Up next in 10
WORLD HEALTH DAY
91K views
Oct 29, 2024
Dougie speaks with Dr Lisa Richardson and Dr Liz O' Riordan on the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organisation. #who #worldhealthorganization #bayradiospain
View Video Transcript
0:02
Bay radio International our business is
0:05
helping your business grow I'd spay
0:07
radio on a Friday afternoon it's World
0:09
Health day and as we celebrate the World
0:11
Health organization's birthday I suppose
0:14
75 years yeah I'm joined Now by Dr Lisa
0:18
Richardson and Dr Liz o'riordan and Dr
0:22
Richardson if I can start with you your
0:25
director at cdc's division of cancer
0:28
prevention and control uh can you tell
0:30
us about uh CDC and your role please yes
0:34
so I'm at the Centers for Disease
0:36
Control in Atlanta Georgia and so what
0:39
we have here as part of our sort of um
0:42
aspirational goal is all people free of
0:44
cancer which really aligns with health
0:47
for all in the World Health Organization
0:50
you know World Health day and so what we
0:52
do here is look at the Spectrum of
0:55
cancer control from prevention eating
0:58
right not drinking too much much those
1:00
types of things getting diagnosed if
1:03
you're screened and then what if you
1:04
survive cancer which in this country
1:06
most people do what do you do after that
1:09
and how do you live your life more fully
1:11
after you've had cancer I've heard of a
1:14
book called anti-cancer a new way of
1:16
life no I have not it is amazing it's
1:20
been my Bible I've been on on the
1:22
journey it was my Bible it was my go-to
1:24
because it not only talks about cancer
1:27
and the causes it it goes a bit deeper
1:30
it talks about uh pre-war farming
1:33
methods and how things have changed
1:36
haven't they just and how things creep
1:38
past the um FDA and things like that but
1:43
this that's that's something we could
1:44
get into but we'd be here for far too
1:46
long so uh but you know what I mean yes
1:49
um so uh on to Dr Riordan um tell us
1:53
about your involvement so I'm a breast
1:55
cancer surgeon who actually got breast
1:56
cancer myself
1:58
um I was 40 back in 2015 I never checked
2:01
my breasts hands up because I thought it
2:02
wouldn't happen to me and I noticed a
2:04
lump one day and that was a stage three
2:06
cancer and I had a year of treatment and
2:09
realized just how hard it was to go
2:11
through the drugs I gave my patients
2:13
every day and how scary it was to be on
2:15
the other side of the table with a list
2:17
of questions I was too embarrassed to
2:19
ask in 2018 it came back on my chest
2:22
wall and the treatment for that meant I
2:24
had to stop operating so I now spend my
2:26
time talking and educating patients and
2:28
doctors about what it's actually like to
2:30
have cancer because you don't hear much
2:32
When someone tells you the c word and
2:34
you come away with the long list of
2:36
questions and you've no idea what to do
2:37
and through the empowered health program
2:39
I'm helping patients realize they have
2:41
an equal seat at the table so they can
2:44
understand and ask questions and know
2:46
what is happening to them whether
2:47
they've got primary or secondary cancer
2:50
it's always good to have somebody with
2:52
you that will remember stuff because
2:55
when you've got that coming at you you
2:58
forget most of it there's certain
3:00
certain little bits you oh I wish I'd
3:02
ask that but you know if you've got
3:04
somebody that can remember yeah exactly
3:07
or a website to go to where you can ask
3:10
those questions find out what you need
3:11
to go the next time you come back
3:13
because it takes time for all to sink in
3:14
as I'm saying this is a subject close to
3:17
my heart
3:18
um as when I went through this early
3:22
testing hadn't really reached our Shores
3:24
here
3:25
um and I I'm pretty certain what
3:28
occurred could have been prevent it
3:30
entirely I think
3:32
so this year's theme for World Health
3:34
day is health for all Dr Richardson can
3:38
you elaborate on that for us please and
3:40
and what is the empowered health program
3:42
so empowered health I want to speak to
3:44
the you know the point that
3:46
um doctor already made earlier was that
3:49
it really is a very scary time it's
3:52
really hard for you to hear what's being
3:54
said I'm a doctor that gives
3:55
chemotherapy here in the U.S and so one
3:58
of my one of my practices would be to
4:01
talk with people and then have them back
4:03
in a week or two to re-talk and ask
4:05
questions and so what empowered health
4:08
is about is that on that website we have
4:11
information for the patient for the
4:14
providers who's seeing the patients
4:15
because you know we may be providers but
4:17
as she said earlier we don't know it all
4:19
either right and especially the
4:22
psychological part of having cancer is
4:24
really something that none of us are
4:26
taught about when we train to be
4:28
Physicians none of us and so that's
4:30
really what empowered health is about
4:32
and health for all as I said earlier is
4:34
really about no matter what stage you
4:36
are in your life no matter what stage
4:38
you are and whatever you know health
4:40
condition you're dealing with
4:41
information really does empower people
4:43
information that they can understand and
4:45
that is the goal of our
4:47
um program empowered health
4:49
and there's uh there's website and they
4:52
empoweredhealth.org yes is that right
4:54
absolutely okay Dr o'riordan you've been
4:58
through the Journey yourself so how did
5:01
that uh affect you and what's your role
5:03
in the empowered health program so I
5:05
think having had cancer myself I
5:07
realized how little I knew about what
5:09
the patients go through because they
5:10
don't tell me as a surgeon or oncologist
5:12
they said they tell their family so
5:14
using this to help doctors realize how
5:17
they can help their patients especially
5:18
when the treatment send how to get their
5:20
life back the importance of exercise how
5:22
to talk about sex and relationships all
5:24
of that I also want to use it to help
5:27
encourage patients in the general public
5:28
to know what the signs of cancer are
5:30
what to do if you're worried and to go
5:33
for screening I never check my breasts I
5:36
was too young to have a mammogram that
5:37
was the only thing I could do and I
5:39
didn't do it and it's really important
5:40
even if you find something and you're
5:42
really really scared you have to get it
5:44
checked out early because that worry in
5:46
your head can just be awful okay yes so
5:50
what can we say to somebody that's going
5:52
through
5:54
the early stages right now what what can
5:56
we what can we give them so I'll start
5:58
and then Liz Can can take over I would
6:01
say again you know go to those trusted
6:04
places where you can learn about what
6:06
you have
6:07
um when you go in for your visits
6:09
um I like to say there's no dumb
6:11
questions right and if someone thinks
6:13
your question is dumb you need to move
6:14
on to find someone who doesn't right and
6:18
that just to to learn as much as you can
6:20
inform to inform yourself and the one
6:22
thing I did forget to say about you know
6:24
empowered health is that there's a
6:26
section for caregivers those those
6:29
people are critical to making sure that
6:32
you get what you need you get to where
6:35
you need to be I don't know what your
6:36
cancer experience was Dougie but you
6:38
know sometimes you just need somebody to
6:40
take you places because you just can't
6:42
do it for yourself right and so it's
6:44
really
6:45
mind being mindful of those who support
6:47
us as we go through the health problems
6:50
that we have and especially cancer it's
6:52
such a complicated process with
6:54
chemotherapy radiation surgery and we do
6:57
need that help to get through it yeah I
6:59
have to say the uh the caregiver whether
7:02
it be a spouse or or friend or whatever
7:04
they often get overlooked don't they yes
7:07
we need to take our hat off to to their
7:10
maid they do a great job and I mean I
7:12
was helped uh well 10 years ago
7:15
um and and I'm still being afraid you
7:18
know you know what it's like
7:20
um yeah so uh so Liz what about you I
7:22
think for me it's encouraging cancer
7:24
patients to stay as healthy as they can
7:26
because we know if you exercise
7:28
regularly if you eat well it improves
7:30
the side effects of drugs it makes the
7:32
treatment more effective it reduces the
7:34
risk of it coming back and we are
7:36
talking about health for all and if we
7:38
can all adopt a much healthier lifestyle
7:40
it will reduce the risk of cancer and
7:41
help cancer patients stay alive for
7:43
longer as I said earlier if there's
7:45
somebody going through it or they've got
7:47
an inkling there might be something not
7:49
quite right what's the first step go to
7:52
your GP make an appointment get it
7:53
checked out you have no control over
7:55
what this is it may be cancer which may
7:57
be a terrifying thought with a long
7:59
longer you wait if it is a cancer it
8:01
could start to grow and spread so if you
8:03
are worried you've had something for two
8:05
or three weeks you can't explain see
8:07
your GP tell someone get it checked out
8:09
now I just want to add that we we need
8:12
to to understand that there are things
8:14
we can do eat healthy exercise
8:18
um and and not to be hard too hard on
8:20
yourself because we all are
8:22
um you know if you can't do it every day
8:24
um get up the next day it's a new day
8:26
and start again and try again so just
8:28
one of those things about keeping a
8:30
positive attitude and trying it to work
8:32
you know just keeping a positive
8:34
attitude yeah excellent words I'm taking
8:36
that in for me I'm having some of that
8:39
thank you thank you very much uh Dr
8:41
Richardson and Dr o'riordan thank you
8:44
very very much for joining us and um
8:46
happy Easter yeah thank you thanks
8:49
Dougie radio
8:51
[Music]
#Cancer
#Health Education & Medical Training
#Health Foundations & Medical Research
#Public Health