Key points from today’s guests:
Lisa Weatherspoon, breast cancer survivor
- Lisa discovered a lump under her left arm that ended up being Stage 3 triple negative breast cancer.
- As a Black woman, her chances of dying from breast cancer were 40 percent higher than a white woman.
- She was immediately entered into a clinical trial at The University of Kansas Cancer Center and underwent a lumpectomy and chemotherapy.
- She is proud to be a part of the research that can help other people of color. She said we don't know how different disease processes and medical treatments impact us in the same way, so it's important that we have more representation of people from all backgrounds, all social, ethnic, social economic statuses participating in the medical field.
- Her faith and her family and friends helped her get through this situation and she looks at it as a way to inspire others.
- From the beginning, she felt respected and felt heard and she tried to make the holistic practices that she was using work compatibly with the medical team. They worked together as partners, and she believes that partnership is what's going to save your life.
Dr. Lauren Nye, breast oncologist and medical director, Breast Cancer Prevention, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- Triple negative breast cancer is a more aggressive form of breast cancer that we see. It means it does not have any of the estrogen progesterone or HER2 receptors on the cancer cell which allow us to target it with certain therapies.
- For Lisa, we ended up needing to use chemotherapy and now immunotherapy to target this aggressive type of breast cancer.
- We've made great improvements over the last five years in the treatment of this type of breast cancer through these great clinical trials that we have, but it is still considered one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer that we see.
- Most individuals who get diagnosed with cancer do their due diligence and they look into alternatives, but the end goal on both sides is that they want to cure their cancer and they want it to go away and never come back. And we can talk through all of the options and a patient is absolutely a full member of the decision-making team.
- I want people to take the spirit of listening to your body, advocating for yourself, and asking questions because I think that is what made our relationship in treating Lisa’s cancer so powerful.
- We could have open conversations and honest conversations to meet her goals as well as my goals as her oncologist and that was really powerful.
Dr. Carolyn Savioz, radiation oncologist and director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, Department of Radiation Oncology, The University of Kansas Cancer Center
- Lisa is a dream patient to work with and she made it so easy for me to take the best care of her because she's awesome.
- She received what we call adjuvant radiation where, after a lumpectomy, her breast that was affected as well as the region of lymph nodes that are targeted by the radiation treatment. So, we are selectively killing any microscopic cancer cells that are left over despite the surgery and chemotherapy. And that provides us with a two-thirds reduction in her having a recurrence for a better chance of survival.
- When it comes to addressing racial disparities in health care, I like to think of it as a three-prong approach. First, as an individual we have to look at ourselves in the mirror and realize we all come with biases. We are so limited by the narrow light that we have led so far and the things that only we've been exposed to.
- Secondly, I make a huge effort to listen intently and ask a lot of questions to treat the patient as a whole -- understand where they're coming from and why they have certain beliefs or expectations that may have been shaped by experiences that people around them may have had.
- Third, I always encourage my patients to advocate for yourself. Sometimes it can feel foreign to ask questions or to raise the flag, but that's how we know to take the best care of you when you communicate with us.
Dr. Dana Hawkinson, medical director of Infection Prevention and Control, The University of Kansas Health System
- The hospital COVID count for this week is at 11 inpatients, down from 12 the prior two weeks.
- We commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which has allowed so many people in so many communities to access health care.
- We need to endorse accessibility and affordability for everybody for health care, because when everybody's doing well, the whole community does well.
- As of Thursday, there were 64 cases of measles in the United States this year alone. In 2023, there were only 58 cases.
- We know there have been pockets that have gotten more news than others. It is a significant disease. It isn't just a benign disease -- one in five of those children can get pneumonia and be hospitalized. There's also the effects of encephalitis and brain damage and loss of hearing as well that can occur.
- It is so easy to protect against this disease with a vaccine that is very safe, has been used for decades, and provides really good protection not only for measles, but also mumps and rubella
Tuesday, Mar. 26 at 8 a.m. is the next Morning Medical Update. Magic mushrooms, LSD, ketamine, and other psychedelic drugs could revolutionize psychiatry when they're in the right hands. Dispelling myths and changing minds on how psychedelics can change brains for the better.
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