Your Doctor Friends

Can I Protect Myself From Breast Cancer? (with Liz O’Riordan, MD)

What happens when you turn 40 (and you also have boobs)?

Well, since May 2023, the USPSTF has recommended that women at average risk for breast cancer start screening with mammograms beginning at age 40, and undergo mammography every other year. 

These updated recommendations are still “in progress” and the USPSTF cites the urgent need for more research on: 

• breast cancer screening for people with dense breasts (nearly half of all women), 
• how to particularly protect women of color
• In the US, there exists a long history of health disparities across screening and treatment for breast cancer. 
• The Task Force discusses, for example, that Black women are 40% more likely to die than White women, and too often get aggressive cancers at young ages. 

So, Your Doctor Friends are taking a page from America’s Sweetheart (and breast cancer survivor herself) Katie Couric. You may remember Katie both underwent a colonoscopy AND a mammogram on the Today Show, and YDF Julie wants to do the next best thing- consult with a breast cancer expert before she gets her FIRST EVER MAMMOGRAM!

Your Doctor Friends have the absolute honor to present our guest today, a consummate badass, breast cancer survivor and breast surgeon, to walk Julie through her own personal risk assessment and screening process for breast cancer. 

Finally, we want to take some time at the end of this episode to share the story of a dear friend and colleague, a fellow sports medicine doctor, and absolute amazing human being, who very recently lost her life to breast cancer. She is the inspiration for this episode and Your Doctor Friends think it’s important to talk about her, and are so grateful to her family for their consent to share her story. 

Learn more about Dr. Kristin Abbott here.

Alright, let’s get on with it, can we answer the question:

Can I protect myself from breast cancer?

ENTER Dr. Liz O’Riordan to help us find out!

Dr O'Riordan is an expert breast surgeon who has had breast cancer three times. She's a best-selling author, speaker, broadcaster and podcaster and is a trusted source of reliable information. 

She shares helpful, approachable, valid breast cancer information online, we found her via her IG account @oriordanliz, she also has a podcast called “So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer”, and she’s published tons of helpful work, including her book “The Complete Guide to Breast Cancer” and her memoir “Under the Knife”. She also has her own wikipedia page, which is pretty rad :)

Resources for today's episode include:

Dr. O'Riordan's website.

Link to the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator for breast cancer.

The USPSTF's "In Progress" updated guidelines for breast cancer screening.

The Breast Cancer Research Foundation's info page on updated USPSTF Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines.

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Is the Aluminum in Antiperspirants Harmful?

In the 1990s, a chain email circulated around the series-of-tubes we called the internet, suggesting that aluminum-containing antiperspirants clogged your sweat pores, thus disallowing your body to “purge itself of toxins”, and those "toxins" would accumulate in your axillary lymph nodes, and increase your risk of breast cancer. Yikes.

Predating the "antiperspirant-will-give-you-breast-cancer" chain email scare, animal studies in the 1960s suggested a link between aluminum in antiperspirants (which were just becoming popular in postwar America) and Alzheimer's disease. These rabbit studies showed brain neurotoxic effects when the animals were exposed to very high levels of aluminum.

In the past several decades, researchers have investigated whether these loose correlations/hypotheses held any water (spoiler: they don't). In today's episode, Your Doctor Friends want to debunk and demystify the data around the potential "risks' around aluminum-containing antiperspirants!

Should you ditch the standard roll-on? Switch to a "natural" alternative?

OR.. is this all just a case of "all stink and no fire"??

Sources for today's episode include:

The NIH National Cancer Institute's fact sheet page on antiperspirants and breast cancer.

A 2017 review in Deutsches Arzteblatt International journal titled "The Health Effects of Aluminum Exposure."

A 2019 comprehensive review on sweat gland function by Lindsay B. Baker PhD, director of the Gatorade Sport Science Institute.

A Scientific American article titled "Fact or Fiction: Antiperspirants Do More Than Block Sweat".

A 2021 Canadian study published in NeuroToxicology investigating association between aluminum in drinking water and risk of Alzheimer's disease risk.

A Healthline article from 2022 titled "Is There a Link Between Aluminum and Alzheimer's?".

A 2021 NYT article titled "Are Natural Deodorants Really Better For You?".

AND FINALLY- a 2017 article from The World Textile Conference called "A novel washing algorithm for underarm stain removal" - which was the closest thing to scientific data explaining WHAT MAKES YELLOW ARMPIT STAINS!

Thanks for tuning in, folks! Please sign up for our "PULSE CHECK" monthly newsletter! Signup is easy, right on our website page, and we PROMISE we will not spam you! We just want to send you cool articles, videos and thoughts :)

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Find us at:

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Email: yourdoctorfriendspodcast@gmail.com 

Connect with us:

@your_doctor_friends (IG) Send/DM us a voice memo/question and we might play it on the show!

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Are Microplastics Slowly Killing Us?

What does the term "microplastics" mean to you? Why is seemingly everyone talking about them lately?

 A new study published on March 6th in the New England Journal of Medicine titled, “Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events" has been circulating around the internet, and raises concerns about the risk of exposure to microplastics and long-term adverse health outcomes.

What does this study suggest? What does the other data about microplastics show?

Our exposure to plastics is ubiquitous; its in our packaging, our clothing, in our air and water. The chemical additives used in plastics manufacturing are also worrisome, as they have demonstrated adverse health effects in animal models.

As we have hammered home in many prior episodes, DOSE and EXPOSURE matter when it comes to risk of harm from a particular substance. The same rules seem to apply for microplastics.

In today's episode, Jeremy explains what we do and don't know about the risks of long term exposure to microplastics. He ends with some actionable items on how you can choose to limit your exposure with some simple daily behavioral changes.

Resources for this episode include:

The very recent NEJM article titled "Microplastics and Nanoplastics in Atheromas and Cardiovascular Events".

A 2022 Frontiers in Endocrinology study regarding endocrine changes in mammals related to exposure to micro/nano plastics.

A May 2023 article from National Geographic titled "Microplastics are in our bodies. How much do they harm us?"

A March 19th, 2024 Everyday Health article on microplastics.

An EcoWatch article titled "10 Simple Ways to Avoid Microplastics in Your Everyday Life".

Thanks for tuning in, folks! Please sign up for our "PULSE CHECK" monthly newsletter! Signup is easy, right on our website page, and we PROMISE we will not spam you! We just want to send you cool articles, videos and thoughts :)

For more episodes, limited edition merch, or to become a Friend of Your Doctor Friends (and more), follow this link!

 

Find us at:

Website: yourdoctorfriendspodcast.com 

Email: yourdoctorfriendspodcast@gmail.com 

Connect with us:

@your_doctor_friends (IG) Send/DM us a voice memo/question and we might play it on the show!

@yourdoctorfriendspodcast1013 (YouTube)

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@JuliaBrueneMD (IG)

@HealthPodNet (IG)

Is Vaping Better Than Smoking?

Vaping. E-cigarettes. Heat sticks. They're super popular (especially among young people)- an estimated 22 MILLION e-cigarettes are sold in the US every MONTH. As we have (thankfully) seen traditional combustible tobacco cigarette smoking decline over the past couple decades, the flip side is an astronomical increase in vaping. Many e-cigarette brands market themselves as a safer, healthier alternative to smoking cigarettes, calling their vape products "ENDS" or "electronic nicotine delivery systems".

Is this reality? Is vaping less harmful to you than smoking?

Your Doctor Friends want to clear the air, make the conversation about vaping a little less foggy. Today we will answer questions like:

• How does vaping affect our health directly? What does the research show about the risks of vaping with respect to cardiovascular problems, cancer, or lung disease?
• What the heck is "popcorn lung"? What about VAPI (vaping associated pulmonary injury)?
• What does nicotine alone do to our bodies? How much nicotine is in a vape? A cigarette?
• What's actually in vape aerosol/mist? How is it different than cigarette smoke? Is it bad for me?
• Is vaping instead of smoking actually good "harm reduction"?
• How are e-cigarettes marketed specifically to kids and young adults? Why? What should we do about it?

Let's all inform ourselves about the issues surrounding vaping/e-cigarettes, so we can all breathe easier!

Resources for today's episode include:

A 2022 Tobacco Use Insights journal review of literature on e-cigarette harm vs harm reduction.

A March 11, 2024 study and discussion in Pediatrics journal about disposable e-cigarettes, use patterns in youth, and how to counteract the tobacco industry's "reduced-harm" marketing tropes.

An August 2023 JAMA article about youth flavored e-cigarette use before and after partial flavoring bans.

A Guardian article about the amount of nicotine in vapes vs cigarettes.

A 2023 article in Advances in Respiratory Medicine outlining the data on vaping and cancer risk.

Results from the 2023 FDA Annual National Youth Tobacco Survey.

A 2016 study in Environmental Health Perspectives about acrolein, diacetyl, and other chemicals found in flavored e-cigarettes.

A 2019 Cureus article about vitamin E acetate as plausible cause of acute vaping-related lung illness.

A 1/24/24 CNN article about the lack of progress on the US menthol cigarette ban.

Wikipedia article on "bronchiolitis obliterans".

A December 2023 WHO news release about the urgent need to protect children and prevent uptake of e-cigarettes.

A 2023 Cureus meta-analysis on risks of vaping on cardiovascular disease.

An October 2023 Pediatrics journal article outlining vaping cessation methods used by US adolescent e-cigarette users.

Thanks for tuning in, folks! Please sign up for our "PULSE CHECK" monthly newsletter! Signup is easy, right on our website page, and we PROMISE we will not spam you! We just want to send you cool articles, videos and thoughts :)

For more episodes, limited edition merch, or to become a Friend of Your Doctor Friends (and more), follow this link!

 

Find us at:

Website: yourdoctorfriendspodcast.com 

Email: yourdoctorfriendspodcast@gmail.com 

Connect with us:

@your_doctor_friends (IG) Send/DM us a voice memo/question and we might play it on the show!

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Do Collagen Supplements Help?

Another foray into the wide world of SUPPLEMENTS, friends! Let's talk COLLAGEN this time.

What IS collagen? Well, in short, it's, uh... us. Collagen is the most abundant protein in your body. It accounts for about 30% of your body’s total protein. 

It is the primary building block of your body’s connective tissues: skin, muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, etc.

So.. does consuming it (as marketed by supplement companies) actually IMPROVE any of those parts of you?? Or is this just another trick by the "wellness" industry to freak us out (even more) about bodily changes that the majority of human beings will experience, to some degree, in the normal course of aging?

This week Jeremy presents a detailed dissertation on collagen consumption!

Your Doctor Friends aim to answer all your collagen questions! What does the research suggest? Can we even absorb collagen by eating it in supplement form? Can it improve your skin? What about your joints? Does it make arthritis better? Is there a particular TYPE of collagen that has potential positive impact on our health? Is it crazy expensive?? Am I eating BONES??

(listen in to find out ;)

Resources for today's episode include:

The Cleveland Clinic's informational page about collagen.

An article/lit review/meta-analysis from the American Journal of Translational Research evaluating the efficacy of undenatured collagen in knee osteoarthritis.

An International Journal of Dermatology systematic review/meta-analysis on the effects of hydrolyzed collagen supplementation on skin aging.

A systematic review/meta-analysis in Nutrients on the effects of oral collagen for skin anti-aging.

A 2023 Cureus meta-analysis on hydrolyzed oral collagen supplementation on skin rejuvenation.

A Nutrients study on type-2 chicken hydrolyzed collagen supplements to alleviate joint discomfort.

A Washington Post article from 1/29/24 titled "Should I be taking collagen supplements? Here's what the science says."

An Elle News article from Feb 2024 all about collagen drinks.

Thanks for tuning in, folks! Please sign up for our "PULSE CHECK" monthly newsletter! Signup is easy, right on our website page, and we PROMISE we will not spam you! We just want to send you cool articles, videos and thoughts :)

For more episodes, limited edition merch, or to become a Friend of Your Doctor Friends (and more), follow this link!

 

Find us at:

Website: yourdoctorfriendspodcast.com 

Email: yourdoctorfriendspodcast@gmail.com 

Connect with us:

@your_doctor_friends (IG) Send/DM us a voice memo/question and we might play it on the show!

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Why Are Youth Pitchers Getting Tommy John Surgery?: Spring Training Special (with Nikhil Verma, MD)

Baseball is back! Spring training cactus (and grapefruit!) leagues are in full swing, and the sports community is all abuzz with prognostications for the upcoming season.

Pop quiz, dear listener! Shohei Ohtani. Bryce Harper. Kerry Wood. Jose Canseco. Chris Sale. What do they have in common?

They're all Major League Baseball players, and they all (in addition to over 1,000 other MLB players) underwent Tommy John ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) surgery.

Until the last 10 years or so, orthopedic surgeons performed Tommy John/UCL reconstruction surgery almost exclusively on professional baseball pitchers. However, with increased specialization of younger athletes, and increased demands on young athletes' throwing arms, the rate of UCL elbow injuries has skyrocketed. Young athletes aged 17-22 are the most common group receiving this surgery.

Why?? Is blowing out your UCL "inevitable" in an overhead athlete? What factors come into play that increase risk of UCL tears? Can we prevent these injuries? How??

Thankfully we have brought our friend and colleague, and baseball injury specialist, Nikhil Verma, MD, to tease out everything "Tommy John"!

Dr. Verma is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon, specializing in sports medicine, and has worked at Midwest Orthopaedics at RUSH since 2004.

He is currently the head team physician for the Chicago White Sox (since 2017, taking over for one of our former guests, Dr. Chuck Bush Joseph), and is the director of the Sports Medicine division and is Program Director for the sports medicine surgical fellowship at RUSH. 

He has robust research and academic presence, with tons of publications under his belt, and he is an associate editor for the Arthroscopy Journal, and on the editorial board for the Journal of Knee Surgery. He is a member of numerous academic societies in orthopedics, sports medicine, and Major League Baseball. 

He also has been elected by his peers to “Best Doctors in America” every year since 2007, which is quite fitting as he is a wonderful human being and beloved colleague :)

He also recorded this episode with Your Doctor Friends while driving in his car on the way to the airport to fly out to Spring Training in Arizona to help out his beloved White Sox, now that's dedication!

Resources for today's episode include:

Dr. Verma's MOR website, his professional website, and his Instagram page!

A 2016 article in The Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine (featuring Dr. Verma as a collaborating author) titled "Ulnar Collateral Ligament Reconstruction: The Rush Experience".

MLB.com "Pitch Smart" program article titled "Tommy John FAQ" featuring legendary sports orthopedic surgeon, Dr. James Andrews.

A "Yankee Blue" article titled "Tommy John Is Not Related to Tommy John Underwear" :)

Thanks for tuning in, folks! Please sign up for our "PULSE CHECK" monthly newsletter! Signup is easy, right on our website page, and we PROMISE we will not spam you! We just want to send you cool articles, videos and thoughts :)

For more episodes, limited edition merch, or to become a Friend of Your Doctor Friends (and more), follow this link!

 

Find us at:

Website: yourdoctorfriendspodcast.com 

Email: yourdoctorfriendspodcast@gmail.com 

Connect with us:

@your_doctor_friends (IG) Send/DM us a voice memo/question and we might play it on the show!

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How Do I Survive ”Spring Forward?”

Daylight saving time. When it happens twice a year, do you find yourself forgetting which one is the “bad one”? We know “spring forward, fall back”, and the “spring forward” part sounds deceptively perky and positive, but really it’s the BAD ONE! Meaning, we lose an hour by shifting the clock forward. What a crock!

Our circadian rhythms are so interesting, and drive so many facets of our physical and mental health.

A recent article posted by Rush University Medical Center highlighted the detrimental effects that spring daylight saving time can wreak on our bodies and minds. The article features sleep medicine specialist, James Wyatt, PhD (who coincidentally taught Jeremy and Julie about sleep medicine in medical school!), who explains how the sleep science community recognizes the research-backed hypothesis that daylight saving time poses risks to our health.

While the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, as well as more than a dozen other organizations, publicly recognize that public health and safety would benefit from the elimination of daylight saving time, there’s no way to know if the policy will ever change in the US.

So, since we are forced to “spring forward” this Sunday, March 10th, we decided to devote an episode to how the time shift affects us, and if we can take steps to mitigate the disruption we feel during daylight saving time!

Also, enjoy a little dessert story, brought to our attention by our friends from the Bananas podcast, Kurt Braunohler and Scotty Landes, where we discuss the "VIBES pill", an ingestible motorized vibrating pill currently under research, that, when ingested before a meal, mimics the feeling of fullness. What a strange world we live in, folks!

So, friends, are you ready to spring into action??

Resources for today's episode include:

A Rush Stories article titled "Dreading the Spring Forward? You're Not Alone."

A Johns Hopkins article titled "7 Things to Know About Daylight Savings Time."

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine 2019 Sleep Prioritization Study results.

A Science Daily article highlighting a study by the American Academy of Neurology, titled "Does daylight saving time increase risk of stroke?"

A PLOS article titled "Measurable health effects associated with the daylight saving time shift."

A 2018 article from The Energy Journal, titled "Does Daylight Saving Save Electricity? A Meta-Analysis."

A December 2023 article in Science Advances titled "A vibrating ingestible bioelectronic stimulator modulates gastric stretch receptors for illusory satiety."

Link to the Bananas podcast (the Jan 30th, 2024 episode includes the VIBES pill story :)

Thanks for tuning in, folks! Please sign up for our "PULSE CHECK" monthly newsletter! Signup is easy, right on our website page, and we PROMISE we will not spam you! We just want to send you cool articles, videos and thoughts :)

For more episodes, limited edition merch, or to become a Friend of Your Doctor Friends (and more), follow this link!

 

Find us at:

Website: yourdoctorfriendspodcast.com 

Email: yourdoctorfriendspodcast@gmail.com 

Connect with us:

@your_doctor_friends (IG) Send/DM us a voice memo/question and we might play it on the show!

@yourdoctorfriendspodcast1013 (YouTube)

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Pulse Check: February 2024 - Alabama’s IVF Ruling, Measles in FL, Kim K and Tanning Beds, Lactation Consultant Oversight, Wearables and Glucose, and L...

Belly up to the buffet, friends! This week, Your Doctor Friends serve a smattering of hot health headlines. Jeremy and Julie curated these stories for YOU, and they are also available via our monthly newsletter, the PULSE CHECK!

This week's topics include:

The Alabama Supreme Court IVF ruling. Jeremy gives us an overview of the state high court's ruling, and discusses what it may mean for reproductive healthcare delivery.

The Florida measles outbreak, including the Florida surgeon general's baffling, science-defying recommendations re: unvaccinated children school attendance during the outbreak.

Kim Kardashian is back, and she's got more less-than-sound medical advice for us! This time, its about tanning beds and treatment of psoriasis!

Piggybacking a story highlighted by The Daily podcast - the national body that certifies lactation consultants is investigating whether a consultant in Boise, Idaho, has been inappropriately pushing an unproven procedure on new mothers struggling to breastfeed.

The FDA released a statement urging people to avoid using smartwatches/rings to measure blood glucose.

An NBC News article titled "Black people have the highest rates of death from heart disease. Could more Black cardiologists help?" - what can we do to increase representation in medicine?

Thanks for tuning in, folks! Please sign up for our "PULSE CHECK" monthly newsletter! Signup is easy, right on our website page, and we PROMISE we will not spam you! We just want to send you cool articles, videos and thoughts :)

For more episodes, limited edition merch, or to become a Friend of Your Doctor Friends (and more), follow this link!

 

Find us at:

Website: yourdoctorfriendspodcast.com 

Email: yourdoctorfriendspodcast@gmail.com 

Connect with us:

@your_doctor_friends (IG) Send/DM us a voice memo/question and we might play it on the show!

@yourdoctorfriendspodcast1013 (YouTube)

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@HealthPodNet (IG)