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THE POWERFUL PATIENT

Radio show

 

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Do you feel helpless in the face of "the system?" This show is to help you learn how to take control and steer your way to health. Hear how others have met these challenges and overcome them. Learn how you can do so too.

 

 

 

Previously recorded shows

Beginning January 5, 2012

 

Helping Victims of Bullying

 

Israel C. "Izzy" Kalman has been working as a school psychologist and psychotherapist since 1978. For over two decades, he has been intensively helping victims of bullying, initially children and after a few years, adults as well.  He realized that the same principles apply to interpersonal problems throughout the lifetime.

 

More recently, he has been teaching these methods to mental health professionals and educators primarily throughout the United States and Canada. He has developed a method which can be applied quickly and easily to help empower victims of bullying, which is consistent with all major schools of psychology, philosophy and religion.

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Israel "Izzy" Kalman

Beginning October 27, 2011

 

Support for Children whose siblings have special needs

 

Elizabeth Batson’s new book *I Have Needs Too! Supporting the Child Whose Sibling Has Special Needs* combines quotes and drawings from kids whose siblings have special needs with parenting help from a professional. The book offers parents insight and practical advice on how to help their children deal with issues such as embarrassment, the wish for understanding, the sense  of responsibility, the importance of fairness, the need for protection, and the sense love and joy that they share with their brother or sister.

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Elizabeth Batson

Beginning October 20, 2011

 

Cleaning Up our Personal Environments

 

Lisa Nagy, M.D., spent years with doctors trying to figure out what was wrong with her.  Eventually she realized that the doctors were not going to wave a magic wand and cure her, that she needed to take some action herself.  She cleaned up her environment, minimizing all toxic substances, to make sure that her immune system could focus on making her well, not fighting elements in her environment that were making her sick.  It worked!

 

Listen to what Lisa discovered about the everyday pollution we all live with and how to minimize the irritants in our personal environments.

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Lisa Nagy

Beginning October 6, 2011

 

Brain Injury and Our Heroes

 

A recent University of North Carolina study showed that the average college football player receives over 300 blows to the head in four seasons. In the pros it is even higher.

 

Autopsy studies show that NFL players with early dememtia do have significant anatomical changes to their brains. Dr. Ronald Glasser, in his new book /Broken Bodies/Shattered Minds/ explores the traumatic injuries of soldiers on the battlefield and football  players on the gridiron.”

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Dr. Ronald Glasser

Dr. Ronald Glasser

Beginning September 29, 2011

 

Unbreak Your Health

 

Pain, are you stranded in the Mountains of Misery or simply lost in a Forest of Symptoms?  After a disappointing trip to the Mayo Clinic, author Alan E. Smith admits, "I suddenly became very open-minded about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM)." 

 

Like many people he turned to new options after he'd run out of treatments in mainstream medicine. Fortunately he found some therapies that have been very beneficial and have restored much of his health. 

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Alan Smith

Alan Smith

Beginning September 22, 2011

 

Befriended her Cancer and Healed Herself

 

For Denise DeSimone, cancer was a chance to live a better, more fulfilling life.An active and healthy 49-year-old, DeSimone suddenly faced the threat of having only three months to live when she was diagnosed with stage IV throat and neck cancer. While most would start naming beneficiaries, DeSimone named her cancer and gave it permission to teach her the lessons she needed to learn.

 

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Denise DeSimone

Beginning September 1, 2011

 

Healing Depression and Bipolar Disorder without Drugs

 

Gracelyn Guyol talks with Joyce about her success healing from cancer and mental depression by overhauling her diet, taking optimum natural supplements, and eliminating chemicals and other potential toxins from her environment that might cause her cells to mutate.

 

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Gracelyn Guyol

Gracelyn Guyol

Beginning August 11, 2011

 

Pain is Essential for Good Health

 

Can pain be a good thing? According to Dr. Joanne Messenger, pain isn’t only good – it’s an essential tool needed for the road to overall mental and physical health. "Disease and pain are your body’s way of telling you what is wrong – like where you need to change what you’re doing,” she says.

 

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Dr. Joanne Messenger

Dr. Joanne Messenger

Beginning July 14, 2011

 

Could Sherman's stroke have been prevented?

 

Sherman Turner thought fighting discrimination in the workplace was his hardest battle - until he suffered a paralyzing stroke, losing most of his memory and his ability to speak. As part of his rehabilitation, his doctors suggested learning another language to "wake up" key parts of his brain.  After immersing himself in the Kenyan culture, Turner regained his speech and began the long road to recovery.

 

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Sherman Turner

Sherman Turner

Beginning July 14, 2011

 

One in 17 Americans will develop Lung Cancer

 

There is a feeling that people with lung cancer must have done it to themselves.  But that is not true.  There is a remarkably high rate of lung cancer among women who have never smoked.  Why? Joyce speaks with Susan Levin, President of the Lung Cancer Circle of Hope, about what is being done to reduce this rate, and lift the stigma that surrounds lung cancer.

 

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Susan Levin

Susan Levin

Beginning June 30, 2011

 

Maximizing Kidney Transplantation: the Road Forward

 

Kidney disease is skyrocketing, but less than 4% of patients with kidney failure are being transplanted for a more normal life. Kidneys4Lives founders Malcolm Broderick and Ed Broderick believe that the solution is largely societal, not medical. They speak with Joyce about their effort to connect people with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) with the kidneys they need to improve their health and their quality of life.

 

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Beginning June 23, 2011

 

Open Mike!

 

 

Joyce opens the phones to talk about VHL

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microphone image

 

Beginning June 9, 2011

 

Courage Comes in Many Forms

 

David G. Hallman speaks with Joyce about his new book, August Farewell, his account of the last days spent with his partner of 33 years, Bill Conklin. Bill was diagnosed with terminal cancer, and they chose to spend those last days of quality time together.  

 

David and Joyce talk about the importance of thinking through how we would want the end of our own life to go, and communicating that to our loved ones, so that they are in the position of carrying out our wishes rather than making difficult decisions without our guidance.

 

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David G. Hallman

David G. Hallman

Beginning June 2, 2011

 

Developing Local Medical Resources

 

George Washington University Medical Professor and 2009 Humanitarian of the year recipient, Dr. Glenn Geelhoed, MD just returned this year from one of his hundred medical missions to the outreaches of Sudan. Dr. Geelhoed has been taking his medical and surgical training to serve ‘the bottom billion’ for nearly 2 decades and his medical approaches are unconventional, unparallel and unbelievably successful.

 

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Dr. Glenn Geelhoed

Dr. Glenn Geelhoed

Beginning May 5, 2011

 

Kidney Dialysis: Shades of Life

 

Joyce speaks with Dr. Mohammad Akmal, a respected U.S. dialysis director, and Vasundhara Ramanujan, the mother of a kidney dialysis patient, who have collaborated on a book, SHADES OF LIFE, giving a personal glimpse into the physical, emotional, and psychological impact of kidney disease.  The book educates people with kidney disease and people healthy enough to consider donating a kidney to help a family member or other person in need.  It is also a tool for people who have degenerative kidney disease who may be at risk of kidney failure.

 

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Vasundhara Ramanujan

Vasundhara Ramanujan

Beginning April 25, 2011

 

Husband's New Endeavor - Advice for Gifford's Recovery

 

Janet Cromer has a good idea of what astronaut Mark Kelly and his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords have ahead of them, as Giffords recovers from being shot in January. A career nurse, Janet is author of the book "Professor Cromer Learns to Read: A Couple’s New Life after Brain Injury", a chronicle of how she tended to her husband’s recovery, and how it affected their emotional health and physical health, as well as their marriage.

 

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Janet Cromer
Janet Cromer

Beginning April 14, 2011

 

10 Mistakes every Patient makes and How to Fix Them

 

Joyce speaks with patient advocate and author Trisha Torrey, a nationally recognized writer, speaker and workshop teacher on issues related to patient advocacy, who refers to herself as "every patient's advocate". She is author of the book, You Bet Your Life! The 10 Mistakes Every Patient Makes (How to Fix Them to Get the Healthcare You Deserve.)

 

Audio fileClick here for Audio and Program Guide

 

Trisha Torrey

Trisha Torrey

Beginning April 7, 2011

 

The Mystery of Risk

 

 

What behaviors during pregnancy may lead to developmental, learning, and behavioral difficulties in our unborn children? What level of alcohol is safe? Joyce talks with Dr. Ira Chasnoff about these and other issues that may influence the lives of our children, and how to work with at-risk children if you are the parent or adoptive parent of such a child.

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Dr. Ira Chasnoff

Dr. Ira Chasnoff

Beginning March 24, 2011

 

Womenopause - Feeling good about Menopause

 

There are very few things that are a certainty in life other than death, but for women there is one other – they will all go through menopause in some form or other; in fact, there are over 37 million women in this country going through it right now! Joyce talks with Drs. Lovera Miller and David Miller, the authors of Womenopause, a book that is packed with vital information and helpful hints to help women get through this natural transition with ease.

 

Audio fileClick here for Audio and Program Guide

 

book cover: Womenopause - Feeling good about Menopause

 

Beginning March 17, 2011

 

Fibroids and skin bumps - what do they have in common?

 

Many women experience fibroids in the uterus. In some cases, fibroids can be one signal of a set of issues called a "syndrome" that includes additional risks. Joyce speaks with Julie of the of the HLRCC Alliance about syndromes that include fibroids.

 

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up and down logo

Beginning March 10, 2011

 

Obesity Action Coalition

 

Obesity is now in epidemic proportions in the United States, especially among children. From the National Institutes of Health to the Congress and the States, there is a great deal of action being taken to address this problem. Will it be helpful? What are the most promising actions that we can all take to help us trim down and maintain our health? James Zervios, Director of Communications for the Obesity Action Coalition joins Joyce to talk about their strategies.

 

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Obesity Action Coalition logo

Beginning March 3, 2011

 

Charting a New Course After Tragedy

 

Christine Whitehead knows all about second chances. When she was barely seven years old, her parents died five months apart of unrelated causes, she found herself at the center of a bitter custody battle between her maternal grandparents -- Hungarian immigrants who lived close by -- and her paternal aunts, whom she knew only slightly. Having lived through those life changes, she battled -- and beat -- anorexia on her way to law school. Today, Christine is a divorce attorney and author of the book Tell Me When It Hurts.

 

Audio fileClick here for Audio and Program Guide

 

Christine Whitehead

Christine Whitehead

Beginning February 17, 2011

 

Advice for Caregivers

 

One in four will need someone else to decide for them as they face the end of their life. Each one of us is now, or will be at some point in the future, making decisions for someone or will be needing that service ourselves. Viki Kind, a medical editor and hospice volunteer who specializes in medical ethics, talks with Joyce about her book, "The Caregiver's Path To Compassionate Decision Making: Making Choices For Those Who Can't (Home Nursing Caring)."

 

Audio fileClick here for Audio and Program Guide

 

Viki Kind

Viki Kind

Beginning February 10, 2011

 

Eat to Live!

 

Contrary to popular belief, you don't have to live the rest of your life in pain or on medication. Dr. Joel Fuhrman speaks with Joyce about how he uses nutriton to reverse disease, reduce high blood pressure, lose unwanted weight, lower your cholesterol levels, prevent heart disease and cancer, and improve your health - all without relying on drugs and fad diets. The importance of good nutrition is emphasized in Dr. Fuhrman's dietary program, Eat To Live.

 

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Dr. Joel Furhman

Dr. Joel Furhman

Beginning February 5, 2011

 

Natural Ways to Beat the Flu

 

Not only can herbal and homeopathic remedies help you avoid getting the flu, if you do get sick, they can help alleviate some of the problems associated with the flu. Joyce speaks with Dr. Gary Kaplan of the Kaplan Center for Integrative Medicine in McLean, Virgina, about prevention and care for avoiding or minimizing the impact of the flu.

 

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Gary Kaplan, O.D.

Gary Kaplan, O.D.

Beginning January 27, 2011

 

Wellness: heart, brain, and nervous system in harmony

 

Dr. Deborah Rozman co-author of "Stopping Emotional Eating" and co-founder of HeartMath (www.heartmath.com), joins Joyce to talk about "heart coherence" -- a way of measuring the improving the way your heart, brain and nervous system work in harmony with each other.

 

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Dr. Deborah Rozman

Dr. Deborah Rozman

Beginning January 26, 2011

 

Inspire youself - get support on the internet

 

Danielle Leach, Director of Partnerships at Inspire.com, the leading platform for online support communities for health, talks with Joyce about the importance of support -- speaking with someone else who has "been there, done that" -- especially when you are thrown into the unknown by a medical crisis.

 

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Danielle Leach and her son

Danielle Leach and her son

Beginning January 20, 2011

 

New Antibody Therapy to Fight Cancer

 

Robert Brooke, CEO of Genesis Biopharma, talks with Joyce about their new antibody therapy, recently approved by the European Patent Office for use as a therapeutic treatment in multiple cancers. Genesis Biopharma is developing its anti-CD55 antibody therapy to neutralize a key cancer defense mechanism that has been found to be over-expressed in more than 80% of solid tumors.

 

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Robert Brooke

Robert Brooke

Beginning January 13, 2011

 

Listening Reflecting Healing

 

You have just received a diagnosis, and it lands like a bombshell. Genetic counselor Mary-Frances Garber speaks with Joyce about her private counseling practice, helping people come to terms with a diagnosis of a complex genetic disease and its implications for their own and their family's health. Ms. Garber tells us how to break the problem down into manageable chunks and begin to take charge

 

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Mary-Frances Garber

Mary-Frances Garber

Beginning January 5, 2011

 

The Secret to Smarter Kids

 

Music education expert Sharon Burch talks with Joyce about the multiple benefits of music education in a child¹s brain development. She has developed an effective method using fiction and fantasy to teach musical concepts to her preschool through third grade students. Freddie the Frog is the star and the students' favorite musical friend and best teacher. Freddie's adventures teach children the secret code of musical notation, and this helps their brains "think smarter."

 

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Sharon Burch

Sharon Burch

Beginning December 30, 2010

 

Eat Right and Thrive!

 

Kevin Graham, author of Weight Loss Empowerment: 50 Ways to Lose Your Luggage, talks with Joyce about the best indicators of overall health and well-being. Kevin will raise your spirits and empower you to enjoy the holidays without guilt as he reveals how to prepare for a holiday get-together, why it's good to feel hungry, and how to make fat people look skinny -- instantly!

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book cover: Weight Loss Empowerment

Beginning December 23, 2010

 

Stay away from this on the holidays (Hint: it isn't alcohol)

 

Sheryl Kurland is a patient advocate and co-owner of Orlando Patient Advocates (Florida). As an independent patient advocate, she provides a range of services, from identifying the right doctors and conducting resarch on treatment to arranging for medical services and overseeing care for hospitalized patients. Her research shows clearly that a hospital or emergency room is not a good place to celebrate the holidays. She offers six "magic words" to protect yourself during times when hospital staffing is at it lowest and patient counts are high. Be sure to avoid the "patient pothole"!

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Sheryl Kurland

Sheryl Kurland

Beginning December 9, 2010

 

Laugh Yourself Thin

 

For Melanie Rotenberg, M.D., humor has been a life preserver while riding the rough seas of nursing home and hospice work. She started in the field as a 15-year-old CNA, earning $2.65 an hour. “It helped pay for college,” she said. Now a physician with a speciality in physical medicine and rehabilitation, she still works predominantly with people in nursing homes and hospice.

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Laugh yourself thin

 

Beginning December 2, 2010

 

The Art of Civil Discussion

 

What is changing about us that we seem to have lost the ability to disagree in a civil manner and discuss? According to Charles Glassman,MD, our uncivil behavior stems from the way our brains operate. Our ingrained survival instincts are eing tested as the issues of the day become overwhelmingly stressful, and the fear of the future is causing our natural "fight or flight" response to kick in. Dr. Glassman offers five was to tame our impulses and control our knee-jerk reactions.

 

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Charles Glassman, M.D.

Charles Glassman, M.D.

Beginning November 18, 2010

 

Help your Immune System to Treat and Beat Cancer

 

When Carolyn Gross was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer she was offered the same treatmet boh her grandmothers had received thirty years earlier: mastectomy with chemotherapy and radiation. After doing careful research, Carolyn decided to try an innovative immune therapy. Cancer-free for seven ears, Carolyn now works as a patient advocate and holistic health coach.

 

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Carolyn Gross

Carolyn Gross

Beginning November 7, 2010

 

Menopause and PCOS: Talking about Women's Health

 

Do you have issues that you are just too embarrassed to discuss with your doctor? Do you think you are the only one with this problem, so you keep it to yourself? Whether it's a lumb or a bump, a rash or a pain, you are likely not alone, and you can finally get the answers you deserve without feeling uncomfortable. Karen Roush, RN, MSN, FNP, BC, joins Joyce for a discussion of women's health issues that women often find too embarrassing to raise with their doctors and to talk about her two books on polycystic ovary syndrome and on menopause.

 

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Book Cover: What Nurses Know... PCOS

Beginning October 28, 2010

 

Diagnosing VHL in Brazil

 

Joyce is just back from the 9th International Medical Symposium on VHL in Rio de Janeiro. One day of basic science, one day devoted to optimal treatments for the various kind of VHL tumors, and one day designed specifically for the families. We had 40 people from all over Brazil, and representatives from the patient organizations in four European countries, US, and Argentina. What has this meeting accomplished? Why is it important to get an accurate diagnosis of a rare disease like VHL? Why do we need to convene people worldwide in order to make progress in understanding and treating rare diseases?

 

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Picture of Rio

Rio de Janeiro

Beginning October 7, 2010

 

Pets Have Healing Powers

 

Every day, the presence of your own dog exerts a healng influence over you -- and you are not even aware of it. Sharon Sakson, author of PAWS & EFFECT: The Healing Power of Dogs, has tracked down scientific research that proves there are at least five ways the pet by your side is healing to you. Dogs can sniff out low blood sugar levels in diabetics, help autistic children, sense when a seizure is coming on, and provide natural, holistic relief for those living with mental and physical illness.

 

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Sharon Sakson with her pet dog

Sharon Sakson with her pet

Beginning September 30, 2010

 

How to be sick - making peace with chronic illness

 

Each day of our lives is spent finding new ways to be well. So what are we supposed to do when, overnight, we find our lives have changed and we are told we may never be well again? When doctors can’t tell us, “You’re going to be ok.” How do we deal with this scenario …when no one ever taught us ‘how to be sick?’ In 2001, Toni Bernhard, a lawyer, professor, wife and mother, was living a busy and fulfilling life until, while on a short, romantic trip to Paris, she contracted a viral infection from which she has yet to recover.

 

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Image of ill person

 

Beginning September 23, 2010

 

Having Surgery in Brazil - Medical Tourism

 

Joyce speaks with Alex Lifshitz of Sphera International, one of the many companies specializing in "medical tourism." Medical travel has become a growing trend in the healthcare industry. Patients all over America choose to travel abroad for surgeries and procedures as an effective way to get safe low-cost/high-quality care. Alex and Joyce discuss the advantages and disadvantages of having surgery outside the United States.

 

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Operating Room image

 

Beginning September 2, 2010

 

Efficient Storing and Sharing of Imaging Scans

 

Have you ever had to get a copy of your scans to send to another doctor for a second opinion? Joyce talks with Amy Vreeland of LifeIMAGE about their new product that aims to avoid duplicate exams and eliminate unnecessary patient exposure to excessive radiation. This is important news as duplicate scanning of patients can also lead to patient discomfort and higher health care costs. Already adopted by three large cancer centers, this kind of "cloud computing" product has benefit for patients and for the bottom line.

 

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Amy Vreeland

Amy Vreeland

Beginning August 12, 2010

 

Health Care in World Cities

 

Michael Gusmano, Ph.D., a research scientist from the Hastings Center, discusses with Joyce his new book on Health Care in World Cities. The Hastings Center is a nonpartisan research institution dedicated to bioethics and the internet.

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Michael Gusmano, Ph.D.

Michael Gusmano, Ph.D.

Beginning July 1, 2010

 

The Miracle of True Love

 

Aimée Salas from the island of Curacao in the Dutch Carinnean has written a book about her life-changing experience when diagnosed with von Hippel-Lindau disease. On an island with a total population of 150,000 she found herself with a diagnosis of a rare disease, needing a surgery that was not possible on her island. But with faith and the help of family and friends she found the medical help she needed, survived the surgery, and maintains her faith and her optimism.

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Aimee Salas