1 00:00:03,920 --> 00:00:06,600 Speaker 1: Hey, besties, Hello Sunshine. 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:10,320 Speaker 2: Today on the bright Side, it's Wellness Wednesday. We're honoring 3 00:00:10,360 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 2: Breast Cancer Awareness Month with breast cancer surgeon and women's 4 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,840 Speaker 2: health advocate, doctor Christy Funk. She's breaking down the latest 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,800 Speaker 2: in breast cancer research and prevention, including changes we can 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 2: all make to lower our risk. It's Wednesday, October second. 7 00:00:25,200 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 2: I'm Danielle Robe and. 8 00:00:27,000 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 3: I'm Simone Boyce. This is the bright Side from Hello Sunshine, 9 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 3: a daily show where we come together to share women's stories, laugh, 10 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:39,520 Speaker 3: learn and brighten your day. Today's Wellness Wednesday is presented 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:46,360 Speaker 3: by Coligard. All Right, y'all. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, 12 00:00:46,600 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 3: and to be honest, I don't know a woman who 13 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,760 Speaker 3: doesn't have a personal connection to breast cancer. Danielle, have 14 00:00:52,800 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 3: you seen this show up in your own life? Oh 15 00:00:54,840 --> 00:00:57,040 Speaker 3: my goodness, yes, I will never forget. 16 00:00:57,280 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 2: When I was in fifth I would say, and one 17 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,920 Speaker 2: of my mom's best friends was diagnosed with breast cancer, 18 00:01:05,080 --> 00:01:07,920 Speaker 2: and we would go to her house at night and 19 00:01:08,319 --> 00:01:11,000 Speaker 2: bring her plants and cookies and sit with her on 20 00:01:11,040 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 2: the couch and talk. And I just remember how difficult 21 00:01:16,080 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 2: it was for everybody who loved her. And I think 22 00:01:20,240 --> 00:01:23,240 Speaker 2: as I've gotten older, I know so many women who 23 00:01:23,240 --> 00:01:26,360 Speaker 2: have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Statistically, one in eight 24 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 2: women in the US will develop it in their lifetime. 25 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 2: Do you do you have a personal touch point to it, Simone. 26 00:01:33,240 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 3: Yeah, breast cancer is something that really loomed large over 27 00:01:36,280 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 3: my whole childhood. It was kind of this like medical 28 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:43,480 Speaker 3: boogeyman in my family because I grew up hearing all 29 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,400 Speaker 3: these stories about my wonderful grandmother, Bonnie, my mom's mom, 30 00:01:47,440 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 3: but I never actually got to meet her because she 31 00:01:49,920 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 3: died a few months after I was born, when she 32 00:01:52,000 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 3: was fifty eight years old, because of breast cancer. So 33 00:01:55,520 --> 00:01:58,240 Speaker 3: it was of course something that my mom talked about 34 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:02,960 Speaker 3: a lot in terms of preventative measure and I actually 35 00:02:03,840 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 3: in high school, when I was like sixteen years old, 36 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 3: had my first brush with a potential breast cancer diagnosis. Thankfully, 37 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:15,680 Speaker 3: it was not cancerous, but I did have a benign 38 00:02:15,760 --> 00:02:17,280 Speaker 3: lump at the time, so I had to go through 39 00:02:17,320 --> 00:02:20,280 Speaker 3: surgery and get it removed from my breast. But I'm 40 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:22,600 Speaker 3: thankful for that experience because I think it helped me 41 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 3: gain a deeper awareness of my body and just know 42 00:02:26,240 --> 00:02:27,280 Speaker 3: what to look out for. 43 00:02:28,040 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 2: Sixteen is really young to experience something like that. That 44 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 2: must have been scary. Yeah, it was. 45 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:36,760 Speaker 3: I had the best friends, though, Like I can remember 46 00:02:37,120 --> 00:02:39,600 Speaker 3: coming home from surgery and they all just came over 47 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:41,520 Speaker 3: and hung out on my couch while I was like 48 00:02:41,960 --> 00:02:45,079 Speaker 3: knocked out from painkillers. And so it's all about support, 49 00:02:45,200 --> 00:02:46,840 Speaker 3: like you were talking about, do. 50 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:49,320 Speaker 2: You think about that moment now today? 51 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:50,960 Speaker 1: I have a scar. 52 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:54,200 Speaker 3: I have a scar, so you know, when I'm looking 53 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 3: at myself in a mirror, it's one of the scars 54 00:02:57,480 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 3: that is visible, and it certainly takes me back to 55 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,120 Speaker 3: that time. But I'm kind of glad that I have 56 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,880 Speaker 3: the scar because that scar reminds me to take care 57 00:03:07,919 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 3: of myself, and it reminds me to go get my 58 00:03:10,480 --> 00:03:13,440 Speaker 3: annual checkups and do my exams at home. And I 59 00:03:13,639 --> 00:03:16,480 Speaker 3: just got my first mammogram this year. I'm thirty six 60 00:03:16,520 --> 00:03:19,360 Speaker 3: years old, and I got it done a little bit earlier, 61 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:22,760 Speaker 3: perhaps by some standards, but given my family's medical history, 62 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:25,720 Speaker 3: I feel so much better having it done. I have 63 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:28,079 Speaker 3: this tremendous peace of mind because of it. 64 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 2: Well, I think part of what you're sharing is that 65 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 2: early detection is so helpful. It really increases the chances 66 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,360 Speaker 2: of successful treatment and survival, and I think opening up 67 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 2: these conversations about breast health can really save lives. Every 68 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:44,160 Speaker 2: time The Today's Show or Good Morning America does a 69 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 2: segment on this and there's a live mammogram, viewers write 70 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:50,640 Speaker 2: in talking about how somebody was triggered to go to 71 00:03:50,680 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 2: the doctor and it saved their life. And so today 72 00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 2: we're hoping to do the same. We're going to be 73 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,960 Speaker 2: talking about early detection along with so much more. So 74 00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:02,800 Speaker 2: we're joined by doctor Christy Funk. She's a board certified 75 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:04,640 Speaker 2: breast cancer surgeon and physician. 76 00:04:05,280 --> 00:04:08,840 Speaker 3: Doctor Funk runs the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Santa Monica, 77 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:11,960 Speaker 3: where she's counseled and treated thousands of women just like 78 00:04:12,000 --> 00:04:14,840 Speaker 3: me and Danielle. And she's also the author of Breast 79 00:04:15,240 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 3: the Owner's Manual, Doctor Christy Funk, Welcome to the bright Side. 80 00:04:19,839 --> 00:04:23,280 Speaker 1: Welcome, Thank you, so excited to be here. 81 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,440 Speaker 3: Something that Danielle and I have both felt convicted about 82 00:04:27,920 --> 00:04:32,359 Speaker 3: is the fact that so many women have stories of 83 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:36,240 Speaker 3: how breast cancer has impacted their families or ripped loved 84 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:39,360 Speaker 3: ones away from them, or exists in the back of 85 00:04:39,400 --> 00:04:42,200 Speaker 3: their mind as this you know, fear that kind of 86 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:47,120 Speaker 3: looms over their medical history. So we're really excited to 87 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 3: talk to you and start off with this. How pervasive 88 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:55,240 Speaker 3: is breast cancer? I mean, we know that the rates 89 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,520 Speaker 3: are going up. I'd love to know from you, just 90 00:04:58,760 --> 00:05:00,839 Speaker 3: get this kind of lay of the lane and an 91 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:03,760 Speaker 3: update on the landscape. How many people are diagnosed each 92 00:05:03,839 --> 00:05:06,039 Speaker 3: year in the US and how does that compare to 93 00:05:06,040 --> 00:05:07,279 Speaker 3: when you started in the field. 94 00:05:08,360 --> 00:05:10,680 Speaker 1: Oh, what a great question. Okay. So in twenty twenty, 95 00:05:10,720 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: breast cancer surpassed lung to become the number one malignant 96 00:05:15,640 --> 00:05:19,320 Speaker 1: tumor in the world men and women combined. Wow, with 97 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: about two point three million cases every single year and 98 00:05:22,760 --> 00:05:27,840 Speaker 1: six hundred and eighty five thousand deaths worldwide last year, 99 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:31,000 Speaker 1: this year, even more next year. And as you were 100 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:33,800 Speaker 1: just saying, the numbers seem to be going up because 101 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:36,919 Speaker 1: they are going up in our own backyard, as you 102 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,279 Speaker 1: were asking, this year twenty twenty four, we're expecting between 103 00:05:41,360 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: two hundred and eighty eight thousand and three hundred and 104 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:47,919 Speaker 1: ten thousand new cases of invasive breast cancer, with about 105 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,760 Speaker 1: forty three thousand, two hundred and fifty deaths this year 106 00:05:51,839 --> 00:05:56,839 Speaker 1: alone from breast cancer. One of the most alarming things 107 00:05:56,880 --> 00:05:59,240 Speaker 1: to me is that while the death rate has been 108 00:05:59,240 --> 00:06:02,120 Speaker 1: steadily going down about one point three percent per year 109 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 1: since twenty eleven, that's owing largely to earlier detection and 110 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: better treatments, the incident's rate has been a very steady 111 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: zero point four percent per year after year increase for 112 00:06:16,320 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: the last twenty years, since two thousand and four. I 113 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 1: started my practice in two thousand and two, so twenty 114 00:06:24,080 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: two years ago, and the incident's rate was something like 115 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:31,120 Speaker 1: two hundred and ten thousand. That was the number. It 116 00:06:31,160 --> 00:06:34,279 Speaker 1: was two hundred and ten thousand women per year diagnosed 117 00:06:34,279 --> 00:06:36,520 Speaker 1: with invasi of kids. So we've gone up about another 118 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:40,919 Speaker 1: one hundred thousand. How do you stay hopeful? I stay 119 00:06:40,960 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: hopeful because I know something that most people don't know. 120 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: I know that the vast majority of all breast cancer 121 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:55,679 Speaker 1: is under your control. What you eat or don't eat, 122 00:06:56,000 --> 00:06:59,320 Speaker 1: drink or don't drink, do or don't do, think or 123 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:01,800 Speaker 1: don't think eat, even down to like if you forgive 124 00:07:02,040 --> 00:07:06,919 Speaker 1: or don't forgive, it alters the cell micro environment inside 125 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: of you, pushing you toward cancer or away. And you 126 00:07:10,440 --> 00:07:14,080 Speaker 1: have so much control in your choices. So I'm hopeful 127 00:07:14,160 --> 00:07:18,160 Speaker 1: because I know this message is not getting out, and 128 00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 1: so I get to preach it from the mountaintop. I 129 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 1: get to try every chance. I get to help empower 130 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:27,800 Speaker 1: women and men to understand that their daily choices impact 131 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:34,240 Speaker 1: cellular health, which impacts cancer incidents, recurrence, mortality, and not 132 00:07:34,360 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 1: just cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, obesity, All the 133 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: things that contribute to the major killers in our lives 134 00:07:42,560 --> 00:07:45,520 Speaker 1: are largely related to diet and lifestyle. 135 00:07:46,640 --> 00:07:49,040 Speaker 3: I'm so glad you brought up lifestyle. This is one 136 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:51,280 Speaker 3: of those big risk factors that we hear a lot about. 137 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 3: And there's actually a very fresh study that just came 138 00:07:54,800 --> 00:07:59,640 Speaker 3: out end of September that gives us more insight into 139 00:07:59,640 --> 00:08:02,360 Speaker 3: how life style plays into this. So, this new study 140 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:06,200 Speaker 3: suggested that many commonly used food packaging products contain known 141 00:08:06,440 --> 00:08:09,600 Speaker 3: breast cancer causing chemicals. And the packaging they're talking about 142 00:08:10,040 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 3: is the type of thing we see all the time 143 00:08:11,680 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 3: in our own homes or at restaurants, shrink wrap, cardboard trays, 144 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:18,000 Speaker 3: or paper containers. What do you make of this study 145 00:08:18,200 --> 00:08:19,840 Speaker 3: and how should we interpret the results. 146 00:08:20,720 --> 00:08:24,360 Speaker 1: Okay, this study is absolutely accurate. What I make of 147 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:27,679 Speaker 1: it is that we are bombarded day in and day out. 148 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:32,000 Speaker 1: With all of these endocrine disruptors. There are literally an 149 00:08:32,080 --> 00:08:35,880 Speaker 1: estimated one hundred thousand, one hundred thousand synthetic chemicals used 150 00:08:35,880 --> 00:08:39,120 Speaker 1: in the United States. A substantial number of these are 151 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,240 Speaker 1: bound to be zeno estrogens. By that, I mean chemicals 152 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:46,240 Speaker 1: that mimic the action of estrogen in your body. This 153 00:08:46,360 --> 00:08:49,080 Speaker 1: is important because eighty percent of all breast cancers are 154 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:53,760 Speaker 1: fed and fueled by estrogen, and yet no regulatory body 155 00:08:53,760 --> 00:08:56,839 Speaker 1: has mandated that we test products for zeno estrogen levels 156 00:08:56,960 --> 00:09:00,880 Speaker 1: or their effects, so we don't really even know what happens. 157 00:09:00,920 --> 00:09:04,640 Speaker 1: They attached to the same receptors as your natural estrogen will, 158 00:09:05,040 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 1: But do they cause a stronger downstream reaction than normal hormones, 159 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:12,319 Speaker 1: A weaker one, a totally different one like your guess 160 00:09:12,360 --> 00:09:16,400 Speaker 1: is as good as mine. And the EPA, the Environmental 161 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:22,600 Speaker 1: Protection Agency, formed the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program. Okay, their 162 00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:27,840 Speaker 1: first update came in August twenty twenty fifteen e ish. 163 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:31,320 Speaker 1: And when they came guess how many of the one 164 00:09:31,360 --> 00:09:35,240 Speaker 1: hundred thousand chemicals they looked at, I'll just tell you 165 00:09:36,440 --> 00:09:37,040 Speaker 1: fifty two. 166 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:38,960 Speaker 3: Oh my gosh. 167 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,120 Speaker 1: So if every seventeen years we look at fifty two 168 00:09:42,120 --> 00:09:44,640 Speaker 1: of the one hundred thousand chemicals. We're going to finish 169 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:47,920 Speaker 1: with all of them in thirty three thousand years. That's 170 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:50,640 Speaker 1: when we'll get our final update. So when this study 171 00:09:50,720 --> 00:09:54,760 Speaker 1: came out, I was intrigued by it because I love 172 00:09:54,840 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: that it gets some attention and press to find out that, Yeah, 173 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:05,000 Speaker 1: in our daily lives, we are bombarded by these endocrine disruptors, 174 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:08,959 Speaker 1: and it's always good to be aware of it. But 175 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:14,160 Speaker 1: the thing is these are everywhere, right, Like you wake 176 00:10:14,240 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: up in the morning and that sunscreen you put on 177 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:22,480 Speaker 1: endocrine disruptor EDC, right, endocrine disrupting compound, the gas pump 178 00:10:22,480 --> 00:10:25,439 Speaker 1: that you handled at the station, etc. The plastic fork 179 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,960 Speaker 1: and water bottle that you had at your takeout lunch, etc. 180 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: The detergent you washed your pillow case with that you're 181 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,640 Speaker 1: sleeping on, maybe an EEDC. So they are everywhere. So 182 00:10:36,720 --> 00:10:42,679 Speaker 1: what I like to tell people is, look, they're so ubiquitous, 183 00:10:42,960 --> 00:10:49,760 Speaker 1: these environmental toxicities. All you can do is live your 184 00:10:49,840 --> 00:10:55,640 Speaker 1: life well with some attention, particularly to the things that 185 00:10:55,720 --> 00:11:00,280 Speaker 1: are on you, on your skin, or that you are 186 00:11:00,320 --> 00:11:03,880 Speaker 1: swallowing down, because those have the closest proximity to impact 187 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:07,920 Speaker 1: cellular health. Right, doesn't that make the most sense. So practically, 188 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:10,600 Speaker 1: what this means is have a look at your ingredients. 189 00:11:10,640 --> 00:11:12,840 Speaker 1: A lot of people never thought about it. They never 190 00:11:12,880 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 1: thought like, oh, I should actually read what's in my 191 00:11:16,120 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 1: laundry detergent, the lotion I'm putting on my skin, the 192 00:11:18,960 --> 00:11:22,320 Speaker 1: toothpaste I'm putting all over my gums, the stuff I 193 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:25,480 Speaker 1: wash my dishes with and then eat food off of 194 00:11:26,280 --> 00:11:32,480 Speaker 1: plastics is the big was the big This report was 195 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:41,120 Speaker 1: talking about plastics, right, and per fluorocarbonated alkophenols, right, These 196 00:11:41,200 --> 00:11:46,360 Speaker 1: pfast chemicals, they're called forever chemicals because they get into fat. 197 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 1: I mean, forever is a good thing if you're talking 198 00:11:49,200 --> 00:11:52,400 Speaker 1: about like the stability of a relationship or maybe your job. 199 00:11:52,480 --> 00:11:56,240 Speaker 1: But beyond that, you do not want these stable chemicals 200 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:01,680 Speaker 1: inside your body. So you want to just limit them 201 00:12:01,880 --> 00:12:06,520 Speaker 1: with your cooking. Look at your cookware. Store everything in 202 00:12:06,640 --> 00:12:10,880 Speaker 1: glass or ceramic. Never ever, ever, ever microwave or heat 203 00:12:10,960 --> 00:12:14,080 Speaker 1: anything that is in plastic. And I don't know where 204 00:12:14,080 --> 00:12:16,480 Speaker 1: this idea came from. I was a kid in the 205 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: seventies and we microwave dinners like I think they just started, 206 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:22,920 Speaker 1: and the microwaves were fascinating, and you'd put the food 207 00:12:22,960 --> 00:12:26,040 Speaker 1: in there and you'd stare at it while it was cooking, 208 00:12:26,600 --> 00:12:28,240 Speaker 1: and then it would come out and you just remember 209 00:12:28,240 --> 00:12:29,920 Speaker 1: you're supposed to peel up the corner of the I 210 00:12:30,160 --> 00:12:32,800 Speaker 1: can't even believe people think about doing that. And this 211 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 1: idea that you need to have it in the packaging 212 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:37,280 Speaker 1: and order for it to heat well is a farce. 213 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,520 Speaker 1: Like anything, if I'm having some frozen vegetables or something 214 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:42,960 Speaker 1: that I need to cook up, I just dump them 215 00:12:42,960 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: into a glass dish and put them in the microwave. 216 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:47,200 Speaker 1: You can heat them on the stove, put them in 217 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:50,520 Speaker 1: an instapot. Just get away from all the plastics, all 218 00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,520 Speaker 1: the baby bottles and the sippy cups and the infant 219 00:12:53,600 --> 00:12:57,080 Speaker 1: formula cans and all of that. Like, just make sure 220 00:12:57,120 --> 00:12:59,600 Speaker 1: everything is glass or ceramic. 221 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:02,360 Speaker 2: People on our show always make fun of me because 222 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:08,960 Speaker 2: I don't wear any fragrance, and it's for this reason, actually, 223 00:13:09,000 --> 00:13:13,000 Speaker 2: doctor Funk. But I've found that the EWG, the Environmental 224 00:13:13,040 --> 00:13:17,880 Speaker 2: Working Group, is a great resource, particularly because you mentioned 225 00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:24,839 Speaker 2: the EPA hasn't updated many of their many of their lists, right. 226 00:13:24,920 --> 00:13:27,880 Speaker 1: Yeah, I love the EWG. Yeah, they've also got that 227 00:13:27,920 --> 00:13:31,200 Speaker 1: Dirty Dozen in the Clean fifteen. Yes, because eating organic 228 00:13:31,320 --> 00:13:34,280 Speaker 1: is a great weight to be avoiding a lot of 229 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,120 Speaker 1: these toxicities. And probably the best way of all, by 230 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:41,640 Speaker 1: the way, is to be eating plant based because whenever 231 00:13:41,960 --> 00:13:48,160 Speaker 1: you cook barbecue grill meat, you are creating these pfast 232 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:53,120 Speaker 1: chemicals and swallowing them down, and they are potent carcinogens. 233 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:55,320 Speaker 2: We need to take a quick break, but we'll be 234 00:13:55,400 --> 00:14:08,920 Speaker 2: right back to wellness Wednesday with doctor Christy Funk. And 235 00:14:09,000 --> 00:14:12,800 Speaker 2: we're back. There's a study I'm curious about. It was 236 00:14:12,800 --> 00:14:15,920 Speaker 2: from Susan g. Coman, and they linked weight gain to 237 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:19,040 Speaker 2: breast cancer. And I know you're talking about the chemicals 238 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:23,040 Speaker 2: in food, but can weight gain increase our chance of 239 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 2: getting breast cancer. 240 00:14:24,760 --> 00:14:27,600 Speaker 1: One hundred percent? Yes, So, for reasons that are not 241 00:14:27,880 --> 00:14:34,000 Speaker 1: entirely clear, premenopausal weight gain and being overweight or obese 242 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:37,960 Speaker 1: is somehow protective against pre menopausal breast cancer. But the 243 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:41,520 Speaker 1: second you hit menopause, there is no question, in no 244 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,960 Speaker 1: controversy that obese women have fifty to two hundred and 245 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,480 Speaker 1: fifty percent more breast cancer, more breast cancer recurrence, and 246 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:53,520 Speaker 1: more breast cancer related death. Wow, there are multiple reasons. Yeah, No, 247 00:14:53,680 --> 00:14:59,040 Speaker 1: weight is a really big deal. The beauty in this 248 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 1: statement is that if you lose the weight, you lose 249 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:04,800 Speaker 1: the risk. So it's not like you've locked into this 250 00:15:04,960 --> 00:15:07,280 Speaker 1: risk at a certain weight and there's no way to 251 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:09,960 Speaker 1: undo it. But a couple things I'll say so. One, 252 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:12,880 Speaker 1: there was a study that looked at gaining more than 253 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:16,080 Speaker 1: five percent of your initial body weight during or after 254 00:15:16,200 --> 00:15:20,400 Speaker 1: breast cancer treatment, irrespective of your baseline body mass index, 255 00:15:20,440 --> 00:15:22,400 Speaker 1: so you didn't even have to be overweight. If you 256 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 1: just gained five percent of your initial body weight, it 257 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:29,560 Speaker 1: increased the risk of recurrence in survival by four hundred percent. 258 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:36,640 Speaker 1: That's staggering. What fat is doing is a number of things, 259 00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:41,360 Speaker 1: but it's under recognized by like the quick blanket statement 260 00:15:41,440 --> 00:15:45,800 Speaker 1: that you might hear in media in that estrogen feeds 261 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,640 Speaker 1: and fuels eighty percent of breast cancers. Once your ovary 262 00:15:49,880 --> 00:15:54,280 Speaker 1: shuts down, either because of natural menopause or perhaps you 263 00:15:54,360 --> 00:15:59,520 Speaker 1: had premature ovarian failure or chemical menopause, which is meaning 264 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 1: chemo therapy kind of destroyed your ovarian production, or you 265 00:16:03,920 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 1: had them surgically removed. Okay, that estrogen source is gone. 266 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:11,600 Speaker 1: That was your main estrogen source. One percent of the 267 00:16:11,640 --> 00:16:14,240 Speaker 1: amount of estrogen that your ovary was making is made 268 00:16:14,280 --> 00:16:17,160 Speaker 1: by you from your fat. So you've got these fat 269 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:22,480 Speaker 1: cells predominantly in the fat itself. But there's an enzyme 270 00:16:22,520 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: in the fat called aroma tase, and some of this 271 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:29,280 Speaker 1: is also found in liver in the ovary itself, so 272 00:16:29,280 --> 00:16:31,800 Speaker 1: it's not the ovarian production, but it's from the fat 273 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:35,360 Speaker 1: in the ovary in muscle. And believe it or not, 274 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:39,960 Speaker 1: these sinister cancers, if they've already formed, they have their 275 00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,880 Speaker 1: own aromatase enzyme. Maybe got like a little backpack, like 276 00:16:42,920 --> 00:16:46,240 Speaker 1: one of those little running backpack water bottle things, Like 277 00:16:46,280 --> 00:16:48,600 Speaker 1: it's like, oh, I need some more estrogen. Let me 278 00:16:48,680 --> 00:16:50,720 Speaker 1: just sip out of my backpack here and get some more. 279 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,720 Speaker 1: Aromatase is an enzyme in all these places. It's turning 280 00:16:55,920 --> 00:17:00,680 Speaker 1: adrenal gland steroids into estrogen. So it's not enough to 281 00:17:00,680 --> 00:17:02,880 Speaker 1: stop a hot flash if you're menopausal, but it is 282 00:17:02,880 --> 00:17:06,560 Speaker 1: sure enough to feed and fuel that cancer. That's usually 283 00:17:06,560 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 1: where the story ends for people who make the connection 284 00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:15,199 Speaker 1: between weight, overweight, obesity and breast cancer, but that is 285 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:21,120 Speaker 1: hardly the story. The real sinister mechanisms of how weight 286 00:17:22,080 --> 00:17:27,120 Speaker 1: intersects with breast cancer have to do with inflammation. So 287 00:17:27,320 --> 00:17:32,640 Speaker 1: the number one, two and three things are leptin, chronic 288 00:17:32,680 --> 00:17:38,520 Speaker 1: inflammation produced by fat cells, and insulin. So lectin. It's 289 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:43,440 Speaker 1: created mostly by adipose tissue and it's secreted into circulation, 290 00:17:44,080 --> 00:17:48,280 Speaker 1: and once leptin binds to its receptor, it crosstalks with 291 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,560 Speaker 1: all of these oncogenes, with all of these genetic switches 292 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,520 Speaker 1: that you flip on and off to suit a cancer's need. 293 00:17:55,920 --> 00:18:02,399 Speaker 1: It ignites this signaling pathway multiple pathway that release growth 294 00:18:02,440 --> 00:18:08,280 Speaker 1: factors and cidokinds. And the endgame is breast cancer initiation, progression, 295 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:13,400 Speaker 1: and metastases. If it's already there, So that's leptin. The 296 00:18:13,440 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 1: second thing fat does is it activates. It has these 297 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:23,480 Speaker 1: macrophases in the adipose tissue of obese women that produce 298 00:18:24,119 --> 00:18:28,720 Speaker 1: inflammatory mediators, things that have letters and numbers TNF, alpha, 299 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:32,399 Speaker 1: interluken six. The specifics do matter so much as the 300 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: endgame again chronic inflammation, which is promoting this cancer growth 301 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,080 Speaker 1: in metastatic spread. And the other thing it makes happen 302 00:18:40,400 --> 00:18:46,120 Speaker 1: is angiogenesis. Angio means blood vessel genesis is birth. If 303 00:18:46,160 --> 00:18:48,879 Speaker 1: you are a breast cancer cell and you aspire to 304 00:18:48,920 --> 00:18:51,480 Speaker 1: be bigger than the tip of a ballpoint pen, which 305 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:55,400 Speaker 1: every cancer aspires to be. You must create your own 306 00:18:55,400 --> 00:19:01,439 Speaker 1: blood supply, and you must have this environment around you 307 00:19:01,520 --> 00:19:05,120 Speaker 1: that's conducive to doing that. Angiogenesis the birth of these 308 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:07,719 Speaker 1: blood vessels, so you can bring your own new nutrients 309 00:19:07,760 --> 00:19:10,480 Speaker 1: to yourself, and then when you get big enough, shoot 310 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: them exit strategy straight through those same blood vessels to 311 00:19:14,160 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: the brain, to the lung, to the liver, to the bone. 312 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:21,720 Speaker 1: That's how it all goes down. And the activated macrophases 313 00:19:21,840 --> 00:19:28,080 Speaker 1: in fat create angiogenesis and modify your immune response so 314 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:33,800 Speaker 1: much so that this is probably the reason why we 315 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:38,000 Speaker 1: know that obese women don't respond as well to both 316 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:41,240 Speaker 1: the anti estrogen therapies and the chemo therapy we give 317 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:44,400 Speaker 1: them when they have breast cancer. They have uniformly worse prognoses. 318 00:19:45,240 --> 00:19:47,680 Speaker 2: Doctor funk I think that we hear a lot about 319 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:51,520 Speaker 2: the effects of alcohol on our healths, and a study 320 00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:55,760 Speaker 2: published this September looks specifically at the potential link between 321 00:19:55,800 --> 00:20:00,160 Speaker 2: alcohol and increased breast cancer diagnosis and patients under fifty. 322 00:20:01,080 --> 00:20:04,000 Speaker 2: What should we know about alcohol consumption and breast cancer? 323 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,680 Speaker 1: Okay, so pick your poison. What is alcohol? It's five 324 00:20:07,680 --> 00:20:10,200 Speaker 1: ounces of wine equals one point five ounces of hard 325 00:20:10,240 --> 00:20:13,080 Speaker 1: liquor equals a twelve ounce beer. A drink a day 326 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: and a premenopausal woman increases breast cancer by seven percent. 327 00:20:17,119 --> 00:20:20,119 Speaker 1: A drink a day in a postmenopausal woman thirteen percent. 328 00:20:21,040 --> 00:20:24,280 Speaker 1: Every drink thereafter adds about another ten percent. So two 329 00:20:24,359 --> 00:20:27,520 Speaker 1: drinks a day seventeen percent pre menopausal, it's twenty three 330 00:20:27,560 --> 00:20:30,760 Speaker 1: percent postmenopausal, and onwards and upwards from there. 331 00:20:31,119 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 2: I do want to say, one drink a day is 332 00:20:33,359 --> 00:20:35,560 Speaker 2: quite a lot of drinks. So if you're just like 333 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:39,160 Speaker 2: you know, drinking once a week or once every two weeks, 334 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,119 Speaker 2: you're pretty much okay with alcohol as it relates to 335 00:20:43,160 --> 00:20:43,840 Speaker 2: breast cancer. 336 00:20:44,480 --> 00:20:47,359 Speaker 1: Yes, that amount of drinking is not going to really 337 00:20:47,480 --> 00:20:51,080 Speaker 1: become carcinogenic, but a seegl aaldehyde is the carcinogen that 338 00:20:51,119 --> 00:20:54,280 Speaker 1: you form. Even if you just use your alcohol as mouthwashed, 339 00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:56,960 Speaker 1: which would be a terrible waste of an excellent wine draft. 340 00:20:57,080 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: But if you just fish and spad swallow down, you 341 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:04,679 Speaker 1: are already swallowing down a carcinogen that then even becomes 342 00:21:04,760 --> 00:21:08,480 Speaker 1: more prevalent as it gets broken down by your liver 343 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,560 Speaker 1: into a cel aaldehyde. One of the main reasons why 344 00:21:11,600 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: alcohol causes breast cancer though. Back to that is its 345 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:21,200 Speaker 1: interference with an enzyme called MTHFR, which sounds like bad 346 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:26,440 Speaker 1: word MTFR. It stands for methyl tas or hydrofolate reductase, 347 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:29,680 Speaker 1: And what that enzyme is doing is that's taking full 348 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:31,760 Speaker 1: eight from your leafy grains and full of acid from 349 00:21:31,800 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 1: your vitamins and turning it into methyl fulate. Methyl Fulate 350 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: in its active form is babysitting DNA as it divides. 351 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,080 Speaker 1: So when your body makes a mistake, which it does 352 00:21:45,440 --> 00:21:48,879 Speaker 1: millions of time miss every day, methyl fullate swoops in 353 00:21:48,920 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: and fixes it or throws it out so it doesn't 354 00:21:51,520 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 1: set as a mutation that then gets propagated. One cell 355 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:57,800 Speaker 1: becomes two, becomes four until you have a cancer. Right 356 00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,080 Speaker 1: when you drink you knock out that enzyme. Thirty to 357 00:22:01,119 --> 00:22:05,960 Speaker 1: fifty percent of all people already have a suboptimal NTHFR, 358 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,880 Speaker 1: so they have a mutation. It's not complete, but it's partial. 359 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:13,439 Speaker 1: And then the alcohol on top of it is just like, 360 00:22:13,560 --> 00:22:15,960 Speaker 1: forget it, lady, I'm not making any methyl fool. I 361 00:22:16,040 --> 00:22:17,520 Speaker 1: did a good luck with that mutation. 362 00:22:19,400 --> 00:22:21,199 Speaker 3: We need to take another short break, but we'll be 363 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:30,919 Speaker 3: right back and we're back with breast cancer surgeon and 364 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:38,080 Speaker 3: women's health advocate, doctor Christy Funk. So we've talked about lifestyle, diet, alcohol, 365 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,159 Speaker 3: we want to talk about genetics next. This is something 366 00:22:41,200 --> 00:22:45,880 Speaker 3: that directly impacts me. My maternal grandmother passed away from 367 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:48,640 Speaker 3: breast cancer when she was fifty eight, and so it's 368 00:22:48,640 --> 00:22:50,680 Speaker 3: always been something that my mom has warned me about 369 00:22:50,720 --> 00:22:54,880 Speaker 3: growing up, and especially the power of early detection when 370 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:59,560 Speaker 3: we think about lifestyle and genetics, which is more of 371 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:02,560 Speaker 3: a determining factor when it comes to breast cancer diagnoses. 372 00:23:03,520 --> 00:23:08,440 Speaker 1: Genetics, for sure, there are about nineteen of these gene 373 00:23:08,520 --> 00:23:12,120 Speaker 1: mutations that we know are strongly associated with the predisposition 374 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,159 Speaker 1: to getting breast cancer. Can diet and lifestyle circumvent or 375 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:22,080 Speaker 1: overrule the problems with this gene mutation that you may 376 00:23:22,119 --> 00:23:27,760 Speaker 1: have inherited, Probably not, or at least not yet with 377 00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:33,000 Speaker 1: any real certainty. However, and this is a really important point, 378 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,199 Speaker 1: only five to ten percent of all women diagnosed with 379 00:23:37,280 --> 00:23:41,760 Speaker 1: breast cancer carry a genetic mutation they've inherited from mom 380 00:23:41,880 --> 00:23:45,760 Speaker 1: or dad, which means that ninety to ninety five percent 381 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:49,359 Speaker 1: of all women with breast cancer did not get it 382 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:51,560 Speaker 1: from a genetic predisposition. 383 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:54,720 Speaker 3: Whose environmental you're saying, I. 384 00:23:54,680 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: Think diet and lifestyle. There's a saying that I like, 385 00:23:58,760 --> 00:24:03,760 Speaker 1: and it's that genetics load the gun, but your choice 386 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:04,560 Speaker 1: is pulled the trigger. 387 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,240 Speaker 3: And then in terms of figuring out where you stand genetically, 388 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:11,840 Speaker 3: it's DNA testing, right, those are the options. Yes, talk 389 00:24:11,880 --> 00:24:13,360 Speaker 3: to us about the options that are available. 390 00:24:13,440 --> 00:24:15,800 Speaker 1: So think about your family tree for second and third 391 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: degree relatives on both sides of the family, and let's 392 00:24:21,880 --> 00:24:25,160 Speaker 1: analyze that. If you have two relatives on the same 393 00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:30,600 Speaker 1: side with breast cancer prior to age fifty or ovarian 394 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:35,560 Speaker 1: cancer at any age, then you should consider genetic testing 395 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:37,920 Speaker 1: because your risk of carrying a G mutation is ten 396 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:43,440 Speaker 1: percent or higher. If you are Ashkenazi Jewish in heritage, 397 00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,520 Speaker 1: then you only need one of those one breast cancer 398 00:24:46,520 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: prior to fifty one, ovarian cancer any age, if you 399 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:53,160 Speaker 1: yourself have had breast cancer. I test everybody now because 400 00:24:53,160 --> 00:24:56,480 Speaker 1: it's so affordable. It used to be very cost prohibitive. 401 00:24:56,720 --> 00:24:59,560 Speaker 1: It was literally if you wasn't covered by insurance, it 402 00:24:59,600 --> 00:25:02,239 Speaker 1: was forty five one hundred dollars and that was just 403 00:25:02,280 --> 00:25:05,080 Speaker 1: to find out if you carried BRCA. Now, if you 404 00:25:05,119 --> 00:25:09,040 Speaker 1: don't qualify by insurance criteria. For two hundred and fifty dollars, 405 00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: you can get a full genetic panel of eighty five 406 00:25:11,640 --> 00:25:17,640 Speaker 1: genetic mutations. So again, two relatives with breast under fifty. 407 00:25:17,880 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: One relative with ovarian cancer at any age, if you 408 00:25:21,600 --> 00:25:25,439 Speaker 1: yourself had breast cancer, particularly prior to age fifty a 409 00:25:25,520 --> 00:25:28,919 Speaker 1: triple negative subtype, which if you had that you would know, 410 00:25:29,560 --> 00:25:32,800 Speaker 1: and or if you yourself have had breast cancer twice, 411 00:25:32,880 --> 00:25:36,160 Speaker 1: not a recurrence of the same one, but two totally 412 00:25:36,240 --> 00:25:39,359 Speaker 1: separate breast cancers, if there are any men in the 413 00:25:39,400 --> 00:25:47,399 Speaker 1: family tree with breast cancer, or if anybody had pancreatic melanoma, 414 00:25:47,840 --> 00:25:55,400 Speaker 1: gastric prostate. These are all like associated with certain syndromes, 415 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,520 Speaker 1: So the breast, ovarian and then all the other cancers. 416 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:00,760 Speaker 1: There's just a whole lot going on, three or more 417 00:26:00,800 --> 00:26:03,120 Speaker 1: relatives than I would consider testing. 418 00:26:03,840 --> 00:26:07,280 Speaker 2: I feel like we've all heard how important early detection is. 419 00:26:08,720 --> 00:26:11,479 Speaker 2: I know this may sound silly, but I grew up 420 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:14,280 Speaker 2: hearing about it on the Today Show in Good Morning America. 421 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:18,600 Speaker 2: I think traditionally the advice has been to start getting 422 00:26:18,640 --> 00:26:21,760 Speaker 2: mammograms at the age of forty. Is that still the recommendation? 423 00:26:22,800 --> 00:26:26,360 Speaker 1: It is different societies have different recommendations, but we are 424 00:26:26,440 --> 00:26:30,199 Speaker 1: all sort of trending back hearing about oh you can 425 00:26:30,200 --> 00:26:35,520 Speaker 1: start at fifty, you can do every other year. The 426 00:26:35,680 --> 00:26:39,520 Speaker 1: United States Preventive Task Force as now dialed it back 427 00:26:39,560 --> 00:26:46,359 Speaker 1: again to beginning at age forty. Look, especially in life 428 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,119 Speaker 1: with the conversation we were just having. Knowing that breast 429 00:26:49,119 --> 00:26:53,200 Speaker 1: cancer is getting diagnosed earlier than ever before in women 430 00:26:53,400 --> 00:26:57,800 Speaker 1: under fifty, there's no reason to be excluding them from screening. 431 00:26:58,040 --> 00:27:02,200 Speaker 1: So I signed with the America Society of Breast Surgeons, 432 00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:06,760 Speaker 1: and we advise women of normal breast cancer risks to 433 00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,720 Speaker 1: begin in age forty and don't stop or skip years 434 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,600 Speaker 1: until your life expectancy is less than five years, which 435 00:27:14,640 --> 00:27:17,159 Speaker 1: is admittedly a little hard to predict when you're going 436 00:27:17,200 --> 00:27:20,680 Speaker 1: to die. But you know certain people, it's obvious that 437 00:27:20,760 --> 00:27:25,560 Speaker 1: their heart disease or their advanced COPD, etc. Is more 438 00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:31,720 Speaker 1: critical than a breast cancer diagnosis would be, because it 439 00:27:31,760 --> 00:27:36,360 Speaker 1: would potentially cause too much harm to treat that cancer, 440 00:27:36,480 --> 00:27:38,760 Speaker 1: which was never going to be the reason why they 441 00:27:38,800 --> 00:27:43,320 Speaker 1: died if they already have something else more serious looming, 442 00:27:43,520 --> 00:27:46,159 Speaker 1: like advanced cardiac for lung disease. 443 00:27:47,080 --> 00:27:49,879 Speaker 2: What about for women in their twenties and thirties. What 444 00:27:49,920 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 2: do you think they should be paying attention to in 445 00:27:52,359 --> 00:27:53,360 Speaker 2: terms of their breasts. 446 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:57,800 Speaker 1: I always encourage women to be breast aware, so to me, 447 00:27:58,160 --> 00:28:02,800 Speaker 1: that involves monthly self breast exams. The official rule on 448 00:28:02,920 --> 00:28:06,840 Speaker 1: the street is that doing self breast exams don't save lives, 449 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:09,440 Speaker 1: but in my practice, I've just seen it to be otherwise. 450 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,520 Speaker 1: I think you're with your breasts every day, all day, 451 00:28:13,640 --> 00:28:16,119 Speaker 1: and I might be with them once a year or so. 452 00:28:16,800 --> 00:28:21,080 Speaker 1: I think it's smart to not get creeped out by 453 00:28:21,080 --> 00:28:24,000 Speaker 1: feeling the lumpy bumpiness of your breast, and the only 454 00:28:24,080 --> 00:28:28,600 Speaker 1: way to have that self confidence in doing an exam 455 00:28:28,720 --> 00:28:32,040 Speaker 1: is to do it regularly and develop this unconscious sort 456 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:35,520 Speaker 1: of memory of where the lumpy bumpiness is, where it's 457 00:28:35,600 --> 00:28:38,120 Speaker 1: tender when you press, and not. So you want to 458 00:28:38,160 --> 00:28:42,360 Speaker 1: begin doing self breast exams. I believe, in my opinion, 459 00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:45,520 Speaker 1: as young as when you start having periods. I don't 460 00:28:45,560 --> 00:28:47,680 Speaker 1: think that you're going to ever have a breast cancer 461 00:28:47,760 --> 00:28:51,239 Speaker 1: at sixteen or twenty one, but I want you to 462 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:56,680 Speaker 1: have had that unconscious memory developing along with the development 463 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,920 Speaker 1: of your breasts. So I suggest women do it every 464 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:03,760 Speaker 1: single month. One week after their periods. That's when your 465 00:29:03,760 --> 00:29:06,800 Speaker 1: breast are going to be less tender and less lumpy. 466 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,320 Speaker 1: And then don't worry about finding a cancer. I just 467 00:29:10,360 --> 00:29:13,160 Speaker 1: want you to pick a method of examining your breast 468 00:29:13,240 --> 00:29:18,240 Speaker 1: that is a repeat pattern, so that one day, God forbid. 469 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:20,240 Speaker 1: But if you ever do feel something, you'll be like 470 00:29:20,520 --> 00:29:23,080 Speaker 1: that was not there before, Like hands down, I know 471 00:29:23,320 --> 00:29:27,200 Speaker 1: that wasn't there before. I created a nice five minute 472 00:29:27,200 --> 00:29:30,320 Speaker 1: tutorial on how to do a self breast exam. It's 473 00:29:30,320 --> 00:29:33,920 Speaker 1: an easybreastexam dot com. There's a video there that I made, 474 00:29:34,360 --> 00:29:37,040 Speaker 1: and I think it's an excellent thing to view because 475 00:29:37,040 --> 00:29:40,160 Speaker 1: you for sure are not doing your self breast exam correctly. 476 00:29:42,080 --> 00:29:43,880 Speaker 3: I'm really tempted to do one right now, but I 477 00:29:43,920 --> 00:29:47,240 Speaker 3: don't want to make everyone in the studio uncomfortable, so 478 00:29:47,960 --> 00:29:53,200 Speaker 3: I'll move on. So, when it comes to breast cancer detection, 479 00:29:53,360 --> 00:29:57,520 Speaker 3: we've always heard that mammograms are the gold standard. However, 480 00:29:58,120 --> 00:30:01,360 Speaker 3: we've been seeing some news stories lately about mammograms potentially 481 00:30:01,400 --> 00:30:04,440 Speaker 3: missing early stages of breast cancer. Perhaps this has to 482 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:08,960 Speaker 3: do with the density of breast tissue. What factors contribute 483 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:12,200 Speaker 3: to a mammogram missing a diagnosis. 484 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:15,840 Speaker 1: Mammograms miss breast cancer largely due to density, so we 485 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:20,120 Speaker 1: grade density A through D season DS are dense as 486 00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,640 Speaker 1: and bs are not. It's simply a visual ratio of 487 00:30:23,680 --> 00:30:27,320 Speaker 1: the white, splotchy stuff to the dark gray stuff. The 488 00:30:27,720 --> 00:30:31,800 Speaker 1: denser your breast, the whiter your mammogram appears. And that's 489 00:30:31,840 --> 00:30:35,040 Speaker 1: a problem for two reasons. Number One, cancer is always white, 490 00:30:35,320 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 1: so now you're looking for a snowball in a snowstorm. 491 00:30:38,320 --> 00:30:42,960 Speaker 1: If you are graded C with your density, which has 492 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:47,920 Speaker 1: word correlates, so the c's are called heterogeneously dense on 493 00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:51,320 Speaker 1: the report, we will miss twenty five percent of breast 494 00:30:51,360 --> 00:30:56,160 Speaker 1: cancers when present. If you are D, called extremely dense 495 00:30:56,360 --> 00:30:59,320 Speaker 1: in word form on the report, we miss forty percent 496 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:03,080 Speaker 1: of breast cancer. Part two of that is not just 497 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:05,440 Speaker 1: that we miss the cancers, but you have more of 498 00:31:05,520 --> 00:31:09,360 Speaker 1: the stuff underneath your breast skin that actually makes cancer. 499 00:31:09,440 --> 00:31:12,800 Speaker 1: So the milk producing lobules and the hair thin little 500 00:31:12,880 --> 00:31:16,000 Speaker 1: ducks in there as opposed to fat and blood vessels 501 00:31:16,000 --> 00:31:19,440 Speaker 1: and connective tissue, etc. You have more of the stuff 502 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:22,600 Speaker 1: that makes cancer. That's what's making it white. So your 503 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:27,000 Speaker 1: higher risk to make a breast cancer versus the woman 504 00:31:27,080 --> 00:31:31,360 Speaker 1: with fattier, less dense breasts, and we are higher risks 505 00:31:31,440 --> 00:31:36,040 Speaker 1: to miss that cancer if you make one. Actually, a 506 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:39,840 Speaker 1: new national federal law went into effects September tenth, twenty 507 00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:42,840 Speaker 1: twenty four that mandates every single imaging facility in the 508 00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:47,040 Speaker 1: United States to report two women getting a mammogram whether 509 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:49,280 Speaker 1: or not their breasts are dense. They have to use 510 00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:53,920 Speaker 1: this extremely specific language. It's a cut and paste. It's 511 00:31:53,920 --> 00:31:57,800 Speaker 1: a uniform for every imaging center, and to paraphrase it, 512 00:31:57,800 --> 00:32:01,960 Speaker 1: it says, Hey, your mammograms fine, but your breasts are dense, 513 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: which means we could mis cancer. Good luck with that. 514 00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:09,720 Speaker 3: At least, you know, I got one of those after 515 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:10,960 Speaker 3: my mammogram, right. 516 00:32:11,040 --> 00:32:14,080 Speaker 1: It's very disconcerting, right because you're like, well, yeah, it is. 517 00:32:15,080 --> 00:32:16,400 Speaker 1: What did you do with that information? 518 00:32:16,680 --> 00:32:18,640 Speaker 3: You know, it's something that I've always known, just because 519 00:32:18,640 --> 00:32:20,360 Speaker 3: I've talked about it with my mom. My mom has 520 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,000 Speaker 3: the same thing. But I think it. You know, it's 521 00:32:23,040 --> 00:32:25,360 Speaker 3: got me on like a healthy high alert. I'd say, 522 00:32:25,360 --> 00:32:26,880 Speaker 3: it just makes me want to stay on top of 523 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:27,400 Speaker 3: it more. 524 00:32:27,640 --> 00:32:28,360 Speaker 1: Doctor funk. 525 00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:32,800 Speaker 2: I want to end on a positive note. There's been 526 00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:36,840 Speaker 2: so much new research out lately. What's an exciting development 527 00:32:36,920 --> 00:32:39,480 Speaker 2: or treatment that you've seen that's giving you hope for 528 00:32:39,560 --> 00:32:40,800 Speaker 2: better patient outcomes. 529 00:32:41,080 --> 00:32:46,440 Speaker 1: Immunotherapy, So when it comes to an existing breast cancer patient, 530 00:32:47,600 --> 00:32:52,240 Speaker 1: immunotherapy has become such an exciting new intervention and so 531 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:55,680 Speaker 1: successful in the advanced stage cancer patients that they are 532 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:59,440 Speaker 1: now using it in the early stages one and two 533 00:32:59,440 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 1: when they're diagnosed, because we know it'll improve their prognosis 534 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:07,760 Speaker 1: and dramatically decrease the chances that they deal with the recurrence. 535 00:33:08,760 --> 00:33:12,520 Speaker 1: And the second thing I think is exciting to me 536 00:33:12,960 --> 00:33:19,200 Speaker 1: is the awareness and openness of women at large to 537 00:33:19,320 --> 00:33:24,000 Speaker 1: the idea that they do have control over their health 538 00:33:24,080 --> 00:33:28,000 Speaker 1: destiny and in the context of this conversation, their breast 539 00:33:28,040 --> 00:33:33,400 Speaker 1: health density. I've created a campaign with the Physicians Committee 540 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:37,080 Speaker 1: for Responsible Medicine. It's called Let's Beat Breast Cancer dot org. 541 00:33:37,520 --> 00:33:40,560 Speaker 1: We have over fifty rallies across the country, their drum 542 00:33:40,720 --> 00:33:44,560 Speaker 1: rallies to beat the Drum to beat breast cancer, to 543 00:33:44,640 --> 00:33:48,600 Speaker 1: get communities excited. It's all about raising eyebrows and awareness, 544 00:33:48,640 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 1: not funds. And if you go to Let's Beat Breast 545 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:54,200 Speaker 1: Cancer dot org, we invite you to sign up for 546 00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:58,240 Speaker 1: free to accept this challenge that we put out there. 547 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:02,240 Speaker 1: To adopt a four approach to beating breast cancer, and 548 00:34:02,280 --> 00:34:05,200 Speaker 1: those four problems are to eat a plant based diet, 549 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:09,520 Speaker 1: to exercise regularly, to maintain ideal body weight, and to 550 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:12,960 Speaker 1: limit or eliminate alcohol. And as soon as you sign up, 551 00:34:13,000 --> 00:34:18,160 Speaker 1: we send you a free e starter kit and a 552 00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:24,200 Speaker 1: vegan cookbook that we've created specifically surrounding foods that maximize 553 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:28,440 Speaker 1: breast health and reduce occurrence and recurrence risk for breast cancer. 554 00:34:28,520 --> 00:34:31,800 Speaker 1: It's a really fun campaign and people get very excited 555 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:32,279 Speaker 1: about it. 556 00:34:32,560 --> 00:34:35,920 Speaker 3: That sounds awesome, Doctor Funk, Thank you so much for 557 00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:38,080 Speaker 3: sharing that. I just love the way that you approach 558 00:34:38,160 --> 00:34:40,719 Speaker 3: this whole topic. Even though I'm not gonna lie, part 559 00:34:40,760 --> 00:34:43,960 Speaker 3: of me is terrified after hearing everything you said. You 560 00:34:44,160 --> 00:34:46,680 Speaker 3: also did a wonderful job of putting my mind at 561 00:34:46,680 --> 00:34:49,920 Speaker 3: ease in terms of providing information and resources and options, 562 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:51,520 Speaker 3: because at the end of the day, it all comes 563 00:34:51,520 --> 00:34:55,399 Speaker 3: back to agency and as you mentioned, having agency over 564 00:34:55,440 --> 00:34:57,719 Speaker 3: our health destinies as much as we possibly can. 565 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:01,480 Speaker 2: Absolutely, Yeah, I feel really empowered by the information you shared. 566 00:35:01,560 --> 00:35:01,920 Speaker 2: Thank you. 567 00:35:02,160 --> 00:35:03,120 Speaker 1: Oh You're so welcome. 568 00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:05,359 Speaker 3: Thank you so much for joining us on the bright side, 569 00:35:05,400 --> 00:35:06,399 Speaker 3: Doctor Funk, Thanks for. 570 00:35:06,360 --> 00:35:06,879 Speaker 1: Having me. 571 00:35:09,280 --> 00:35:12,560 Speaker 2: Doctor Christy Funk is a Board certified breast cancer surgeon 572 00:35:12,640 --> 00:35:15,880 Speaker 2: and women's health advocate. She also runs the Pink Lotus 573 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:19,520 Speaker 2: Breast Center in Santa Monica, California, and is the author 574 00:35:19,600 --> 00:35:21,400 Speaker 2: of Bress, the Owner's Manual. 575 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:24,080 Speaker 3: Thank You to our partners at Cologard, the one of 576 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:26,440 Speaker 3: a kind way to screen for colon cancer in the 577 00:35:26,440 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 3: privacy and comfort of your own home. Talk to your 578 00:35:28,920 --> 00:35:31,439 Speaker 3: doctor or healthcare provider, or go to coliguard dot com 579 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,480 Speaker 3: slash podcast to see if you're eligible to order online. 580 00:35:34,800 --> 00:35:36,719 Speaker 3: If you're forty five or older in an average risk, 581 00:35:37,040 --> 00:35:40,160 Speaker 3: ask your healthcare provider about screening for colon cancer with Colguard. 582 00:35:40,320 --> 00:35:43,600 Speaker 3: You can also request a Colguard prescription today at coliguard 583 00:35:43,640 --> 00:35:52,200 Speaker 3: dot com slash podcast. That's it for today's show. Tomorrow, 584 00:35:52,280 --> 00:35:55,040 Speaker 3: we're talking confidence and self worth with the president of 585 00:35:55,080 --> 00:36:00,920 Speaker 3: Lorel Paris USA, Ali Goldstein. Join the conversation using hashtag 586 00:36:00,960 --> 00:36:03,600 Speaker 3: the bright Side and connect with us on social media 587 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:06,920 Speaker 3: at Hello Sunshine on Instagram and at the bright Side 588 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:09,839 Speaker 3: Pod on TikTok Oh, and feel free to tag us 589 00:36:09,920 --> 00:36:12,480 Speaker 3: at Simone Boye and at Danielle Robe. 590 00:36:13,080 --> 00:36:16,000 Speaker 2: Listen and follow The bright Side on the iHeartRadio, app, 591 00:36:16,080 --> 00:36:18,719 Speaker 2: Apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. 592 00:36:19,120 --> 00:36:28,680 Speaker 3: See you tomorrow, folks, keep looking on the bright side.