Chief Medical Officer at Northwestern Medicine Central DuPage Hospital Dr. Kevin Most joins the Steve Cochran Show to discuss whether it’s necessary to take time off from work for a head cold, the reasons behind the blood shortage in the United States, and why people often delay seeking medical attention until they perceive something as ‘extremely wrong.’
Dr. Kevin Most’s Steve Cochran Show Notes:
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
- Breast cancer is the 2nd most common cause of Cancer among women, second only to skin cancer
- It makes up 30% of all new female cancers
- Annual cases in the US are approaching 400,000 a year.
- 43,000 women will die from breast cancer in the US this year
- Median age for breast cancer detection is 62 years old, this means that 50% of new cases of breast cancer occur in women under 62 years old.
- Women have a 1 in 8 chance of developing breast cancer at some time in their lives
- Incidence has increased slightly each year, better diagnosis? More awareness? Or environmental
- Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women (lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in women)
- Breast cancer death rates have declined since 1989- results of finding cancer earlier, better treatments, screening awareness
- Risk factors include- alcohol consumption, obesity, sedentary lifestyle, women who have not had children, not breast feeding, hormonal therapy post menopause
- In May of 2023- recommendations changed to recommend that annual mammograms start at age 40
- Mammogram timing at Covid and Flu shots – because of the immune response and the possible swelling of lymph nodes with the shots, many are recommending completing a screening mammogram 4-6 weeks following the vaccine
- The reason for this is the inflamed lymph nodes may lead to a false positive reading on a mammogram and lead to additional testing that in reality is not needed
- The best option is get the mammogram and then follow up with the annual vaccines, the timing should work
Blood shortage-
- Red Cross provides about 40% of all blood in the US
- Red Cross has seen donations drop 25% over the past few months and is now at a critical level
- Versiti Blood center of Illinois is a large donation company in the suburbs with many sites to donate
- Donations have declined by 25% since August- reasons include natural disasters, vacations, back to school
- Red Cross is pushing for allowing high schools to do blood drives again, these were stopped during the Covid pandemic
- This halt has not only impacted the amount of blood collected but also is seen as missing an opportunity to get new donors in line for continued donations
- People can donate blood every 8 weeks
- When you donate blood it is used in different ways- Red Blood Cells can be used for up to 30 days, Platelets which help with clotting last 5 days, Plasma which has clotting factors last up to a year as it is able to be frozen
Are the fall drinks good for you
- Starbucks, Peet’s , Dunkin Donuts, are now pushing the Fall Drinks, but do you know how they impact your nutrition
- Pumpkin Spice Latte 470 calories, 16g of fat and 60g of sugar – Venti or large size
- Perspective 2,000- 2,500 calories a day total is a goal. 60 g of Fat a day is a goal, 24 grams of sugar is a goal
- Christmas is right around the corner – Peppermint Mocha with whole milk- Venti – 550 calories, 22 grams for fat, 66 grams of sugar
- We know coffee has some great health benefits including antioxidants, decreases the risk of diabetes, decreases the risk of some cancers and may protect you from dementia, decreases the risk of depression
- So, Not saying stop drinking coffee just understand the health impact when adding all the flavors and sweeteners.
Full Body MRI’s- status symbol? Realistic- Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, Cindy Crawford touting these?
- Some celebrities are promoting a full body MRI done by a company Prenuvo, saying it is life saving
- Some celebrities are offering discount codes
- The scans cost $2,500 and are not covered by insurance,
- The company started in 2018, touts the scan as preventive and looks for illnesses before they are detected by traditional screening. They have 8 locations across North America and will be opening 12 more.
- There is one in Chicago
- The company is pushing this test as proactive instead of reactive
- You can go on their website and look at the different types of cancer that their scan may be able to identify
- Currently each type of cancer has some screening process, when taken as a group of tests this can be cumbersome and expensive
- Consider colonoscopy, mammograms, PSA tests, PAP tests these are all tests we use to identify cancers thru screening, time consuming and fragmented, but in most cases still the “gold standard” for screening.
- Some cancers have no screening tests currently, like pancreas, ovarian, brain, kidney, and liver.
- While MRI would certainly identify some of these tumors at an early stage, the MRI results are not always as accurate as one would hope and thus lead to additional testing and risky procedures which may not be appropriate (biopsies)
- Currently not supported by most physicians
- We certainly do not have enough scanners in the US if this was going to be considered
- Could it help with screening for those who have put off screening? Could it identify a cancer early in the lungs, brain or pancreas that may be lifesaving, or at least life extending?
- The company recommends these scans every two years
- Is this a technology that is just ahead of its time and will be the gold standard in the future????
- With so few sites, it does come down to those who can afford the test.
- The test may fill the needs of a population who is looking for more information about their risk for illnesses, like genetic testing
