INTERVIEWS

November is Stomach Cancer Awareness Month and National Caregivers Awareness Month and joining us today is gastrointestinal medical oncologist Dr. Samuel Klempner and Christy Leonard, a caregiver and advocate, whose husband Tony battled stomach cancer. 

In this episode, NBA player Jared Butler shares his experience being diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) alongside his mother, Juanea Butler, who carries the genes associated with HCM. They also discuss their involvement in Bristol Myers Squibb’s new resource called “Could it be HCM” to raise awareness of this inherited disease.

In this episode, Dr. Michael Ackerman, MD, PhD, Windland Smith Rice Cardiovascular Genomics Research Professor and Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Pharmacology at The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN discusses hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and shares what physicians need to know about the most common form of inherited heart disease. He talks about how to facilitate a dialogue with the patient about their family medical history, especially involving HCM and resources within the HCM community, including additional research and education to ensure HCM patients get an early and accurate diagnosis. There is a new resource for patients from Bristol Myers Squibb called “Could it be HCM”. 

Dr. Phil Hart, MD, AGA Exposing EPI campaign chair, gastroenterologist, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus discusses new data from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) revealing Americans are suffering in silence when it comes to GI symptoms and may not be aware of a serious condition called exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI). The survey comes at a time when digestive diseases account for more than 100 million ambulatory care visits every year in the U.S. (NIH.gov) and uncovered trends around patient and provider dialogue around GI health issues that impact daily activities and could signal a more concerning condition. He encourages seeking early evaluation. Through the Exposing EPI campaign, AGA is educating patients that they don’t have to suffer in silence. Providers and patients looking for more information can visit patient.gastro.org to learn more.

Dr. Antonia Chen, Director of Research for the Division of Adult Reconstruction and Total Joint Arthroplasty in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital – who specializes in hip and knee replacements – discusses the recent surge in hospital site infections and (SSIs) as a result of challenges related to Covid-19. She shares her insights as a practicing orthopedic surgeon on why antibacterial sutures should be standard in every U.S. operating room and how advancements in wound closure are leading the fight in saving costs and reducing “SSI to 0”.

MeiLan Han, MD MS, pulmonologist at the University of Michigan and author of the book “Breathing Lessons: a Doctor’s Guide to Lung Health” discusses the importance of correctly identifying COPD risk, symptoms, exacerbations and how doctors and patients can have productive conversations about these topics. She shares helpful resources like ListentoYourLungs.com, which can help patients learn more about COPD flare-ups and a COPD action plan that can be used to help doctors and patients track and manage the disease.​ 

Meghan Scanlon, Senior Vice President and President, Urology and Pelvic Health (UroPH), and Dr. Ron Morton, Chief Medical Officer and Vice President of Medical Affairs, UroPH at Boston Scientific discuss the company’s UroPH portfolio, innovations in devices to protect healthy tissue during radiation for prostate cancer patients and to treat enlarged prostate, and how these innovations significantly improve the quality of life for patients. They also talk about Boston Scientific’s recent $1.07B deal to acquire Lumenis LTD, the global leader in urological lasers and other energy-based medical solutions. 

People with incontinence may be surprised to learn that it may simply be caused by a nerve issue. Sacral neuromodulation therapy uses gentle nerve stimulation thought to normalize bladder/bowel-brain communication. It is safe, effective and has been implanted in more than 350,000 patients worldwide. Dr. Melissa Kaufman, MD, PhD, FACS, a Vanderbilt University Medical Center urologist, discusses potential solutions to dealing with overactive bladder (OAB) and fecal incontinence (FI) and sources for patients to educate themselves about incontinence and sacral neuromodulation. She is joined by Dr. Linda Brice, a former Captain in the United States Air Force and retired Clinical Associate Professor and Pre-Nursing Advisor at the University of Memphis, who shares her personal story about what it was like to schedule life around trips to the bathroom before getting sacral neuromodulation delivered by the InterStim™ Micro system.

Returning guest, Dr. Jorge Gomez, MD, Medical Director, Thoracic Oncology Program and World Trade Center oncology clinic, Mount Sinai is here on behalf of Pfizer and the American Lung Association to share information about pneumococcal pneumonia, an infectious, potentially serious bacterial lung disease that can be passed through cough or close contact. Adults 65 or older are over 10 times more likely to be hospitalized with pneumococcal pneumonia than adults 18-49 and he urges people age 65 and older to talk to their doctor about vaccination to help prevent pneumococcal pneumonia.​ ​Visit www.lung.org/pneumococcal to learn more about pneumococcal pneumonia.

Returning guest, Dr. Jan Wehkamp, MD, Vice President, Gastroenterology Disease Area Leader for the Immunology Therapeutic Area at Janssen Research & Development discusses a new analysis that showed rates of key safety events among adults 60 years and older treated with STELARA ® (ustekinumab) for up to five years were similar to rates observed with placebo for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and other approved indications. These data were presented at the 2021 United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW).