The Dr. Oz Show
Air date: November 23, 2011
The Largest Free Health Clinic In The Country
- Healing the uninsured, America's health crisis
- Ovarian cancer one-sheet to determine risk level
- Brain aneurysm episode saves a viewers life
- Angela's shares how she lost 125 pounds
Dr. Oz shares with viewers his most fulfilling day as doctor this year. He participated at the largest free health clinic event this year because of his biggest frustration: millions of people without health insurance and in desperate need of health care. People began lining up before dawn and by sunrise over 4,000 were waiting to see a doctor, for many the first time they had seen a doctor or a dentist in years.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Place your vote for this week's quiz
and be sure to visit on Saturday for the answer
along with more information to empower your health.
Thank you for making Watching Dr Oz a success!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One woman says she has passed out several times and doesn't know the cause. Carol, age 60 has pain in her breast and a family history of breast cancer. Raol has no insurance and there were 1,000 people in line ahead of him.
Over 3,000 doctors, dentists, and nurses volunteered their time for the CareNow clinic in Los Angeles to provide something that Dr. Oz believes should be the right of every American: health care.
David found that his blood sugar level was at 255 [normal is below 100]. He is diabetic and didn't know. Vicki's blood pressure was 214/27 and needed immediate care.
Felicia's Year Of Worry Over Breast Cancer
Felicia, age 41, found a lump in her breast almost a year ago. Without health insurance, she hasn't seen a doctor to diagnosis the lump. Not having insurance, she says, makes the situation twice as stressful. Her grandmother died of breast cancer at age 35 which adds to her stress and concern. Felicia says she is humbled that she has to come to a free clinic today for care.
She feels shame that she has to come to a free clinic for help when there are other people worse off than her. Dr. Oz assured Felicia that there are women around the country who are in the same position as her, have lost their traction in life. He doesn't want people to feel ashamed, to feel they don't have a voice.
Felicia received a mammogram but due to her dense breast tissue, Dr. Oz called for an ultrasound along with another type of mammography to see through the dense tissue. Dense breast tissue is complicated and Felicia was sent to another clinic for a more thorough exam. Feeling nervous and scared, Dr. Oz assured her that he would stay with her throughout this.
Dr. Oz stated his shock and frustration that there are so many hard working people in this country who get the rug pulled out from under them. They shouldn't have to wait so long to get health care, to receive a basic examination, carrying around the fear, worry, stress and concern. People shouldn't be placed in this situation where a free clinic is the only option, there should be better resources.
Back in the studio, Dr. Oz showed an x-ray of a breast with a cancerous tumor – not Felicia's x-ray. Almost half of the breast in the x-ray was bright white cancerous mass with the normal tissue in shadow. Felicia's x-ray was put next to this and you could see that her breast was mostly white however her breast tissue was dense. The cyst that Felicia has been worrying about for a year turned out to not be cancerous. She cried tears of joy hearing the news for the first time.
Finding a lump in the breast does not necessarily mean a cancer diagnosis is forthcoming. Dr. Oz explained that 90% of lumps are benign. He says it's terrible that people have to go through this, wandering around not knowing there are places to go for free mammography. Dr. Oz encourages everyone to connect with one of the many resources on his website [listed lower in this post] that can provide free medical care and for those with insurance, he encourages them to take advantage of what they have.
Vern Needed More Than Dental Care
Vern came to the CareNow clinic to see a dentist about a clipped tooth. He is a Vietnam veteran and after 43 years of work was laid off losing his health insurance.
Previous heart attacks required that Vern wear a defibrillator but it had been years since Vern had it checked because he doesn't have health insurance. Vern and his defibrillator were in desperate need of a medical check-up, in addition to dental care. His defibrillator could stop working at any time, maybe it needs new batteries, maybe it needs to be replaced.
Vern received an EKG that showed dips in heart rate that, Dr. Oz says, are not supposed to be there. The irregular dips indicate irregular rhythms along with damage to the heart tissue and were determined to be the cause of Vern's complaint of being light headed. Dr. Oz said Vern is living on borrowed time.
The defibrillator in Vern's chest monitors his heart's rhythms and if the heart beats rapidly will provide an electrical shock to essentially re-set the heart to a normal beat. At clinic, Dr. Oz could see that the defibrillator had fired a couple of times and knows that it has already saved Vern's life.
Back at the Dr. Oz studio, an interrogation device was used to check the viability of Vern's defibrillator. It had already reached replacement status with only a few weeks of service remaining. He was told to not take any chances and have it replaced immediately. The interrogation device showed the power remaining in the defibrillator as a gas tank. Vern's gas tank was on empty.
Being out of work and without insurance, Vern had no plan, no idea how to go about getting a new device and the procedure to replace the old. Dr. Oz asked Vern if he was willing to accept help. He is after all a human being, a veteran and Dr. Oz said he deserves to have his life saved.
Century Medical donated a defibrillator worth $30,000 and Northridge Hospital Medical will donate all the time and staff to implant the new device.
Yvonne's Near-Death Health Crisis
Yvonne is one of 23 million women in this country without health insurance. Two years ago she lost her job and medical insurance. At the same time she found a tumor in her breast the size of an orange. The tumor has continued to grow for two years and grew so large it has exited her skin. Dr. Oz could smell the decay coming from Yvonne.
At the free clinic, the mass was measured at 6-7 inches across. Dr. Oz said she has been running and afraid. He told Yvonne that he was not going to let anything get in the way of getting her health back.
Yvonne was sent to UCLA right away for treatment.
Dr. Patrick Dowling, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine at UCLA said the biggest concern is that tumor could have spread and that even if the breast is removed, the cancer could be spreading throughout the body. It was the worst Dr. Dowling has ever seen. He said it is beyond belief that the wealthiest country in the world fails to care for it's people.
Dr. Oz shared that in his life of traveling the world helping people in need of medical care he never saw so many people in dire need of life-saving medical care as he did during his day at the CareNow clinic.
Yvonne's prognosis is that the grapefruit size tumor is cancerous and the cancer has spread to her lymph nodes, but not further. Dr. Nova Foster, MD, who is also working with Yvonne, said that she has a good chance to get through this. Yvonne started treatment the week the show was taped and it is possible to rid her body of the cancer.
Shockingly, Dr. Oz said that if Yvonne sought treatment when she first found the lump it would have most likely been stage one cancer with a 90% survivability rate. Her stage three diagnosis today has a 50% survival rate. It's not acceptable that Yvonne's strategy through this has been not to seek care because she didn't have insurance. Dr. Oz explicitly stated he shouldn't be diagnosing cancer in a bathroom.
Don Manelli, President of CareNow brought the whole plan together for the free clinic day in Los Angeles. When looking for a free clinic be sure to find one that provides after care.
Fifty million American's do not have insurance. Many do not take advantage of the insurance they do have. Dr. Oz says that you can control your destiny and there are people who can help you but you have to contact them and make the first step.
Ovarian Cancer – The Silent Killer of Women
Earlier this year Dr. Oz attended a clinic in Dallas to launch his Ovarian cancer campaign. [Click here to read the blog post dated 9/13/11 from that episode.] Many women screened that day received a clean bill of health
One woman who sought a free screening that day has a family history of ovarian cancer. Her mother died from it. As she was checking off symptoms at the screen she become more concerned.
They found a 5.2cm cyst. With her family history surgery was warranted causing her anxiety. The day of surgery, she and her husband are scared. A hysterectomy was required to determine if the ovary is cancerous.
She had all the waning signs but had not considered getting treatment before going to the screening. The surgery went well and she was pleased to announce to Dr. Oz that she is cancer free!
Dr. Jaya Lea, MD, gynecological oncologist, said the tumor removed was a dermoid cyst which contains derma cells the same that are part of the growth of hair, skin, nails and teeth.
Dr. Oz displayed a tissue sample of a dermoid cyst and you could clearly see hair on the tumor. There was also a tooth growing along with skin cells.
This woman's story provided the inspiration for other women to seek out a screening. Ann, in the audience today, saw the 9/13/11 Ovarian Cancer show and realized that she had symptoms. She went to her doctor who found a 12cm in her ovary. Surgery conformed that Ann had stage 1 cancer of the ovary as well as uterine cancer. Ann is undergoing chemotherapy and says that had she not seen the show who knows when the cancer would have been found. She is grateful.
Dr. Oz says that early detection is the key to breaking the cycle of silence surrounding ovarian cancer. To help break the cycle of ovarian cancer, go to DoctorOz.com and print out and send the One Sheet Ovarian Cancer screening form to every woman you know.
Click here to find low-cost and/or free medical care near your area from the National Association of Free Clinics. <http://freeclinics.us/>
Click here to learn more about how to find insurance options. <http://www.healthcare.gov/index.html>
Click here to find low-cost or free mammograms in an area near you. <http://ww5.komen.org/Content.aspx?id=19327353256&terms=free%20mammogram>
The mission of The Dr. oz Show is help you understand that your helath is in your hands and you have the power to save your own life.
Woman Saved Her Own Life By What She Learned On Dr. Oz
May, age 37 and a single mom of two believes that Dr. Oz saved her life. She watched the show on brain aneurysms, from a previous season. From that show she learned that the biggest sign of a brain aneurysm is having the worse headache of your life.
A short time later, May was getting out of the shower and felt the worst pain and headache of her life. Remembering what she learned on The Dr. Oz Show, she took the pain seriously and drove straight to the hospital. A CT Scan came back normal but a check of her spinal fluid found blood. May's doctor says if she hadn't received medical care that day she would have died.
Today May is healthy and has a new appreciation of life. She pays more attention to her children's activities. She is grateful to Dr. Oz for saving her life.
Dr. Oz asked May what would have happened to her kids if she had died that day. May says she doesn't want to think about that, can't think about that, they are her kids and she has to be there for them. Dr. Oz tells May that it is not selfish for her to take care of herself.
Woman Who Saved Her Life By Losing Weight
Angela was over weight her entire life. Her all time high came after going through a divorce and finding herself as a single mom. When she hit rock bottom, she weighed close to 300 pounds and her health was declining.
Angela was diagnosed with high blood pressure and was close to diabetes. Her increasing weight caused her gall bladder to burst. While recovering, Angela watched The Dr. Oz Show. Finding the tips easy to understand and incorporate into her life she began a two year journey to lose 125 pounds.
Visiting The Dr. Oz Show, Angela shared that at her heaviest she was on 15 medications. Today she doesn't take any medications, in fact she recently ran a marathon.
Dr. Oz says that starting programs is easy relative to staying on the program. Here's a few tips that Angela used during her journey.
Angela's Tip #1: Set a monthly goal
At the beginning of each month, write your goal weight at the bottom of the calendar. Make the goal real and make it visible.
Angela's Tip #2 : Use tape measure every day
Angela was obsessing about the scale but found that the tape measure kept her more honest about where she was at in her program.
Angela's Tip #3: Spice every meal
Steamed vegetable get boring quick. Add spices, add flavor, add enjoyment to your food with spices. Angela uses a Chinese garlic salt on her vegetables to zest up the taste.
Angela's Tip #4: Wait 30 minutes before eating a second helping
Put all of the leftovers away and if you're still hungry 30 minutes later then go get more, but you probably won't be hungry. She adds to make appetizers your secret weapon when eating out. Menus are filled with calorie laden foods but the appetizers are a more correct portion of food. Order an appetizer along with a side salad and/or a side salad and Angela says you can leave the restaurant happy and fulfilled.
In Case You Missed It
Dr. Oz hopes that everyone sees a doctor to take control of their health. If you don't have insurance than find a free clinic in your area. For those who have insurance, he says don't take it for granted. One in three people with health insurance do not see their doctor regularly. Take advantage of all important health screenings, your life may depend on it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And stay up-to-date with WatchingDrOz.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
No comments:
Post a Comment