Speaker 1: What's up everybody. I'm Gammy and I'm her husband, Rodney
Speaker 1: and this is Positively GAM. How are you, babe, I'm good.
Speaker 1: Welcome back to Positively GAM. I really wanted to have
Speaker 1: you on this podcast because we're talking about men's health. Yes,
Speaker 1: and that is a great topic, especially where we are
Speaker 1: in life right now. Yeah, definitely in the aging process,
Speaker 1: having some of the issues that we're going to be
Speaker 1: discussing with Dr McFadden. Yeah. How do you feel about
Speaker 1: your relationships with doctors? You feel you feel comfortable going?
Speaker 1: I think you're you're pretty comfortable going with the doctor. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm I'm one of those guys that will go at
Speaker 1: the drop of a hat. I'm not you know, I'm
Speaker 1: not afraid to show up at the doctor's office like
Speaker 1: a lot of men are. Yeah. What about your friends.
Speaker 1: You feel like your friends are at this age? Yes,
Speaker 1: they they get it. Um, they're starting to you know,
Speaker 1: they'll go for pretty much anything now. But it's our
Speaker 1: younger days not so much. Yeah, that's what I was
Speaker 1: gonna say. I think I think this age as we
Speaker 1: get older, um, I think all of our friends probably
Speaker 1: are a little bit more um, cognizant about going to
Speaker 1: the doctor. But you know, in the younger back in
Speaker 1: the younger days, I don't think so. Yeah. Well, I
Speaker 1: also think there are things that are take you know,
Speaker 1: forcing them to go. Now, they're having issues that are
Speaker 1: driving them to the doctors. Yes, more so than preventive maintenance.
Speaker 1: They're going because of their having issues. Yeah, their bodies
Speaker 1: were We're falling apart, We're falling apart. Doctor Cedric McFadden
Speaker 1: is a surgeon, speaker, writer, and mentor. He's a board
Speaker 1: certified general and colorrectal surgeon and teaches as a Clinical
Speaker 1: Assistant Professor of Surgery. He treats a wide range of
Speaker 1: disorders and is a huge advocate for black men's health.
Speaker 1: Welcome Dr McFadden to positively gam. Thank you so much
Speaker 1: for having me, and thanks for lending some time to
Speaker 1: a very important topic. Absolutely, and I definitely wanted to
Speaker 1: have my husband, Rodney in this conversation because we're going
Speaker 1: to focus on men's health. So I want to start
Speaker 1: off doctor McFadden with what's your take on why it's
Speaker 1: so hard to get men to just go to the doctor. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a really heavy question with probably many differences. You know,
Speaker 1: I think it's our culture, right, we start off by
Speaker 1: telling young girls by the age of sixteen they need
Speaker 1: to have their first visit with their going to collegist.
Speaker 1: It's the expectation that we said early on that you're
Speaker 1: going to go to this doctor yearly, and as you
Speaker 1: get older, as you had children, you're going to see
Speaker 1: that doctor more frequently. We don't do that, for god,
Speaker 1: no telling young men at sixteen at what age they
Speaker 1: should start going to have a well male check and
Speaker 1: the frequency which they should do it. So we don't
Speaker 1: really do that culturally. And I think some people are afraid.
Speaker 1: I mean, I think forty one out of five men
Speaker 1: don't go to the doctor because they're afraid of what
Speaker 1: they're going to find out by going. Interestingly enough, Rodney
Speaker 1: said the same thing when we were having the conversation
Speaker 1: that you know, women start their relationship with healthcare very early.
Speaker 1: And I have a nurse, and I never even thought
Speaker 1: about that perspective of it. Well, and it's it's not
Speaker 1: even just a relationship, it's almost like their best friend.
Speaker 1: They sort of bond over the fact that you know,
Speaker 1: they're interesting to have a really good relationship. They formed
Speaker 1: that bond, and men don't do the same traditionally with
Speaker 1: their doctors. And you know, there could be some embarrassment
Speaker 1: for men. There could be, like I said before, some fears,
Speaker 1: and it could be the fact that perhaps they can't
Speaker 1: afford it. Do they have the insurance to get to
Speaker 1: the doctor. So many different reasons why, doctor McFadden, How
Speaker 1: do we can events more men to go to the doctor? Well,
Speaker 1: I think we we we start by, you know, having
Speaker 1: a conversation about why is it important? I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: we often talk about our cars. We get our all changes,
Speaker 1: were tires rotated. We don't wait until the car is
Speaker 1: smoking before we take it into the mechanics. We do
Speaker 1: some preventive things. Well, the same thing is true for
Speaker 1: our bodies. We don't wait until we break down to
Speaker 1: get the help that we need. So we have to
Speaker 1: acknowledge along the way and break it apart and make
Speaker 1: it easy and palatable to do these visits so that
Speaker 1: you know you're not doing everything, but you're doing small
Speaker 1: things along the way so that you have longevity and
Speaker 1: that you have great health throughout your life. How do
Speaker 1: you recommend that men even find a good doctor, because
Speaker 1: I guess you're just looking for a general practitioner. Or
Speaker 1: a family practitioner. Yeah, we often go to doctors that
Speaker 1: either our families have traditionally gone to our friends. So
Speaker 1: that's a good place to start, you know, asking your friends.
Speaker 1: You know, they know your temperament, they know what things
Speaker 1: you may be looking for. But just starting with the friends,
Speaker 1: who do you go to for a doctor? And if
Speaker 1: you're working and you have insurance, that's a great place
Speaker 1: to start because often your insurance coverage you're going to
Speaker 1: tell you who your options include. But I think aside
Speaker 1: from that, there's often a lot of spaces over the
Speaker 1: internet now with reviews and bios. We often look for
Speaker 1: sometimes people who look like us, and that could mean,
Speaker 1: you know, looking at pictures and looking at backgrounds, where'd
Speaker 1: you go to college, where'd you grow up? We generally
Speaker 1: open up to people who have commonalities whatever they are,
Speaker 1: So finding people who we are comfortable with because we're
Speaker 1: gonna be opening up to them sometimes about very sensitive
Speaker 1: topics from you know, sexually transmitted diseases or rectial dysfunction,
Speaker 1: you know, the things that you don't want to talk
Speaker 1: to anybody about. You gotta feel comfortable talking with your
Speaker 1: doctor about that. Stuffy Rodney, how did you find your doctor.
Speaker 1: I looked at bios. You just suggested that I took
Speaker 1: that route. I looked at bios and I look for
Speaker 1: anality as well. But strangely enough, I chose a woman.
Speaker 1: I feel comfortable talking to her. We do regular checks,
Speaker 1: she checks everything. I really don't have a problem with it,
Speaker 1: but I could see how that could be an issue
Speaker 1: for some men. It's pretty common, you know, just because
Speaker 1: you are you know, people often think, well, if you're
Speaker 1: a person of color, you're black for a black targe.
Speaker 1: That may not be the case. You know, your comfort
Speaker 1: level and what you're looking for male, female, old or
Speaker 1: young may come at different you know, rangers, and so
Speaker 1: that's that's the really important thing. Finding somebody who you
Speaker 1: often feel comfortable talking to, but will also listen. That's
Speaker 1: the key. Are they listening to you and are they
Speaker 1: taking your concerns and your thoughts seriously. When I'm thinking
Speaker 1: of younger men when it comes to health care, I'm
Speaker 1: thinking of Okay, girls usually get introduced to the to
Speaker 1: a Ghana collegist that somewhere between twelve and fifteen. So
Speaker 1: for young men, I'm wondering if it is typically their
Speaker 1: first experience, it's might be related to a sports injury
Speaker 1: or something like that. Well, well, I mean I think
Speaker 1: the sports physical Yeah, so before you can even start
Speaker 1: the team, you know, I remember from my days in
Speaker 1: high school that was a pretty quick exam that really
Speaker 1: didn't feel very involved. I mean, they check your heart,
Speaker 1: they check for her in years, and that's really about it,
Speaker 1: it felt. So I do think that can be the start,
Speaker 1: and often that's when they find things that need follow up.
Speaker 1: But I do think that can initiate it. But it
Speaker 1: still has to extend beyond that. So when you think
Speaker 1: about going through life stages, are there particular screening, specific
Speaker 1: screenings that men need to be looking out for like
Speaker 1: twenties and thirties and forties and fifties. What are are
Speaker 1: there specific screenings that need to be done, like women
Speaker 1: have to have to get mammograms and paps bears, and
Speaker 1: what are the things that men need to be doing. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I mean that's a great question, and I hope know
Speaker 1: all the audience has their pens and papers out because
Speaker 1: it can be exhausted to get the entire life. But
Speaker 1: let's start really quickly, you know, by twenties. I think
Speaker 1: it's important that men, first of all, establish a relationship
Speaker 1: with the doctor even before their problems. You want to
Speaker 1: find a doctor that you can trust and talk to.
Speaker 1: And so the initial things I think in your twenties
Speaker 1: is important to do some of your immunization work. That
Speaker 1: if you have a family history of certain problems such
Speaker 1: as your heart or diabetes or any of those problems,
Speaker 1: that's the time to establish that history that you can
Speaker 1: then talk with your doctor, because depending on your family history,
Speaker 1: you may be doing some screening sooner than later, so
Speaker 1: perhaps checking for you know, blood pressure, looking at for
Speaker 1: heart disease. And by your thirties, most people are going
Speaker 1: to start doing either like an e k G. They're
Speaker 1: also checking for their blood pressure and making sure their
Speaker 1: cholesterol is within check. So that's just routine blood work
Speaker 1: as well. By the time you're in your forties, especially
Speaker 1: black men, we're gonna start talking about testing for state cancer.
Speaker 1: And now that's just a blood test like a p
Speaker 1: s A that's drawn, and depending on the results of that,
Speaker 1: there may be other things that you do. Forty five
Speaker 1: is the age which now we screen for colorrectal cancer,
Speaker 1: and that's for men and women, black and white. However,
Speaker 1: if there's a family history of colorectal cancer, You're gonna
Speaker 1: begin screening ten years before that family member was affected.
Speaker 1: So if mom was forty two when she was diagnosed
Speaker 1: as colorrectal cancer, you're not waiting to forty five, You're
Speaker 1: gonna pregainst ten years earlier at thirty two looking for that. Now,
Speaker 1: did that age change recently? Did it drop? It did? Yeah, yeah,
Speaker 1: it did because we were seeing a lot of young people.
Speaker 1: I mean, we know Chadwick Boseman is one prominent example,
Speaker 1: but there have been that were diagnosed with colorectal cancer
Speaker 1: before fifty, which most of us have always thought of
Speaker 1: colorrectal cancer as an older person's disease. Unfortunately, we've seen
Speaker 1: a decreased incidents in colorectal cancer over the years, but
Speaker 1: we've seen increase in those under the age of fifty
Speaker 1: being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, so much as one point
Speaker 1: five percent per year increases, and people under the age
Speaker 1: of fifty, so that aged decreased to forty five and
Speaker 1: two thousand and seventeen, the United States Preventive Task Force
Speaker 1: echoed it, and they also recommended it last year as well. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I remember it first really becoming coming to my attention
Speaker 1: years ago when Katie Curicic's husband was diagnosed and succumbed
Speaker 1: eventually to co erective cancer, and she started bringing that
Speaker 1: whole having your colonoscopy, bringing that to the attention. And
Speaker 1: I think she had when she was one of the
Speaker 1: first people I think that had hers on camera. I
Speaker 1: remember that. Anyway, I'm glad you mentioned that. So that
Speaker 1: brings to me, like, what what is the maybe a
Speaker 1: good age where men should think about getting a colonosomy.
Speaker 1: So I think forty age, unless there's a family history,
Speaker 1: you need to do it soon, all right, and that
Speaker 1: can be you know, for all of us. So doctor,
Speaker 1: we're a debate. We're having a small debate right here.
Speaker 1: Become on, let's no, don't you do it? So Rodney's
Speaker 1: doctor has just suggested to him. Now Rodney is and
Speaker 1: he is suggested that Rodney just needs or she has
Speaker 1: suggested that he just needs to do a guyat test
Speaker 1: or you know, the testing for blood and the stool.
Speaker 1: I don't think that is enough at his age. I
Speaker 1: feel like he needs a full colonoscopy. Well, so there
Speaker 1: are other ways in which we test for color work. However,
Speaker 1: it may not be right for everybody. If you are
Speaker 1: high risk, meaning if you have a family history of
Speaker 1: colorectal cancer, or if yourself have a personal history of
Speaker 1: polyps and or cancer, if you have symptoms of colorectal
Speaker 1: cancer which includes bleeding, changes in your bowt habits, anything
Speaker 1: like that, those are not the test for you. Okay,
Speaker 1: So if you've had pilots before, you need to have
Speaker 1: a colonoscopy, and if that guyat test is positive, you're
Speaker 1: still going to come to have a colonospy. It's not
Speaker 1: a bad test at all. It's pretty straightforward, and most
Speaker 1: people say it's one of the best snapps will ever have.
Speaker 1: But the other thing you'll remember is if you're gonna
Speaker 1: do that guiant test, you're not gonna be doing it
Speaker 1: every ten years like you would a colonoscopy. You may
Speaker 1: be doing that yearly depending on the results, and then
Speaker 1: other testing may be required. So right now I think
Speaker 1: I'm doing it yearly. I'm pretty sure, and that's enough.
Speaker 1: I don't have a fight. Yeah, I don't have a
Speaker 1: family history. I've had a colonosopy and I didn't have
Speaker 1: any issues, no pilots or anything like that. So maybe
Speaker 1: that's why she's chosen that route. Yeah, I think first
Speaker 1: of all, I mean I often have this conversation patients
Speaker 1: and I tell them that, you know, some testing is
Speaker 1: better than no testing. And there are some patients that
Speaker 1: will not do colonosty, And there are other types of screenings.
Speaker 1: I mean, there's the commercials that you see now for
Speaker 1: the DNA based There's some other sort of blood tested
Speaker 1: are coming on the market, So there are some other
Speaker 1: options if a patient won't do a colonoscopy. And sometimes
Speaker 1: I'll take whatever they will give me as long as
Speaker 1: it still fits within the parameters. I want to get
Speaker 1: back to this business about men still being resistant to
Speaker 1: seeking medical evaluation, even in a preventive sense. And but
Speaker 1: I think you you talked about it earlier where it's
Speaker 1: a lot of it is could just be lack of
Speaker 1: health insurance too. So I wanted to know if there's
Speaker 1: any kind of like for women. Women can get mammograms
Speaker 1: for free. There there places that will do free screenings.
Speaker 1: Are there any options like that for men when it
Speaker 1: comes to just routine screenings, if you don't have health insurance,
Speaker 1: and if you don't have health insurance, what do you do? Yeah,
Speaker 1: that's a tough one, and that's why we see a
Speaker 1: lot of people show up with problems that are foregone
Speaker 1: and a more advanced because they didn't get the preventive
Speaker 1: things done like a colonoscopy. Most hospitals have sponsorship type
Speaker 1: programs that you can inquire about and that you may
Speaker 1: have to do some paperwork and some legwork, but it
Speaker 1: can be done through hospital sponsorships. In many cases, I've
Speaker 1: had patients tell me that they were just instructed to
Speaker 1: go to the e er, which sometimes makes the wait
Speaker 1: longer than me. You know, not be the most ideal
Speaker 1: for all parties, but sometimes that's the re option that
Speaker 1: you have. There are other organizations in full disclosure, like
Speaker 1: the Colorectal Cancer Alliance that will help with defraying some
Speaker 1: of the cost or offering other screening options for colorectal cancer.
Speaker 1: I sit on the board of one of their medical
Speaker 1: advisory committees. But I still think there are some resources
Speaker 1: that you can look into like that can offer some
Speaker 1: reduced calls as well as looking at Most cities have
Speaker 1: free medical clinics that will help send referrals out to
Speaker 1: the doctors that participate. By myself have done it for
Speaker 1: years where you'll see patients through a clinic setting where
Speaker 1: they can get reduced medical coverage, if not free. Now,
Speaker 1: in my family, that's just not an issue. I just
Speaker 1: happened to have a family where the men and the
Speaker 1: family go to the doctor all the time, like all
Speaker 1: the time, Rodney, what about you and your friends? I
Speaker 1: don't think you. I typically go through the doctor a
Speaker 1: lot at an early age. I wasn't asthmatic as a kid,
Speaker 1: and I was sick a lot. I got introduced to
Speaker 1: having relationship with doctors for that reason, and I had
Speaker 1: to go to the to the doctor weekly to get
Speaker 1: shots throughout elementary, junior high and some of high school.
Speaker 1: So those are probably allergy shots. They were, but it
Speaker 1: was so the transition was easier for me to just
Speaker 1: go to the doctor for regular health and stuff like that.
Speaker 1: A lot of my friends, on the other hand, didn't
Speaker 1: have that introduction and they struggle with going to the doctor. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but it's like people going to the dentist. Some people
Speaker 1: don't go to the dentist as a child, and therefore
Speaker 1: as an adult they have such a fear of going
Speaker 1: to the dentist because it wasn't set So have you
Speaker 1: talked to your friends and encouraged them along the way
Speaker 1: to hey, get to check up the absolutely. I mean
Speaker 1: now at this age they all go. You know, they
Speaker 1: all go because they get it. You know, as you
Speaker 1: get older, you feel your body just falling apart and
Speaker 1: not behaving. Are there any specific diseases that are more
Speaker 1: common in black men, I would think like hot blood pressure, diabete. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so the top three. You know, we always talk about
Speaker 1: heart disease, which includes all the conversations about you know,
Speaker 1: congestive heart failure. We also include high blood pressure. But
Speaker 1: then there's also cancer is also at the top of
Speaker 1: that list as well, and so there goes a lot
Speaker 1: of work towards the preventive and the treatment aspects. And
Speaker 1: there are others though. You know, diabetes is at the
Speaker 1: top of the list as well. That creates synergistic efforts
Speaker 1: with heart disease, and that may then lead to other problems.
Speaker 1: I when you think about this, if you have diabetes
Speaker 1: and it's not managed, we can then lead to kidney problems,
Speaker 1: which have not managed well, can lead to needing dialysis,
Speaker 1: which have not managed well leads to having to miss
Speaker 1: time off from work. It then is very hard to
Speaker 1: have a job if you're having to go to dalysis
Speaker 1: three days a week for four or five hours. And
Speaker 1: so you see how kind of one spark could then
Speaker 1: lead itself to get out of control to where you
Speaker 1: can never really grapple and now be able to work
Speaker 1: and now be able to continue to afford the care
Speaker 1: that she needs. You know, that's why I'd like to
Speaker 1: focus a lot on the preventive, so we don't ever
Speaker 1: get to that place where we have to be on dalysis.
Speaker 1: And what do you think some of the reasons are
Speaker 1: that these diseases are so prevalent among um black men.
Speaker 1: I'm thinking nutrition. Yeah, yeah, that's a part of it. Um.
Speaker 1: You know, genetics goes to play. But you know, we've
Speaker 1: seen studies that have shown that if you correct for
Speaker 1: just getting the good care that say their counterparts good,
Speaker 1: that the outcomes can be equally as good. Meaning are
Speaker 1: the doctors offering the same treatment, the same aggressive clinical
Speaker 1: trials for say cancer, for blackmail, I say, with somebody else.
Speaker 1: And so there's a conversation that centers around, you know,
Speaker 1: systemic racism. Being able to get time off from work
Speaker 1: to go to the doctor. If your frontline you may
Speaker 1: not be able to to get that time off and
Speaker 1: when you get to the doctor, are they talking to
Speaker 1: you a language that you can understand, And there's there
Speaker 1: any biases on either front, that then becomes a barrier
Speaker 1: to getting the good care that you deserve. And I
Speaker 1: often think about people who are on public transportation. You know,
Speaker 1: if the bus or whatever doesn't go near your doctor's office,
Speaker 1: is that going to be an issue? I mean, so
Speaker 1: there's just many layers to that. And it's not just genetics.
Speaker 1: It's not just instrition, even though that is a big
Speaker 1: part of it. You know, we can do things that
Speaker 1: can help, you know, eating well, eating fruit, eating vegetables,
Speaker 1: limiting red meat, limiting alcohol, and if you're smoking, with smoking, um,
Speaker 1: maintaining a healthy weight. Nearly you know, six of men
Speaker 1: are considered either overweight or obese, and that in itself
Speaker 1: is a red flag for other problems such as heart
Speaker 1: disease and diabetes. So there are things that we have
Speaker 1: control all over. There are things we may not have controller.
Speaker 1: But let's take care of the things that we can't control.
Speaker 1: But even when you're talking about even when you're talking
Speaker 1: about food disparity, knowing that you know a lot of
Speaker 1: times there aren't good healthy markets. You know, so access
Speaker 1: to healthy foods and is definitely an issue. Even thinking
Speaker 1: about the pandemic, I would think that has hindered people's
Speaker 1: ability to get to the doctor, having access and things
Speaker 1: like that. Um, I think it has. You know, for
Speaker 1: many of us, people didn't want to go out. No
Speaker 1: one wanted to especially think about going to a hospital.
Speaker 1: You're thinking, I don't want to go into the pandemic,
Speaker 1: and so that kept a lot of people from wanting
Speaker 1: to have important screenings like colonoscopies or just getting their
Speaker 1: routine follow up, making sure they had their medications available
Speaker 1: if they were working, keeping those funds available so they
Speaker 1: could pay for those medications, and so that kept a
Speaker 1: lot of people from out into the doctor's office. No,
Speaker 1: we continued to do televisits and seeing people over the computer,
Speaker 1: over the telephone, but yet that was a barrier for
Speaker 1: many people in getting the care and could they get
Speaker 1: an appointment because of the backlog of people trying to
Speaker 1: get into the doctor's office. Yeah. Absolutely. And one one
Speaker 1: last thing, doctor um MC that I just wanted to
Speaker 1: know that you know, it was such a shot and
Speaker 1: you know, to see the demise of Chadwick Boseman at
Speaker 1: such an early age. Did you find that more younger
Speaker 1: people were starting to come in for testing? Yeah, we did.
Speaker 1: I mean, so I actually in the upstate of South Carolina,
Speaker 1: and this is right where Chat with Boseman's from, and
Speaker 1: so I remember as soon as that happened. I mean,
Speaker 1: we're about the same age. And I mean, aside from
Speaker 1: my own feelings of wanting to make sure I was
Speaker 1: doing the right thing, I saw patients coming in who
Speaker 1: looked just like me, about my same age, who actually
Speaker 1: came in because of chat with both Osman so much
Speaker 1: to the point that one or the two that I
Speaker 1: remember specifically came in and we found early staged cancer
Speaker 1: that had he not come in because of Chat with
Speaker 1: Bozeman's death, we would have never found and he could
Speaker 1: have had a very different outcome than what he now
Speaker 1: had because he did come in just to be checked
Speaker 1: because of them hearing about chat with Boseman. So we
Speaker 1: continually hear that where people say, oh, I remember he
Speaker 1: had it, I want the same test. I want to
Speaker 1: make sure I don't have the same thing. So there's
Speaker 1: a power in the influence or the recognition you mentioned,
Speaker 1: Katie Curry, you know will did the same thing with
Speaker 1: this colonoscophy. That all helps, that all helps. And actually
Speaker 1: my daughter and I did the same thing this year.
Speaker 1: We actually had a colonos could be done. It was
Speaker 1: my daughter's first time, not my first time. Even though
Speaker 1: I was late, I was late for my second go round.
Speaker 1: I got it. We got it done. We got it done.
Speaker 1: And and again that's why I just impressing Rodney someone,
Speaker 1: I just I don't know that something about that little test,
Speaker 1: that little blood test, it just doesn't seem sufficient to me,
Speaker 1: Like how you Yeah, I actually requested a colonosopy from
Speaker 1: my doctor and she said, based on what they saw
Speaker 1: and the stool sample, she didn't feel as though I
Speaker 1: needed it, she said it. Yeah, So that's so that's
Speaker 1: a great point. I mean, so here we go. I mean,
Speaker 1: this is and and again we don't know each other
Speaker 1: outside of this setting, but I'll say that we hear
Speaker 1: that often where I'll have a patient that will come
Speaker 1: in to tell me said, I would have done a
Speaker 1: test had they had they told me to get it.
Speaker 1: And I always come back to question, is the same
Speaker 1: dialogue happening among all patients? My question to you again,
Speaker 1: is it reasonable for him to say no, I'm not
Speaker 1: satisfied with that. I would like to have a colonoscopy
Speaker 1: and press for absolutely. I mean, it is certainly still
Speaker 1: his space to say thank you. I would like to
Speaker 1: do another option. I would like to pursue and the colonoscopy.
Speaker 1: I mean, you know, it's for all the reasons that
Speaker 1: people don't want to have one. As we mentioned earlier,
Speaker 1: it's a fairly easy test. I mean, you go in
Speaker 1: and get IVY, you go to sleep, you wake up,
Speaker 1: it's all over. You do have to prep the day before,
Speaker 1: which is not as bad as that you said it before.
Speaker 1: It is not your grandmother's colonoscopy. It's a very different day.
Speaker 1: The prep is smaller, the experience you get great sleep.
Speaker 1: I would at the end of the day, you don't
Speaker 1: want to say I wish I would have Most of
Speaker 1: us now use what we call Ivy Popo fall, which
Speaker 1: a lot of people got for me with it because
Speaker 1: of Michael Jackson. And there's a reason. I mean that
Speaker 1: medication works well. I mean you go to sleep like here,
Speaker 1: you wake up like this without all the side of foods,
Speaker 1: and it's one of the best sleeps that you'll ever
Speaker 1: best naps that you'll have, so recovery is generally pretty straightforward.
Speaker 1: You go home, you can generally eat what you like
Speaker 1: that day. The only restriction that day is new driving,
Speaker 1: just be as a the sedative that you had. But
Speaker 1: colin osby is not a painful procedure. You usually don't
Speaker 1: know that you even had it done, other than the
Speaker 1: pictures that they give you afterwards to prove that they
Speaker 1: did exactly. But and I think that also the information
Speaker 1: that you get from it, because Okay, I did have
Speaker 1: I didn't have any symptoms, but I did have a polyp,
Speaker 1: and they also which which which they wouldn't not have
Speaker 1: seen exact blood test. Without the test, they wouldn't have
Speaker 1: seen it, So that you don't know whether you have
Speaker 1: any polyps or not, Rodney, because you're a symptomatic. But
Speaker 1: so it was I wasn't having any symptoms about anything.
Speaker 1: And also there's some discoloration on my exam that they
Speaker 1: want me to come back in three years instead of
Speaker 1: five because of the discoloration that they think they know
Speaker 1: what it's from because of a laxative that I use
Speaker 1: on a regular basis, and they asked me to stop
Speaker 1: taking the laxative. But I take the laxative for a reason.
Speaker 1: But anyway, but I'm trying to follow their instructions. But
Speaker 1: that's again in that's my reason for wanting him to
Speaker 1: get the actual colonoscophe because there are things that are
Speaker 1: going on that you can't see, and that little blood
Speaker 1: test can't pick up one. And and I'll tell you
Speaker 1: what's happening here is one of the main reasons, one
Speaker 1: of the main reasons why we get men to the office,
Speaker 1: It is because the women in their lives. I mean,
Speaker 1: I can't tell you the benefit that women have in
Speaker 1: the lives or the health of their men. Thank you,
Speaker 1: you know, from well from and Ronnie, I'm sorry, I
Speaker 1: just gotta tell you this. Um. Even from early on,
Speaker 1: you know, it's often the mom that takes the son
Speaker 1: to the day. Even if it's not husband and wife,
Speaker 1: it's the niece taking the uncle, or the granddaughter taking
Speaker 1: the grandfather. The women in our lives often are the
Speaker 1: main reason why we get the care that we ultimately get.
Speaker 1: And whether it be that you say, you know what,
Speaker 1: I'm tired of hearing you talking about it, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: go do it. If it's what gets you to the office,
Speaker 1: to get whatever tests that you need to have done.
Speaker 1: You know, I think there's still a power to that.
Speaker 1: So kudos to you for having this conversation because it's
Speaker 1: a very similar one that we have all over. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I just wanted to stress the fact that we understand
Speaker 1: that there is and has been, and there is a
Speaker 1: reason why there is a still this underlying mistrust in
Speaker 1: the medical community within our culture. We understand that. But
Speaker 1: you know, just understand that your health is important and
Speaker 1: sometimes one doctor that you go to it may not
Speaker 1: be a good fit. And be free to be an
Speaker 1: advocate for yourself, do your own research. If your relationship
Speaker 1: with one doctor is not working, then do your due
Speaker 1: diligence and try someone else. And never be afraid to
Speaker 1: ask for a second opinion. I often will offer my
Speaker 1: patients a second opinion and say, listen, why don't you
Speaker 1: get another opinion from someone else? Because I need a
Speaker 1: patient to have full confidence and not only the care
Speaker 1: that they're given, but I need them to rest in
Speaker 1: understanding that they're getting everything they need. And sometimes that
Speaker 1: is a second opinion, and that's true, right, And don't feel,
Speaker 1: you know, with the sense that you are going to
Speaker 1: hurt the doctor's feelings or look bad by all means.
Speaker 1: If you don't feel like you're getting what you need,
Speaker 1: ask for a different opinion, ask for a different doctor.
Speaker 1: That's okay, I encourage it. So doctor makes that. And
Speaker 1: what are three takeaways that our listeners can take away
Speaker 1: from this conversation. Well, I think number one could be
Speaker 1: prevention is the key for the diseases that we've talked
Speaker 1: about today. It's much easier to take care of a
Speaker 1: problem before it's a problem than when it's full blown,
Speaker 1: so that's key. Number two is your recognition and attention
Speaker 1: to size or symptoms, so that you're not ignoring something
Speaker 1: and again allowing things to get much worse. And I
Speaker 1: think number three is become a self advocate. Become the
Speaker 1: person that says, this is what I need for my
Speaker 1: health care. If you have problems being that self advocate,
Speaker 1: find somebody who can help you. So either bring somebody
Speaker 1: else with you to the doctor's supportment. Often men come
Speaker 1: in with a list of questions that their wives are said,
Speaker 1: and make sure you ask these questions. You know, that's okay,
Speaker 1: because it all is a part of giving you the
Speaker 1: support and the care that you need. To make sure
Speaker 1: we're taking the best care of you, which is most important.
Speaker 1: Thank you so much, Doctor make Fad for joining money
Speaker 1: and I then we appreciate it. Thank you for inviting
Speaker 1: me and Ronney. Let me know about what happens with
Speaker 1: this colorous because I feel like you're gonna right. I
Speaker 1: feel like you're gonna get that. I'm scheduling one this
Speaker 1: week about later on today. Where can people find you
Speaker 1: on social media to learn more about you and get
Speaker 1: additional health information, Dr McFadden absolutely so. You can follow
Speaker 1: me on Instagram, on Twitter, on Facebook at c E
Speaker 1: D R e K m D. That's Cedric m D
Speaker 1: on my website Cedric md dot com. Thank you so much,
Speaker 1: Thank you. We'll be following up with you all right,
Speaker 1: by bye. It's a pleasure and that's our show for
Speaker 1: this week of Positively gam. Thank you for joining me, Rodney,
Speaker 1: Oh my pleasure. Yeah. You can follow me online at
Speaker 1: Gammy Norris and you can follow me at I Am
Speaker 1: Rodney Norris. Also help us out by leaving a five
Speaker 1: star review on Apple Podcasts and by hitting the follow
Speaker 1: button on I Heart Radio. Stay grateful, y'all. Positively Gam
Speaker 1: is produced by Red Table Talk podcast S and I
Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Executive producers are Adrian Banfield, Naris Valin, Jethro
Speaker 1: and Jada Pinkett Smith. Our audio engineer is Calvin Bailiff,
Speaker 1: and our associate producer is Irene Bischoffberger. Our theme song
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