#but statistically they said I have a low chance of getting breast cancer something with the way genes are passed down

[1-ufo]

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[didanawisgi]

China's push to control Americans' health care future

U.S. officials say the Chinese government is trying to collect Americans' DNA, and they believe a recent offer from a Chinese company for assistance in COVID-19 testing was suspicious. Jon Wertheim reports.

For all the polarization that grips Washington, here's a source of rare consensus: the emerging threat of China's push to acquire our health care data, including the DNA of American citizens. U.S. officials tell us the communist regime's aggressive collection of our most personal information presents a danger both to national security and our economy. As alarm bells ring across agencies, parties, and presidential administrations, different branches of government have taken action over the past year to stem the tide of our medical data flowing to China. The quest to control our biodata – and, in turn, control health care's future – has become the new space race, with more than national pride in the balance. Our investigation begins with an unsolicited and surprising proposal that came from overseas at the onset of the COVID crisis.

Early last March, the state of Washington was the site of the first major coronavirus outbreak in the U.S. As COVID rates and the need for tests were spiking, BGI Group, the world's largest biotech firm - a global giant based in China - approached the state of Washington with an enticing offer.

In a strikingly personal letter to the governor, BGI proposed to build and help run state-of-the-art COVID testing labs. BGI would quote "provide technical expertise," provide "high throughput sequencers" and even "make additional donations."

It seemed like an offer the state couldn't refuse, especially given the desperate need. But officials were suspicious about BGI and its connections to the Chinese government.

Bill Evanina: They are the ultimate company that shows connectivity to both the communist state as well as the military apparatus.

Bill Evanina recently stepped down as the top counterintelligence official in the U.S., a veteran of both the FBI and CIA. He was so concerned by BGI's COVID testing proposals, and who would ultimately get the data, that he authorized a rare public warning: "Foreign powers can collect, store and exploit biometric information from covid tests."

Bill Evanina: We put out an advisory to not only every American, but to hospitals, associations, and clinics. Knowing that BGI is a Chinese company, do we understand where that data's going?

Jon Wertheim: Tens of millions Americans getting COVID tests this year, you don't think a lot of them are thinking, "Boy, where is this data going, what third party's involved in this?"

Bill Evanina: I would proffer no one's thinking that. But this shows the nefarious mindset of the Communist Party of China, to take advantage of a worldwide crisis like COVID.

Evanina suspects these lab offers are modern-day Trojan horses. BGI comes to the U.S. bearing gifts, but harboring other motives. It's unclear whether BGI, or any COVID tester, would get DNA from nasal swabs, he says, but the labs are a way to establish a foothold, to bring their equipment here, start mining your data, and set up shop in your neighborhood.

Edward You: You have to take a step back and ask yourself who has access to that data.

Supervisory Special Agent Edward You is a former biochemist turned FBI investigator.

Edward You: And with that, there's a very uncomfortable truth that comes out, that in the last decade or so, you'll see that China has heavily invested, through the purchase or acquisition of actual companies, access to our data.

Jon Wertheim: If the question is where is this data going, all roads lead to China?

Edward You: They are the biggest player right now.

The authoritarian government of China and its leader Xi Jinping have been boldly open about their ambitions to beat the west and reap the benefits of advances in DNA science and technology. The communist regime even has a published manifesto with a catchy name.

Edward You: They have something called Made in China 2025. And in these national strategies, they absolutely call out wanting to be the dominant leader in this biological age. So wanting to be the leader and being able to develop vaccines, precision medicine.  

For all the classified briefings about China that Bill Evanina received, the threat really hit home when he called home.  

Bill Evanina: This is the argument I would have with my dad. Is ten years from now-- my dad gets a phone call and is told, "Hey, by the way, we understand you're gonna develop hypertension. And you're on the verge of Parkinson's. Here are three medicines you should take moving forward to help alleviate some of the symptoms." My dad's gonna be like, "Well, how do they know this?" And the company's from China. Because they've already micro-targeted my dad based upon his DNA. And my dad says, "Okay, (CLAP) I'll do it."

Jon Wertheim: The devil's advocate argument would say, "Listen, if you're able to pinpoint something in my DNA, I'll sign up for that."

Bill Evanina: That's exactly what my dad said. (LAUGH) So my argument is, to him, from a long-term existential cost to our nation, do we want to do that? Do we wanna have another nation systematically eliminate our health care services? Are we okay with that as a nation? If we are as a nation, then so be it. But that's what's happening.

Our dependence on China during COVID - for PPE, for masks - will pale in comparison to our potential health care dependence going forward, according to Edward You of the FBI.

Edward You: What happens if we realize that all of our future drugs, our future vaccines, future health care are all completely dependent upon a foreign source? If we don't wake up, we'll realize one day we've just become health care crack addicts and someone like China has become our pusher.

Jon Wertheim: Health care crack addicts, you say?

Edward You: Right. If they're in a position to be able to offer you personalized, effective, low-cost health care, would we be in a position to say no, I don't think so?

Jon Wertheim: How close are we to that?

Edward You: I don't know how close we are, but I can feel it breathing down our neck.

Jon Wertheim: This sounds a little xenophobic. I mean, if China is the industry leader here, why wouldn't you do business with them?

Edward You: Well, at the end of the day, it's not about the Chinese people. It's about the Chinese government.

He says China's government understands that their future success hinges on accumulating large amounts of human DNA.

Edward You: They are building out a huge domestic database. And if they are now able to supplement that with data from all around the world, it's all about who gets the largest, most diverse data set. And so, the ticking time bomb is that once they're able to achieve true artificial intelligence, then they're off to the races in what they can do with that data.

Jon Wertheim: You're saying biggest data set wins?

Edward You: Correct.

Think of DNA as the ultimate treasure map, a kind of double-helixed chart containing the code for traits ranging from our eye color to our susceptibility to certain diseases. If you have 10,000 DNA samples, scientists could possibly isolate the genetic markers in the DNA associated with, say, breast cancer. But if you have 10 million samples, your statistical chances of finding the markers improve dramatically, which is why China wants to get so much of it.

Edward You: It is one-sided, though. China passed a law last year. The Chinese government has absolutely clamped down on any access to their biological data or their biological samples. So it is a one-way street.

Jon Wertheim: So, their data's not leaving China but they're sucking it in from all over the world?

Edward You: Right.

It's not just DNA, according to Bill Evanina. He and his colleagues have been tracking China as the country uses less-than-honorable methods to vacuum up all sorts of data from outside their borders.

Bill Evanina: They do it both legitimately and illegitimately. They steal some data, but they're very strategic in how they acquire it from around the world.

Jon Wertheim: You're saying at least in some cases, China's hacking to get this information.

Bill Evanina: China is number one in the world at any kind of hacking capability, and they're brazen about it.

In December, John Ratcliffe, then the director of national intelligence, went so far as to name China as the number one national security threat to America, citing specifically, their theft of data and technology.

Bill Evanina: You have probably five or six health care companies the last five years who have been, I would say, penetrated, exfiltrated, hacked by China.

Jon Wertheim: What's the likelihood you and I have been hacked by China?

Bill Evanina: 110%.

Jon Wertheim: Personal data?

Bill Evanina: Personal data. Current estimates are that 80% of American adults have had all of their personally identifiable information stolen by the Communist Party of China.

The concern is that the Chinese regime is taking all that information about us - what we eat, how we live, when we exercise and sleep - and then combining it with our DNA data. With information about heredity and environment, suddenly they know more about us than we know about ourselves and, bypassing doctors, China can target us with treatments and medicine we don't even know we need.

Edward You: Think about the dawn of-- the Internet of Things and the 5G networks and the-- and smart homes and smart cities. There are going to be sensors everywhere. It's gonna be tracking your movement, your behavior, your habits. And ultimately, it's gonna have a biological application, meaning that based on the data that gets collected, they'll be able to analyze that and look at improving your health. That data becomes incredibly relevant and very, very valuable.

Jon Wertheim: You're describing data almost as-- as a commodity.

Edward You: Data is absolutely gonna be the new oil.

All this may sound like a premise for a dystopian futuristic science fiction movie, but U.S. government officials say the picture gets even scarier given how China is already using DNA strategically against its own citizens today.

Sophie Richardson: These are some of the most serious abuses that the Chinese government has committed in modern history.

Sophie Richardson, director of the China program for Human Rights Watch, says China has rounded up more than a million Uyghurs, Chinese citizens who are a Muslim minority, and jailed them in camps. The U.S. government calls this a crime against humanity.

Sophie Richardson: They're being subjected to political indoctrination. They can't use their own language. They're not allowed to worship. Those people are highly restricted in how they can live their lives.

Jon Wertheim: This is a population under constant surveillance?

Sophie Richardson: Yeah. It's-- it's a region that's awash in surveillance technology, ranging from, you know, facial recognition software, surveillance cameras, data doors, Wi-Fi sniffers.

Part of the social control includes the forced collection of DNA. Under the guise of free physicals for Uyghurs, Richardson says China is actually collecting DNA and other biometric data that's then used specifically to identify people, target other family members and refine facial recognition software. And those, national security officials say, are just the uses we know about.  

In response to the Uyghur repression, last July, the U.S. Department of Commerce sanctioned two subsidiaries of a Chinese biotech company. That company? BGI, the same one offering Washington state the COVID testing lab.  

Edward You: Those companies were identified to have been facilitating the collection of genetic information of ethnic Uyghurs. If anything, that should serve as a warning signal for all of us that that is potentially what can happen if our data gets out of our hands, how it could be used.

It's not a coincidence BGI is involved in the Uyghur crisis given the company's close relationship with the communist regime. In 2010, after receiving $1.5 billion from China's government, BGI was able to expand dramatically.

Bill Evanina: They're monstrous. They have contracts with over 60 countries globally to provide not only genomic sequencing, but also to provide analytics.

Jon Wertheim: They say, "We're a private company." Are they?

Bill Evanina: There's no such thing as a private company in the Communist Party of China.

Under a series of laws unthinkable in western democracies, Chinese companies like BGI are obligated to share data with the Chinese regime. It's as if, say, Google, Amazon and Facebook had to turn over their data to the CIA, on demand.

Jon Wertheim: So you're trying to tell me that the Chinese government, whether it's biotech or-- they can say, "Hey, we want your information. Please provide it."

Bill Evanina: Absolutely. You must provide any and all data that's asked for by the Communist Party in China. Which, the scary part is, sometimes it's not all their data. If you are in a joint partnership, a joint venture, their data is now susceptible to go to the Chinese Communist Party.

As BGI touts on its own website, the company has been steadily developing partnerships with hospitals and biotech companies inside the United States, giving BGI — and by extension, the Chinese government — potential access to our DNA data, sequencing technology and analytics.

Jon Wertheim: How does BGI partner with U.S. companies?

Bill Evanina: So they do it, first of all, with money. So investment. I wanna invest $10 million, $20 million, $80 million in your company. Every company says yes, come on in. At the same time they're gonna have an unwritten rule that they're gonna be able to take that data and your sequencing capabilities. And what they don't know is China's keepin' it and they're givin' you a copy back.

BGI declined our request for an interview and said in a statement, "the notion that the genomic data of American citizens is in any way compromised through the activities of BGI in the U.S. is groundless." They said they are "a private organization" founded "to benefit human health and wellbeing."

Remember BGI's proposal to build COVID labs for the state of Washington? 60 Minutes learned that the company made similar proposals to more than five other states, including New York and California…. And, after federal officials warned against partnering with BGI, each state said no to BGI's labs.

It's not just China that's recognized what a valuable commodity your DNA can be. As you'll hear: some of the fastest-growing U.S. tech companies are in this space, as well. In fact, you may have already surrendered your DNA by spitting in a tube.

[podcastdx]

HPV Human Papilloma Virus

TRANSCRIPT

Jean: [00:00:16] Hello and welcome to PodcastDX. The show that brings you interviews with people just like you whose lives were forever changed by a diagnosis. [00:00:24][8.7]

Lita: [00:00:26] I'm Lita. [00:00:26][0.2]

Ron: [00:00:27] I'm Ron. [00:00:27][0.2]

Jean: [00:00:28] And I'm Jean Marie. [00:00:28][0.5]

Lita: [00:00:29] Collectively we are the hosts of podcast dx. This podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice diagnosis or treatment. Always ask the advice of your physician or other qualified health care provider for any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment and before undertaking any new health care regimen never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on this podcast. [00:01:03][33.6]

Lita: [00:01:05] On Today's podcast We are going to be talking about the human papilloma virus. And the FDA approved. HPV. Vaccines HPV. [00:01:14][8.9]

Jean: [00:01:18] (sing-song-rap) Are you down on HPV? [00:01:18][-0.1]

Lita: [00:01:19] (sing-song-rap) Yeah! You know me! [00:01:19][0.1]

Ron: [00:01:19] (clears throat) Ok Then. I've heard this a lot but. Please tell me what. Does HPV stand for? [00:01:24][5.2]

Jean: [00:01:25] HPV stands for human papilloma virus. And there are over actually 200 viruses that are considered to be HPV. Viruses. According to the Centers for Disease Control. About a quarter of the population currently have HPV infection and nine out of 10 individuals will get an HPV infection at some point in their life. [00:01:46][21.2]

Lita: [00:01:47] And most cases of the infection are taken care of by the body's own immune system, right? [00:01:51][4.4]

Jean: [00:01:51] That's right. Some HPV infections though can lead to cancer later in life. [00:01:57][6.0]

Ron: [00:01:58] Well how does somebody get an HPV infection? [00:02:00][2.3]

Jean: [00:02:00] Typically through skin to skin contact. According to research. Some studies actually suggest that HPV could. Even be spread through something as simple as a French kiss. But it's the skin to skin contact. [00:02:13][12.3]

Ron: [00:02:14] Well. Why is that such a concern? [00:02:16][2.0]

Jean: [00:02:17] Studies have shown that it. In HPV infection and can lead to cancer. Including cancer of the throat tongue. Tonsils. Cervix the bulldog vagina. Anus. And. An HPV infection can also lead to warts. On the body. And non cancerous tumors. Of the respiratory tract which can interfere with breathing. [00:02:37][20.0]

Ron: [00:02:38] Well is there anything we can do to reduce our chances of getting an infection. [00:02:42][3.7]

Lita: [00:02:43] Absolutely. There are three preventative vaccines currently. Gardasil, Gardasil 9, And. Server. They're all approved by the CDC. The vaccine can actually help prevent future HPV related illnesses and cancer. [00:03:01][18.4]

Jean: [00:03:02] And right now in the U.S. Gardasil 9 is the vaccine that's being given. [00:03:07][5.2]

Lita: [00:03:08] OK. Well, it just surprised me that according to the Mayo Clinic the vaccines can actually protect against cervical cancer. [00:03:16][7.6]

Jean: [00:03:17] That's right. [00:03:17][0.2]

Lita: [00:03:18] And then, I don't know is there a link between HPV and breast cancer. [00:03:21][3.3]

Jean: [00:03:22] There's still research that's being done on that. But we've seen a possible link between HPV and breast cancer. [00:03:26][4.4]

Ron: [00:03:29] Well who should get the HPV Vaccination. [00:03:31][1.7]

Jean: [00:03:32] Right now. The CDC recommends that males and females between the ages of 9 and 14 years of age should receive two vaccinations. So they receive one vaccination and then receive the second vaccination approximately six months later. Those between the ages of 15 and 26. Will actually receive. Three vaccination doses. So they'll receive one. Vaccination. Two months later something one in six months after that they'll receive the third vaccination. But you should always consult. Your health care provider to see which that the definition schedule. Would work best for you. [00:04:06][34.1]

Ron: [00:04:07] OK then. Is there anyone that shouldn't get the vaccine? [00:04:11][3.5]

Lita: [00:04:12] You should probably discuss your concerns and any concerns that you have. Regarding the HPV vaccine with a qualified physician. The CDC warns that some individuals with a severe life threatening allergic reaction to any of the components in an HPV vaccine should not get vaccinated for HPV. [00:04:32][19.6]

Jean: [00:04:33] Just like when you're going to get a flu vaccine they ask you if you have any allergies for that kind of thing, that flu vaccination. And if you are pregnant, Allergic to yeast, are suffering from any serious illnesses. You should always consult your physician before getting vaccinated. They don't recommend pregnant women, or people with severe allergies to yeast, get vaccinated with a HPV vaccine. Or if you had a reaction in the past to another vaccine or to any HPV vaccine. [00:05:01][27.7]

Lita: [00:05:01] Right. Well that's often how they say always consult your physician before getting vaccinated for where they think they're going to get their getting vaccinated. Where do they think they're going to get them? They are getting vaccinated at the physician. they've got to consultant them!. [00:05:12][11.1]

Jean: [00:05:13] Over the past 11 years there's actually been a hundred million doses of the HPV vaccine distributed in the U.S. alone! [00:05:21][7.2]

Ron: [00:05:22] What are some of the possible side effects of the HPV vaccine. [00:05:25][3.6]

Jean: [00:05:26] Well I'm glad you asked according to the vaccine. Adverse Event Reporting System which is where. Any side effects for a vaccination are reported the most frequently reported side effects are those that you would expect with any injection. So. These would include but not limited to fainting, headaches, Dizziness, nausea, feve, and pain and possible discoloration or inflamation at the injection site. So if whenever possible you should be seated before you get vaccinated. And if you feel dizzy. Then you want to remain seated. [00:05:58][31.9]

Lita: [00:06:00] But those arent really bad side effects. I mean, when you think that you're preventing a certain type of cancer. [00:06:05][5.5]

Jean: [00:06:06] Well, you're you're helping to prevent it. [00:06:08][2.1]

Lita: [00:06:08] Right. [00:06:08][0.0]

Jean: [00:06:09] Right. [00:06:09][0.0]

Lita: [00:06:09] I mean that's certainly worth it. [00:06:11][1.6]

Jean: [00:06:11] Right. In the time that we're reporting this the only HPV vaccination like we said that's administered in the U.S. right now is Gardasil nine. It covers more of the human papilloma virus. And as of December. 2017 . Of the twenty nine million doses of Gardasil nine. There were only seven thousand or just over seven thousand reported adverse events. And about three percent of those. Seven thousand events were actually considered serious in nature. [00:06:42][30.7]

Lita: [00:06:43] No not really a bad statistic. [00:06:45][1.5]

Jean: [00:06:46] No and if you can help prevent. Future incidents of cancer then I think it's well worth asking your physician about a human papilloma virus for you. Or your kid. [00:06:55][9.4]

Ron: [00:06:57] I do have a question though. Where it is about 3 percent were considered serious. What is considered serious? [00:07:02][5.1]

Jean: [00:07:03] Anything that. Requires. Sustained. Medical intervention or has sustaining effects. On your medical condition. So having a slight fever that goes away without being serious. Having a slight dizzy spell at the time of the vaccination I did not consider it serious. But if there is a serious reaction to what actually. Of those. Vaccinations. Of the. Millions and millions of vaccinations that were distributed. There were. Some concerns about a. Link between that and the Guillean Barr syndrome. But it's a very rare disease that damages. Your immune system starts to damage from nerve cells having muscle weakness and perhaps paralysis. But. Out of the. Millions of vaccinations. Only four. There only four reports of GBS. So I think that's still a rather low. Statistic. Or Statistics. [00:07:59][56.6]

Lita: [00:08:01] Yes kind of heard you when you're trying to cover so many different people. Somebody different people are going to have different infection. You can't cover everything that they're doing your best. [00:08:11][10.5]

Jean: [00:08:12] Right. And they said too that. A number of the. Incidents may have been the result of. An error where the vaccine was not stored properly or vaccination was given to someone who should not have received the vaccination. [00:08:24][12.5]

Lita: [00:08:25] So they might have been allergic to use. Like you were saying it was and didnt to the vaccine right. [00:08:30][4.5]

Ron: [00:08:30] So all in all it sounds like the benefits far outweigh. Any any of the adverse effects we could get from the vaccine. [00:08:37][6.2]

Jean: [00:08:37] I know. I was. In that age bracket or if I had children of that age I would certainly recommend that they receive a human papillomavirus vaccine. [00:08:46][8.5]

Lita: [00:08:46] Is this something that pediatricians are recommending to do. [00:08:49][2.5]

Jean: [00:08:49] Yes. The CDC has recommended as well. [00:08:51][1.8]

Lita: [00:08:52] I mean I haven't really heard too much about it. So you were kind of surprised by whether you brought it up and we were able to talk about it today. Thank you very much Jean. [00:09:01][8.9]

Jean: [00:09:01] No problem. I think most of the advertising been directed at the younger generation. [00:09:07][5.4]

Lita: [00:09:08] OK. Well that explains it. I dont listen to that. [00:09:10][2.3]

Jean: [00:09:13] M and M, And Nick at night. [00:09:14][0.8]

Lita: [00:09:14] No, Im on a different channel completly. [00:09:16][2.1]

Ron: [00:09:16] . Well that was definitely a very interesting. Conversation. I think I learned quite a bit myself. [00:09:25][8.7]

Lita: [00:09:26] I did too. Good topic Thank you. [00:09:27][1.3]

Jean: [00:09:28] Thank you. [00:09:28][0.3]

Lita: [00:09:28] Continuing with today's topic we will be interviewing Courtney Miller who is an integrative nutrition health coach. Courtney believes strongly in empowering women who have HPV to work on their diet to boost their immune systems which in turn helps fight HPV naturally. Courtney's book HPV free will be released on April 22nd on Amazon. There are approximately 15 million new cases of HPV every year in the US. As we discussed earlier there are many different types of HPV subtypes can cause health problems including genital warts and cancers. [00:10:11][42.7]

Lita: [00:10:13] Hello Courtney and thank you for joining us today. [00:10:15][1.2]

Coutrney: [00:10:16] Thank you so much for having me, it's My pleasure. [00:10:18][1.6]

Lita: [00:10:21] I understand that you have been diagnosed with HPV and found the strength and determination to assist others in fighting it through the holistic medicine approach including diet? [00:10:30][9.7]

Coutrney: [00:10:30] Yeah that's correct. I've actually had a long journey with HPV. My journey started back in 2010 when I was originally diagnosed with HPV and at the time I didn't know much about the disease or the virus at all. [00:10:49][18.5]

Lita: [00:10:50] Sure,. [00:10:50][0.0]

[00:10:51] And so I went off of you know what my doctor said which was just to wait and see. So I went ahead and went home and passed by a year and went back and from that point on it had changed into cervical dysplasia. And so I went on you know kind of long journey with trying to figure out what to do with that. A doctor would recommend a Leep the Leep is just a laser that kind of cuts in the narrow edges of the cervix to remove any of the mutated cells. I did go ahead and get a Leep and after that experience I went back and got tested and the dysplasia had returned actually worse than before and the doctors offered me another Leep. [00:11:33][42.6]

Lita: [00:11:34] Oh. [00:11:34][0.0]

Coutrney: [00:11:35] And when it was about that point when they were just offering me a second sleep and I just knew something else could be done here. So I started doing a bit of my own research and really started to learn how the body's immune system has the ability to heal this virus and what we can do to help boost our immune system so that the body has a better chance of clearing the virus and mutated cells of the cervix. [00:12:01][25.6]

Lita: [00:12:02] And thats how you got into the Integrative Nutrition portion of your career. [00:12:09][7.0]

Coutrney: [00:12:10] Correct, Yeah. So it was at that point that I started doing research and I really realized how important our diet is and how our body works and how our body is able to heal itself oftentimes when you go to the doctor they just tell you to wait and see which doesn't feel very empowering at all. [00:12:26][16.3]

Lita: [00:12:27] Right. [00:12:27][0.0]

Coutrney: [00:12:27] Really it's kind of more or more like the wait and worry approach you go home and you freak out and you're stressed out and you think of all the worst case scenarios. And when we do that we actually put our body into a state of stress and when we're in that state of stress our immune system is actually weakened. So I really want to reach out to other women to help empower them that they can do something to you know you can take that six months and you can make some changes to your diet you can improve your lifestyle and improve your chances of clearing the virus. So it's you know it was four years after that point after I refused that second Leep, that I did research I read every book I could find. I scoured the internet for articles and kind of put together my own prescription of what I was going to do to take care of myself. And a big part of that was my diet. It was mostly a whole food plant based diet. I didn't go strictly vegetarian or strictly paleo I don't really like to fit into one box. But I tried to eat healthy and listen to my body and I think that's the most important part you know using your body as a guide to know what you should be eating. You know for me I still included small amounts of meat and dairy for other people dairy doesn't work well with their system and it's better if they you know cut it out completely. [00:13:52][85.0]

Jean: [00:13:54] IWho knows you better than you. [00:13:55][0.9]

Coutrney: [00:13:55] Exactly exactly. So there was a lot of experimenting along the way. You know I would keep changing it up keep reading more trying new things but also trying to keep it simple. You know I think a lot of times we get caught up on looking for one pill or one supplement or you know one quick fix. And to me I knew if I was going to heal that I had to do an overhaul of my entire lifestyle and really look at not only diet but also the way I was living my life you know the way I was spending my time how I interacted with, you know, the people around me how I interacted in stressful situations all of those I think, play an important role in the healing process. [00:14:40][44.8]

Jean: [00:14:41] Sure it sounds like a very holistic approach and actually it gave you some control in this situation as well. [00:14:48][7.0]

Lita: [00:14:48] Don't you wish the doctors had the same insight. I mean it seems like what you're saying makes perfect sense. [00:14:55][6.1]

Jean: [00:14:55] Well I think integrative health and that whole approach maybe, you know, that's coming more into, I don't want to say, into fashion, . But yeah the whole integrative health approach is definitely in line with what you're saying Courtney. And it sounds like. [00:15:10][15.3]

Coutrney: [00:15:11] Right. [00:15:11][0.0]

Jean: [00:15:11] An amazing amount of work on this. [00:15:13][1.4]

Lita: [00:15:14] Yes. And you're staying so positive and and now besides helping yourself get through this you're also helping others by being a. coach. so do you actually work one on one with these people in the studio or gym or is the training done remotely. Tell us a little bit about the career that you chose. [00:15:33][19.6]

Coutrney: [00:15:35] Yes I've done most of my training remotely. I find actually women feel a little more comfortable to open up about such a delicate situation when we're on the phone. You know it's a little easier rather than face to face. Just talk to someone openly though. Often oftentimes I find remotely worked really well. And then that way it's fading you know both me and the client time from having to meet at a certain location. You can meet with me wherever you are. You can meet with me in your pajamas if you'd like. [00:16:05][30.0]

Lita: [00:16:05] (laughter) [00:16:05][0.0]

Coutrney: [00:16:06] You know I just want to make sure you know you're comfortable and so usually do one on ones. And as I started doing that more health coaching I realized that doing just one on one was really limiting my reach. I started seeing there's only so many clients you can work with one on one you know in any given amount of time. [00:16:26][19.4]

Jean: [00:16:27] Exactly. You're only one person. [00:16:29][2.0]

Lita: [00:16:30] Maybe clone yourself. [00:16:30][0.1]

Coutrney: [00:16:30] So yeah. Exactly. [00:16:31][0.6]

Coutrney: [00:16:32] But until then I tried to look at how I could expand my reach. So what I've shifted to doing is writing this book and spending more time on getting the knowledge out there to more women. And I'm still operating like one hour empowerment sessions to help boost and jumpstart your healing journey. But other than that I'm really looking at ways that I can connect with more women and really get the information out there to more women. So I'm trying to do more with the book now and looking to actually next year release some E courses online that women can work through at their own pace. [00:17:11][39.1]

Lita: [00:17:12] That sounds great. [00:17:13][0.6]

Jean: [00:17:13] Yeah you can definitely reach the masses. [00:17:15][1.7]

Lita: [00:17:16] Right now I know that you've done a lot of research since you were diagnosed with HPV but you can remember back to when the doctors first inform you. Did you know what to expect back then. [00:17:27][10.8]

Coutrney: [00:17:27] Absolutely not. Like many other women I think I was confused scared overwhelmed. I had a lot of questions and not a lot of answers no to a lot of the doctors HPV is so common that I was just another woman with HPV. But to me it you know it was affecting my whole life and my whole world and I had a lot of questions even if I didn't know what those questions were or what to even ask at first. So I didn't know what to think. And I had seen a couple different doctors and kind of got some differing differing opinions. You know one doctor told me that the virus would stay in my body forever while the other doctor told me that it would clear on its own. Either way I felt really powerless like there was nothing I could do or at least that's kind of how I felt after I left the doctor's office originally. Just like there's not much I can do I just have to wait and see what happens. And that I think is a problem with the health care system I think we should empower women if we're doing nothing but waiting and seeing in that six month we should take a look and see what what it is that we can do. So at first I had no idea I really had to do my own research on my own and what I learned is just to take notes to write things down to ask questions and to actually hold the doctors responsible to answer your questions and in doing that I felt a lot more empowered and more in control of my own situation and more in control of my own health care plan. And I think that was actually a big part of the healing process too when we're not sitting by as just a you know a patients you know we're not just a bystander to our own health care plan but take charge of it. We have a better chance of healing. [00:19:20][112.9]

Lita: [00:19:21] That's really amazing. You have the best outlook of anyone that I have ever met. [00:19:27][5.8]

Jean: [00:19:27] And it's very exciting that you can get your book is just coming it's just a matter of days and we can really that is a source of empowerment than anything. I just I'm very excited for you and I'm excited for all of us women out there every now have this resource available to say. [00:19:46][18.6]

Coutrney: [00:19:46] Yeah I'm pretty excited about it too. [00:19:48][2.3]

Coutrney: [00:19:49] I definitely put my heart and my soul into this book. I tried to keep it short and sweet and inspiring not overwhelming you with all of the information on HPV or specific diets that you should follow but getting you excited about being in charge of your own health care plan and starting to take action and showing you ways that you can take a little step that might add up to make a big difference when you go back for your next pap smear and say six months or a year. There's a lot you can do in that time to really change it. So I've tried to capture that in the book which comes out this Sunday the 22nd. And for those first three days I'm actually offering the book completely free so that Sunday Monday and Tuesday go to Amazon download the book app free to me it's really just more important to get that information out there get women inspired to do something about their health and get them taking action so that they feel more in control that they can make informed decisions about what to do next. In a seemingly overwhelming and sometimes scary situation. [00:20:54][65.3]

Lita: [00:20:55] Sure in and the title of your book again is HPV Free? [00:20:57][2.5]

Coutrney: [00:20:59] Correct. HPV free a holistic approach to boost the immune system and clear the infection naturally. [00:21:05][6.0]

Jean: [00:21:06] Okay. And we're definitely going to put a link on our Web site for people who want to find your book. And it sounds like I mean just read a great resource for those who've been diagnosed with HPV but it also sounds like a great resource for everyone who wants to take a more holistic approach to their health. [00:21:19][13.3]

Lita: [00:21:21] It's not just HPV what you're saying. Courtney will work with anybody with anyone's disease no matter what it is. Because like you're saying getting the stress out of your body so that you can heal better is such a big step. And that's probably the step that the doctors don't do. But your attitude and your coaching and your techniques. That's exactly what we need. [00:21:43][22.4]

Jean: [00:21:44] Yeah and we are so grateful that you took the time to tell us about this and to talk with us today and you're offering book free when it first comes out to reach more people out there and it's just an amazing amazing job that you've done here where we're proud to have spoken with you today. [00:21:59][15.6]

Lita: [00:22:00] Gosh yes absolutely. [00:22:01][0.8]

Coutrney: [00:22:02] So thank you so much for having me. [00:22:04][2.2]

Lita: [00:22:04] You know. Absolutely. COURTNEY Now this is your time to wrap it up and we'll let you say whatever it is that you want to say to our audience so that they can feel empowered today. Go right ahead. [00:22:16][11.3]

Coutrney: [00:22:17] Absolutely. So if you're out there if you've just been diagnosed with HPV if you've been told by your doctor to wait and see and you're at home and you're scared and you're nervous please understand you're not alone. This is nothing to be ashamed of and you're not dirty because of this. This is a common disease that many of us have and many of us will have throughout our lifetime and really opening up and finding others to connect with has really helped me. So you know find a friend talk to them about it and you don't have to have it all figured out to start doing something today. I had no idea what I was doing in the beginning. I just knew I had to do something. So I started making changes start you know making little changes to your diet adding a little exercise size you know spend a little more time giving yourself some love take care of your body you know love it and be kind to it and honor it and you will start to find your way. There's a lot of women out there. I do have a support group as well. On Facebook it's called Empower and shine and it's a support group for women who've been diagnosed with HPV and it's a great place to connect to start to get some ideas to start to move forward and feel a little more informed so that you can make the best decisions for your own health care. [00:23:41][84.0]

Jean: [00:23:42] That's fantastic. And also on any of the other social media sites for people to reach you. [00:23:46][4.3]

Coutrney: [00:23:47] Yes. You'll find me on Instagram as well at Shine Light health. And then on Twitter Twitter my handle is shine light heal. [00:23:55][8.2]

Lita: [00:23:56] thank you again. And you look forward to reading the book. [00:24:00][4.7]

Coutrney: [00:24:01] Thank you so much again for having me I look forward to sharing it with everyone out there. Absolutely. [00:24:05][4.2]

Lita: [00:24:07] If you have any questions or comments related to today's show you can contact us at podcast D X at Yahoo dot com through our Web site where you can link to our Facebook page and also see more information as we build our site. Please go to podcast D X dot com. [00:24:27][19.3]

Ron: [00:24:28] If our listeners have a moment please give us a five star review on item podcast. [00:24:28][0.0]

[1350.9]

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[theboobguide-blog]

The Ultimate Boob Guide — Deadly Risks

Welcome to the first of hopefully many articles to come about Boob Jobs (BJ for short). Now let’s get straight to business. If you’re not already aware, BJ is a surgery and requires you to get a general anesthesia (a complete knockout on the doc’s table). And if you’re a normal human being, you can’t help but be nervous thinking about it. In fact, more likely than not, your self-preservation instincts kick in and you are asking the really important question: IS IT SAFE? Well, the short answer is: NO. The thing is — no surgery is completely safe. You can die or have serious complications.

In this article, I will tackle the worst thing that can happen to you undertaking a breast augmentation surgery — death. I divide this into two segments. One talking about the immediate threat to one’s life (during or quickly post-op) and the other one where BJ effects can kill you in the long run. But before I start, I have to make one thing clear: this article is not about persuading you to get a BJ or not by lying how harmless it is or by scaring you how extremely dangerous it is. If you want that, there are plenty of biased articles out there. Instead, my goal is to present facts and numbers that would help you to decide yourself.

The immediate threat

There are only a handful of recorded cases where patients died during or immediately post BJ surgery. Here is one widely reported case back in 2008¹where a teenager girl died during the operation. The thing is, she didn’t die because of BJ. She died because of something called Malignant Hyperthermia, which is a hereditary susceptibility to anesthesia. Which means, whether you’re getting a BJ or any other surgery under anesthesia, if you have this trait — you can potentially die. Good news is: it is very rare. Bad news: it requires some serious tests (besides being knocked out) such as muscle biopsy or genetic analysis to know you have it.

You might be wondering what are the chances you have it. I’m happy to answer. The numbers are, in fact, not that bad. According to an article from Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases², 1 in 5000 to 100000 of all who got anesthesia have experienced some kind of Malignant Hyperthermia. But if we go for an overly pessimistic account, the predicted probability might in the ballpark of 1 in 2000. Here’s a positive twist though: out of all of those who got it, only 5% die if they get proper treatment on time. Putting this into numbers normal people can understand we get that 1 in 40000 person dies from the condition. But your chances are even lower if you’re a female. In fact, you’re 2.5–4.5 times less likely to have it compared to males.

Generally speaking, it is so rare that hospitals almost never see it happen. But if you have the time and money for the tests — I see no reason not to do it. Speaking of which, you probably should do it if you know a relative who has this condition. Most likely you have inherited it yourself too. Now to be completely on the safe side, there’s one more thing you need to take into account. The medicine, for when you go critical, is expensive and has an expiration date, so only bigger hospitals stock it up. A thing to consider when deciding where you will get a BJ.

As for other cases. There’s this very old case written by LA Times back in 1990³ where death was due to medical negligence (deprived of oxygen). That same article mentions even an older case where a patient had a heart attack. Out of more recent ones (2012) as reported by Dailymail⁴, it was suspected that breast augmentation triggered a dormant Tuberculosis causing death. A very recent (2017) incident happened in Vietnam⁵ where a Vietnamese woman did not know she was 17 weeks pregnant and had Lupus.

All in all, I’m sure there are more cases like these. But as you can see, this has less to do with BJ itself as more to the fact that it’s a surgery, which is always a risk.

As the last bit about sudden deaths here are some interesting statistics. Ever wondered about average overall surgery mortality rates? The so-called Perioperative Mortality? Turns out there are numerous studies that try to answer this question. In the largest one to date (2010), done in Netherlands, where over 3.7 million surgeries where reviewed⁶, the mortality rate was 1.85%. Now, in comparison to BJ numbers, it’s extremely high. And there is a good reason for that. Mammoplasty itself is a rather simple procedure as told by many surgeons. Of course the degree of difficulty varies based on patient’s condition and approach, but in general, if you are a healthy young person, BJ in all likelihood will not kill you.

The hidden long-term threat

So far I’ve only talked about the immediate threat to one’s life. Let’s talk about something that might appear only after years and years post-BJ. There is this one word we all dread… Cancer. Just from hearing this word most people start to feel uneasy. And for a good reason. Statistics from UK cancer research institute going back to 2012⁷ tells us that more than 8.2 million die from cancer yearly.

So how is this related to BJ? Well, it wasn’t until 2011 when the link was identified and acknowledged by Federal Drug Administration (FDA)⁸ between breast implants and anaplastic large-cell lymphoma (ALCL). So far there were 359 of such cases out of 10 million in the US. Most were successfully treated either surgically or with chemotherapy. But not all! There are 9 reported deaths associated with post breast augmentation ALCL. Of course, it is hard to draw conclusions from this, but it’s a fair warning and should be a concern.

But let’s put those numbers into perspective. According to a meta-analysis article in 2014 which took into account all relevant studies⁹, chances of getting ALCL are one in a million. So pretty low if you ask me. But then again, A very recent announcement from Australian TGA put it in the ballpark of 1 out of 1000-10000¹⁰. The link is clear and you should seriously consider this fact. Especially if your family or relatives have a history of cancer.

Besides ALCL, there’s one more thing that needs to be explained. Mammograms (screening for breast cancer) with implants are hard. The implant blocks X-rays and according to a 2004 study on BJ mammogram accuracy¹¹, chances of missing cancer is 55% with implants compared to 33% without. That being said, there are different techniques of doing mammograms. For example, 3D is better than 2D. There are also specific ways of improving mammograms for people with implants, which involve implant displacement (Eklund views) so that the doctor can see breast tissue more clearly. Other methods that might be utilized for breast cancer detection also include MRI and Thermography (thermal imaging instead of X-rays).

In any case, implants definitely do not help with check-ups for breast cancer. So that is another major point to consider, especially if you are past 40. Now, as far as it goes for other long-term life-threatening risks, there’s not much else to say. But while this sounds good, it could be exactly the opposite. The thing with BJ is that it’s something that stays with the person for many years. Thus predicting what will happen after 10 or 20 years is very hard. Not due to lack of trying though. At one point FDA asked two implant companies (Natrelle and Mentor) to conduct large long-term studies¹² of patients using their implants. Suffice to say it didn’t go very well. Reason being — very soon people failed to follow-up so the studies sort of fell out. Nonetheless, work in this area is continuing and every year more data is being gathered in other such similar studies.

So there you have it, folks. Like I said in the beginning — BJs are not safe. What I tried to answer in this article is how much are they not safe. You are all free to draw conclusions by yourselves. To some of you those numbers might be reasonable to some — not so much. In any case, the question of safety doesn’t stop here. We need to go deeper and understand the potential complications post-surgery. Read about this next week in The Ultimate Boob Guide: Complication Risks.

Resources:

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/story?id=4520099 — Florida Teen Dies After Complications During Breast Surgery

https://ojrd.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1750-1172-2-21 — Malignant hyperthermia

http://articles.latimes.com/1990-03-22/local/me-1152_1_laguna-beach — Death Follows Breast Implant: Medicine: A Laguna Beach mother just wanted to improve her bust line. She sank into a coma and died four days later.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2169605/Devoted-mother-dies-heart-failure-implants-trigger-dormant-TB.html — Devoted mother-of-four dies from heart failure after implants trigger dormant TB

http://vietnamnet.vn/vn/suc-khoe/suc-khoe-24h/ket-luan-vu-co-gai-nang-nguc-khi-mang-thai-tu-vong-o-sai-gon-396258.html — Kết luận vụ cô gái nâng ngực khi mang thai, tử vong ở Sài Gòn

http://anesthesiology.pubs.asahq.org/article.aspx?articleid=1932850 — Postoperative Mortality in The Netherlands: A Population-based Analysis of Surgery-specific Risk in Adults

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/health-professional/cancer-statistics/worldwide-cancer#heading-One — Worldwide cancer statistics

https://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/ProductsandMedicalProcedures/ImplantsandProsthetics/BreastImplants/ucm239995.htm — Breast Implant-Associated Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma (BIA-ALCL)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4271758/ — Update on anaplastic large cell lymphoma in women with breast implants

https://www.tga.gov.au/alert/breast-implants-and-anaplastic-large-cell-lymphoma — Breast implants and anaplastic large cell lymphoma

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14747501 — Effect of breast augmentation on the accuracy of mammography and cancer characteristics.

https://www.fda.gov/downloads/medicaldevices/productsandmedicalprocedures/implantsandprosthetics/breastimplants/ucm260090.pdf — FDA Update on the Safety of Silicone Gel-Filled Breast Implants