1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:04,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Willness, Sun Mass. I'm doctor Nicole Sapfire. This 2 00:00:04,760 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: is your weekly rundown. Well, we have a few things 3 00:00:07,560 --> 00:00:10,080 Speaker 1: to talk about today. I'm back from vacation, back in 4 00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:12,720 Speaker 1: the hospital, and I'm ready to update you on some 5 00:00:12,800 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: things that came out this week. First up, new reporting 6 00:00:15,880 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: shows coal rectal cancer is now the leading cause of 7 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,640 Speaker 1: cancer death in Americans under fifty. So let that sink 8 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:25,520 Speaker 1: in for a second. For decades, we thought of colon 9 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:28,400 Speaker 1: cancer as a disease of the older, of people who 10 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,520 Speaker 1: have aged, something to worry about later in life. That's 11 00:00:31,560 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: no longer true. What's especially concerning is that many of 12 00:00:35,080 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: these younger patients are being diagnosed late. Symptoms get brushed 13 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 1: off by patients but also sometimes by their doctors because 14 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,280 Speaker 1: I don't know, you're too young for colon cancer, right, 15 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,159 Speaker 1: That's what we think. That's what we hear, things like 16 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, unexplained anemia, fatigue greater than usual. 17 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:58,400 Speaker 1: I know we're all tired. These are not normal no 18 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:01,560 Speaker 1: matter what your age is. So here's the takeaway. I 19 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:05,240 Speaker 1: really want people to hear this early detection saves lives. 20 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:10,080 Speaker 1: If something feels off, trust your gut. Literally advocate for yourself. 21 00:01:10,520 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: This rise did not happen overnight, and it's not due 22 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:20,640 Speaker 1: to one single cause lifestyle, diet, inflammation, environment. It's all contributing, 23 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:24,960 Speaker 1: and it's complicated. Ignoring symptoms is something we can change 24 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,560 Speaker 1: right now. There is a reason that we are now 25 00:01:27,600 --> 00:01:31,319 Speaker 1: recommending people at average risk for colon cancer starting to 26 00:01:31,360 --> 00:01:34,440 Speaker 1: get screened at the age of forty five. No longer fifty, 27 00:01:34,640 --> 00:01:36,959 Speaker 1: No longer fifty five. And by the way, if you 28 00:01:37,080 --> 00:01:39,840 Speaker 1: have a family member who has had colon cancer, you 29 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,679 Speaker 1: may be eligible for screening even younger than forty five. 30 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 1: And by the way, I know colonoscopies, they don't sound fun. 31 00:01:46,440 --> 00:01:49,800 Speaker 1: We also have other screening tools. We have CT scans, 32 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: we have MRI scans. We also have fecal blood tests 33 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:55,640 Speaker 1: to see if there's any blood in your stool. So 34 00:01:56,080 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 1: don't let being afraid or the sound of a colonoscopy 35 00:01:58,800 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: scare you off. Early to detection saves lives, all right. 36 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:05,640 Speaker 1: So now let's shift to another topic. The NIH has 37 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 1: announced it will no longer fund research using fetal tissue 38 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:14,280 Speaker 1: from elective abortions. Is a huge win for conservative advocates. Now, 39 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:17,239 Speaker 1: this is a significant change and it's one that obviously 40 00:02:17,280 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 1: sits at the intersection of science, ethics, politics, religion. It 41 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: encompasses it all. Supporters argue that modern alternatives like organoids 42 00:02:26,680 --> 00:02:31,160 Speaker 1: and lab engineered tissue models make fetal tissue unnecessary, and 43 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:36,160 Speaker 1: that taxpayer dollars should reflect these ethical boundaries. Now, critics 44 00:02:36,200 --> 00:02:39,079 Speaker 1: on the other side worry that cutting off this research 45 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:43,680 Speaker 1: might slow progress in certain areas where fetal tissue historically 46 00:02:43,720 --> 00:02:47,160 Speaker 1: has helped advance treatments. Now, here's why this matters to you. 47 00:02:47,960 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: Policy decisions they shape the science that gets done. Research 48 00:02:52,000 --> 00:02:55,360 Speaker 1: doesn't exist in a vacuum. What we fund determines what 49 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:59,000 Speaker 1: questions get answered and how quickly. So what is my 50 00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:01,840 Speaker 1: opinion on this? That's a really good question. Human fetal 51 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: tissue played a role primarily in the mid twentieth century research, 52 00:03:06,600 --> 00:03:11,280 Speaker 1: especially for understanding human development, developing early vaccines, and studying 53 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:16,080 Speaker 1: how certain viruses can infect human cells. Most vaccine manufacturing 54 00:03:16,080 --> 00:03:20,480 Speaker 1: today do not require ongoing feetal tissue, and they usually 55 00:03:20,600 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 1: use immortalized cell lines that were either created decades ago 56 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,200 Speaker 1: so not new tissue, or they use some of their 57 00:03:27,200 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: biologic Today. In modern medicine, there still is a direct 58 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:35,800 Speaker 1: reliance on newly obtained fietal tissue. But it's very, very 59 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:40,480 Speaker 1: limited because most research has shifted to using adult stem cells, 60 00:03:41,120 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: other sorts of stem cells, organoids which are essentially little 61 00:03:44,240 --> 00:03:47,840 Speaker 1: mini organs grown in a lab, animal models, and that's right, 62 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:52,320 Speaker 1: computer modeling and AI driven simulations. So for many of 63 00:03:52,360 --> 00:03:56,080 Speaker 1: the areas like cancer, heart health, brain health, infectious disease, 64 00:03:56,160 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: all of that, they have already moved past using human 65 00:03:59,400 --> 00:04:03,119 Speaker 1: field tissue and it's really just no longer essential at all. 66 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: So before everybody gets all worked up and everyone's huffing 67 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: and puffing and posting on social media, why don't we say, 68 00:04:09,520 --> 00:04:10,880 Speaker 1: you know what, maybe this should have been done a 69 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:13,520 Speaker 1: while ago. Let's not make this political. Why don't we 70 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:16,120 Speaker 1: just celebrate the fact that we continue to advance in 71 00:04:16,160 --> 00:04:18,320 Speaker 1: modern medicine. I see this as a big win, and 72 00:04:18,360 --> 00:04:22,000 Speaker 1: maybe it's overdue. Lastly, the US has officially completed its 73 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:24,920 Speaker 1: withdrawal from the World Health Organization. Now, for some people 74 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,280 Speaker 1: this may have been long overdue. Now it's more than 75 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,839 Speaker 1: just bureaucratic drama, because there can be some consequences. But 76 00:04:33,560 --> 00:04:36,880 Speaker 1: we have to remember the who played a major role, 77 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: not just in global disease surveillance, that's what they're tasked 78 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:43,320 Speaker 1: with doing. But let's also remember what happened during COVID. 79 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:47,320 Speaker 1: They were complicit when it came to allowing the virus 80 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:51,920 Speaker 1: to go unchecked throughout China and Taiwan. Even after people 81 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: were sounding the alarm. You had whistleblowers come forth, but 82 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:59,400 Speaker 1: the World Health Organization essentially were in cahoots, it felt like, 83 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:01,520 Speaker 1: with the Chin and He's Communist Party at that time, 84 00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:05,040 Speaker 1: to ensuring that this news did not get out because 85 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,080 Speaker 1: it would have been poorly reflected upon when it came 86 00:05:08,120 --> 00:05:11,799 Speaker 1: to China. I wrote an entire chapter on this topic, 87 00:05:11,920 --> 00:05:15,120 Speaker 1: the World Health Organization and how not only how they 88 00:05:15,160 --> 00:05:19,800 Speaker 1: responded with COVID, but the tumultuous history of the WAJOE 89 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:22,520 Speaker 1: in my book Panic Attack. That's all the time we 90 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:24,600 Speaker 1: have for today's weekly rundown. But if you want to 91 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:27,320 Speaker 1: really do a deep dive into some of the history 92 00:05:27,320 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: of the World Health Organization and why I'm okay with 93 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:34,600 Speaker 1: this shakeup happening right now with the US funding, you 94 00:05:34,600 --> 00:05:37,880 Speaker 1: can just check out Panic Attack. Health isn't siloed everyone. 95 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,320 Speaker 1: Let's remember what happens globally does affect us locally. So 96 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:44,000 Speaker 1: while I don't want to completely severtize with the World 97 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:47,360 Speaker 1: Health Organization. It's okay that we're taking a strong stance 98 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:49,960 Speaker 1: because they have certainly failed us. Thanks so much for 99 00:05:50,040 --> 00:05:53,440 Speaker 1: listening to Wellness Unmasks. I'm doctor Nicole Saffire. Make sure 100 00:05:53,480 --> 00:05:57,000 Speaker 1: to listen to Wellness Unmasked on iHeartRadio, Apple Podcasts, or 101 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:00,160 Speaker 1: wherever you get your podcasts, and I'll see you next week.