy. And so I was out
in Capitol Hill to represent Cure Eplepsy and joined with

(27:33):
some of the other advocacy organizations in our space talking
to congress people about the need to pass this bill.
In other news that's going on, on March fifteenth, our
organization will join the broader community and participate in the
National Epilepsy Walk, which will take place on the Mall
in Washington, d C. And it's another great opportunity for

(27:53):
the community to get together and raise awareness of what
epilepsy is, how common it is, and how much we
need cures. In March, it's Purple Day, which this is
the color for epilepsy Purple and Purple Day is a
grassroots international awareness day on March twenty six where people
are encouraged to wear purple post events to increase awareness
and share what you know how epilepsy has impacted their lives.

(28:17):
We have a lot of champions who do fundraising events
all year, but there's one in particular that I just
wanted to call out. It's called Ella's Race. It's in Chicago.
It's a large, lovely gathering of the epilepsy community, and
it'll be celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. It takes
place on August twenty fourth in Lagrange, and you can
find information about that on our website.

Speaker 8 (28:38):
I mean, you don't have to be a runner to
get involved. There are things that right right So what
can people do if they want to learn more or
get involved.

Speaker 9 (28:46):
I think, first and foremost, educate yourself about epilepsy and
seizure first aid. As we talked about, so many people
you know don't know what epilepsy is, or they've never
seen someone have a seizure. It can be a scary thing.
But the more you know, the more empowered you are. Right,
I think the community can also help fight stigma by
talking about epilepsy and sharing their knowledge. You can contact

(29:08):
your congress person and let them know that you support
federal funding for medical research for epilepsy and other neurological disorders.
We really really rely on federal funding to help drive
research progress and get us secures. And then lastly, of course,
you can make a donation to our organization, Cure Epilepsy,
so that we can continue to fund these amazing scientists

(29:29):
and the work that they're doing.

Speaker 8 (29:30):
So how do people find you? How do they want
to make a donation, or maybe maybe they're newly diagnosed
and they need more information. How do they find you?

Speaker 9 (29:38):
Our website is Cure Epilepsy dot org. We have wonderful
resources on the web page. We have a section called
Understanding Epilepsy, so if someone is newly diagnosed or if
they want to learn more about the disorder, it's a
great place to start, and then it just kind of
progresses along the disease. It talks about treatments and devices

(30:00):
and lots of really valuable information, so I would direct
people to cure epilepsy dot org.

Speaker 8 (30:06):
Beth Dein, the CEO of Cure Epilepsy, I want to
thank you for joining us today. Definitely some great information
and I really appreciate your time.

Speaker 9 (30:13):
Thank you so much, Robin. We appreciate you helping us
get the word out and raise awareness.