Lunch and Learn with Dr. Berry

So let's talk about men...

Previously in our Men's health month series, we talked about its general importance, we talked about mental health; and last week, we talked specifically about prostate cancer. And now that we're in the last week of the month, we will be discussing the most important level of self-care: getting regular checkups.

There are so many barriers along the way that stop people, especially men, from seeing a doctor for a regular checkup. It is so bad that a lot of them can't even recall the last time they got checked by a health professional. But really, do we all need to feel something wrong in our body first before we go see a doctor?

As the old saying goes, "Prevention is better than cure." Join me as I talk about the importance of getting regular checkups and why you should do it as early as possible.

Why you need to check this episode:

• Learn about what happens during regular checkups;
• Discover the most common barriers that stop men from seeing a doctor and how to work your way around them;
• Understand the cruciality of getting yourself checked early on instead of getting yourself checked in the later stage of your life

"In this country, we don't really go to get help until we need help."– Dr. Berry Pierre

Notable Quotes:

"Our body does a great job of dealing with the stress; dealing with the pressures until it can not. And we already know what the picture looks like when it can't… All these things happen when your body says 'enough is enough'. And the job of a doctor for you in getting your regular checkup is to prevent all of those from happening."– Dr. Berry Pierre

"The earlier I can catch something, the better options I have to treat it." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"It just makes sense that it's important to catch things early. But you can't catch things early if you're not doing that regular checkup." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"There are certain hurdles that we're going to have to get over if we want to have the best health that we want. There are certain hurdles that we're going to have to fight over if we want to be the best, healthiest us" – Dr. Berry Pierre

"Never fear that the care [in health centers] is going to be less. And don't allow that fear to make you say 'There's not going to be good doctors there. I'm not going" – Dr. Berry Pierre

"A lot of you guys are afraid of going to see someone like me. You're afraid of the possibility that I may say 'I know you thought you were healthy, but you're not really that healthy'. And that fear alone makes you so anxious that you just stay away." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"Men, check your pride at the door… Too many of us are dying, leaving families and loved ones by themselves because our pride has outweighed our need to take care of our health. So, check the pride at the door." – Dr. Berry Pierre

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• Twitter Exchange
• Dr. Hotez says he was 'stalked' in front of his home after Joe Rogan's Twitter exchange

In this week's episode of the Real Physician Reacts series we are going to be talking about the recent Twitter exchange between Dr. Peter Hotez and Joe Rogan. After Dr. Hotez challenged Spotify on its inability to stop the misinformation spreading from Rogan's podcast.

What happened next is akin to cyberbullying with countless other prominent anti-vaxxers including Elon Musk chiming in and offering large sums of money for Dr. Hotez to debate on his show for "charity". Thankfully Dr. Hotez doesn't take the bait but it does end with anti-vaxxers showing up at the home of Dr. Hotez demanding the debate.

Click here to watch the full episode...

Several discussion points today;

• Why did Spotify get called out on behalf of Joe Rogan again
• Why we shouldn't be listening to someone listed on the disinformation dozen like Robert Kennedy Jr
• Why experts can not be seen as equals in this anti-vaxxer debate

So let's talk about prostate cancer...

We are still in the month of June, and our episode for today is still a part of our men's health series. But this week, we will be focusing on a specific disease that's been severely affecting Black men for a very long time already. I am talking about prostate cancer.

Did you know that there's a higher incidence of prostate cancer in African-American men? The incidence is so high that it gets detected at a much earlier age, and more concerningly, Black men who are diagnosed with prostate cancer are found to have the more aggressive forms of it – hence resulting in a much higher mortality rate compared to other communities.

That is why I know that as a member of both the medical community and the Black community, I need to say and do something about it that will serve as the vehicle and engine for the change that I want to see.

So join me in today's podcast as we talk about prostate cancer and why we need to put focus on men of the African-American community when having a discussion about it.

Why you need to check this episode:

• Get a full understanding of what prostate cancer is and how significantly it affects men of the African-American Community;
• Know the risk factors that surround prostate cancer and which factors you have control over; and
• Understand why early detection and prevention, and not treatment should be your goal when it comes to prostate cancer

"Imagine, you have a disease that kills our community more frequently, is diagnosed earlier in our community, kills more people in our community, and is more aggressive in our community. And because we don't get the simple blood tests, because we don't do the simple checkups, because we're fearful of the system, we allow our community to die at a much more significant rate than other communities. We cannot have that."– Dr. Berry Pierre

Notable Quotes:

"It kills us at such a significant rate than our other counterparts… Every good website will have a section where they specifically say 'prostate cancer' and then 'prostate cancer in African-American men'. Because that is how much it is damaging specifically to our community."– Dr. Berry Pierre

"Historically speaking, black men do not trust medicine. I know that wholeheartedly. And more importantly, I feel your pain and discomfort… You guys understand how historically speaking, medicine's history is littered with racism, sexism, and so many atrocities specifically to the black community, and more importantly, specifically to black men. So we understand why you may be less reluctant to want to get a regular checkup. The problem is that, fast forward to 2023, our reluctance and our fear are killing us." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"I see people who look like me die at a much more significant rate. I have to do something about that. I have to say something about that. And I need to be a vehicle and engine for the change that I want to see." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"The screening, the recognizing, the recognizing early is the goal. Because if we do all of those things, our predictability to have a good life afterwards a.k.a. 'not die' goes much higher." – Dr. Berry Pierre

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Listen on Apple Podcast, Google Play, Stitcher, Soundcloud, iHeartRadio, and Spotify

So let's talk about Black Men & Mental Health...

A lot of us men grew up in an environment that tells us to "man up" at a very young age. As a result, we grow up as adults with unresolved traumas and issues.

Seeking professional help is never easy; it is even more difficult if you come from a minority. Black men struggle to look for professional help due to lack of representation, and only 26% of Hispanic and Black American men ever availed of mental health services despite experiencing obvious symptoms of mental health issues.

That's why in continuation of our Men's health month series, we will be talking about everything that surrounds the topic of mental health in African-American men. We will be talking not only about the medical aspect of it, but the societal angle of it as well.

Tune in as I discuss the reasons why African-American men continue to struggle with mental health and how we as a community could help each other move forward in the positive direction of getting and feeling better.

Why you need to check this episode:

• Find out the roots of why men, particularly from the Black community, continue to struggle with mental health despite the availability of help;
• Learn the importance of asking and understanding the "why" behind men's actions and/or reactions toward stressors; and
• Realize the significance of having a proper and reliable support system in dealing with your mental health struggles

"You have to acknowledge the elephant in the room. You have to acknowledge that there is a stigma that is attached to mental health and black men that we won't even allow to connect. "– Dr. Berry Pierre

Notable Quotes:

"When you have to ask yourself, 'Why does color matter?', then you already answered the question. Because then, you're saying 'I don't even recognize that there are structural, access-related, and professional-related differences in the way color affects how I deal with the disease". – Dr. Berry Pierre

"When you're trying to focus on your mental health and you can't find the right people to take care of you, or even if you find someone who's willing to take care of you, and they don't take care of you equally, that is where problems arise". – Dr. Berry Pierre

"You can be financially healthy; you can work on trying to be physically healthy. But if your mental health isn't there, then guess what? It doesn't even matter." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"Because we start young on not letting our emotions come out and not letting ourselves be free with how we feel, we carry our burden to adulthood." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"Don't act like the stigma is not there… We have to attack the stigma because that's how you can move forward and move us in the positive direction to getting and feeling better." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"For a lot of men, their reality is not something that they like. Their reality is not something that they are happy with. Their reality is not something that they are cool with. So guess what? They do the activities that get them away from that reality." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"You should have someone to be able to say 'I need some help'. Because if you don't, we know that stress has no problem sitting where it's at". – Dr. Berry Pierre

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So let's talk about mastering men's health...

It is a widely known fact that men are significantly less likely to see the doctor. This makes them remarkably more susceptible to many diseases, including those that only show up when all is too late but could have easily been prevented if detected early on.

This is the reason why the month of June is dedicated to Men's Health. As a member of the healthcare system and as a man myself, I think it is not just important, but essential that we have a discussion on just why and how men are significantly affected by disease just because of the gender we hold.

So join me today in our first episode on Men's Health Month as I share some essential insights on men's physical, mental, and sexual health including the problems that surround it and how to improve on each of them.

Why you need to check this episode:

• Understand why taking preventative health measures is still the best thing to do, and why it is really crucial that you take action early on;
• Learn how improving the physical aspect of your lifestyle helps you achieve better overall health; and
• Find out why it is especially difficult for men to open up on the topic of mental health and wellness, and how they can get better at handling it

"If you had to think about why you have to dedicate a whole month to men's health month, it probably could stretch to two just so you get an idea of the significance of how health care and disease have affected men and continues to affect men."– Dr. Berry Pierre

Notable Quotes: "When you don't do the preventative work to prevent it from happening, you're almost setting yourself up for a recipe for disaster." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"If you're thinking, 'What's something that could better my existence?', it's making sure that you are more physically active and making sure that you're getting your routine screenings." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"Being a man is tough… There are certain things that have been ingrained in our heads that when we get older, we don't know how to deal with the stress that's thrown at us. Because anytime stress was there, we quickly got rid of it; some moved away from it. Something happened where you weren't able to tackle that stress head-on." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"There are two things that will get a man to come to the doctor's office: One is a family member saying, 'You better go get that doctor's checkup, or I'm going to pop in the room with you; Two is some sexual dysfunction." – Dr. Berry Pierre

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• New Doctors Push for Union at Montefiore, Saying They're Exhausted and Underpaid

In this week's episode of the Real Physician Reacts series we will be having a discussion on the recent tragedy that involved resident physician Dr. Nakita Mortimer who took he own life and how the medical training & education system failed her.

Dr. Mortimer was a first-year anesthesiology resident at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. Last year she was highlighted as she was leading the charge on residents forming a union due to conditions that she noted: "The other truth is that with its current conditions, this work is often unnecessarily challenging to our wellness as individual people."

Physician burnout has been discussed a lot on this channel but this is the ultimate example of what can happen when the people we are supposed to be training to be our next physician force can no longer take the burdens and stress placed upon them.

Click here to watch the full episode...

Several discussion points today;

• Remembering Dr. Nakita Mortimer
• How much responsibility does our medical system have in physician burnout?
• What can we do to try and prevent the next suicide?

So let's talk about the hypertension equation...

When was the last time that you checked your blood pressure? Last week? Last month? 3 months ago?

A lot of us can't even remember the last time we had our blood pressure checked. In fact, of the 1.3 billion adults worldwide who have high blood pressure, 46% don't even have the slightest idea that their blood pressure is going through the roof.

That statistic alone is really alarming, given the fact that uncontrolled high blood pressure is a major contributing factor to the world's leading cause of death for the past few decades.

That is why for this week's Medicine Mondays, I will be talking to you about one of my all-time favorite topics—high blood pressure. Better pay attention, for we will not only be discussing what having uncontrolled high blood pressure means, but we will also touch on the topic of how to prevent it and what treatment options you have if you're already diagnosed with it.

Why you need to check this episode:

• Learn what having uncontrolled high blood pressure does to your body and the other health issues that it brings along with it;
• Get a deep understanding of why high blood pressure has been deemed as "the silent killer"; and
• Find out what you can do in order to avoid or treat high blood pressure

"The reason why I go so hard on this topic is that it has always been dubbed as 'the silent killer–the one that you don't even know the damage it's causing until the damage it's caused has already been done."– Dr. Berry Pierre

Notable Quotes: "I love talking about high blood pressure. In fact, if you take a second, whether you're watching me on YouTube or listening to my Podcast, you just search 'Dr. Berry Pierre' and 'high blood pressure, you're going to see a lot of things come up." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"When we're taking care of our bodies, our bodies are amazing. Our bodies will deal with stress on top of stress on top of stress until they can deal with it no more. And unfortunately, especially if we talk about high blood pressure, our bodies will deal with decades of stress." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"You have a disease that we know affects so many people worldwide; we have a disease that we know is a significant contributor to the number one killer for decades, and yet, it doesn't cause any symptoms until it's too late." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"Make it a routine to check your blood pressure until you're making it a routine to check your blood pressure." – Dr. Berry Pierre

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• Dr. Rashid Buttar | Lies on CNN | Real Physician Reacts
• COVID Conspiracy Doctor Claimed He Was 'Poisoned After Interview' Just Days Before Death

In this week's episode of the Real Physician Reacts series we will be having a discussion about disinformation dozen members of Dr. Rashid Buttar, his recent death, and how before he passed away he continued to make sure his legacy of disinformation was still intact.

In tonight's discussion, we talk about the recent passing of Dr. Buttar, a well-known conspiracy theorist, and anti-vaxxer who made an appearance on this series in 2021 after an interview on CNN.

Click here to watch the full video on YouTube

Several discussion points today;

• The most recent monkeypox outbreak
• Who is being affected by the most recent outbreak
• Is vaccines an option?

So let's talk about Mental Health...

How's your mental health these days?

Too often, people misunderstand 'mental health' as the absence of mental illness, when in fact, people can have mental issues; it's a matter of how we're coping.

But there rises another concern as people confuse coping and good mental health as a one-size-fits-all healing. They think everyone has to be able to operate the same way, to deal with stress and anxiety the same way; but that is just not the case.

Sadly, lots of people still think that's just the way it is, hence the misconceptions and repression of emotions that's been so evident these days.

So as we celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month this May, I want to be able to discuss this repression as we recognize the importance of talking about our mental health. May this be a reminder to take better care of ourselves, because our mental health is a key component in the betterment of the life we're giving ourselves?

Why you need to check this episode:

• Recognize the importance of having a month like May, known as Mental Health Awareness Month;
• Find out how our mental health affects all factors of our health, well-being, and life as a whole; and
• Understand how crucial it is to actually talk about mental health and not push more and more people into repressing their stress along with other heavy emotions

"Physical health is great. Financial health is great. But if your mental health isn't balanced and isn't on par with the rest, the other two don't really matter."– Dr. Berry Pierre

Notable Quotes:

"Those young boys who've been told to man up, who've been told to repress, who've been told to act like they shouldn't be hurt because they can't see Nana or they can't see Auntie, those are the ones who oppress those types of feelings and don't know how to express them when they get older." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"That stigma associated with your mental health, anxiety, depression, and everything else under the sun—we're not here for that. We're not here to have you hide it. We're not here to have you repress it. We're not here to have you find someone to talk to. We're not going for that anymore." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"Just because the government has said 'we're done funding, we're done putting the amount of support that we're doing doesn't mean that this is the end of the road because COVID is not just going to disappear on May 11th." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"You cannot do this alone. You should not do this alone. If you could do it alone, then you'd already be fine." – Dr. Berry Pierre

"If you want to get to a point where in 10 years you feel just as good as you felt in year one, you're going to have to know how I am going to process the mental complexities of my life and make sure I can cope correctly, whatever coping correctly means." – Dr. Berry Pierre

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• Monkeypox cases rising in Chicago ahead of summer, IDPH reports
• Monkeypox Virus Overview

In this week's episode of the Real Physician Reacts series we will be having a discussion on a recent outbreak of Monkeypox in Chicago, Il.

In tonight's discussion, we talk about the 24 new cases of monkeypox in Chicago and what it means for the rest of the country.

Click here to watch the full video on YouTube

Several discussion points today;

• The most recent monkeypox outbreak
• Who is being affected by the most recent outbreak
• Is vaccines an option?