What does the pancreas do for our bodies and why is the pancreas so difficult to treat when it comes to cancer? We chatted with Dr. Patrick Dreyer of MN Oncology about the harsh realities of pancreatic cancer and the ways in which people combat it and ways that you can monitor your health and seek screening for it. We also cover many of the listener questions regarding cancer, cancer prevention and treatment with the doctor!

With influenza going around and so many people on the shelf currently with sickness and flu we chatted with Karen Martin with the Minnesota Department of Health within the Infectious Disease Division about all things illness related, she talks about what she is seeing from her perspective, from pneumonia to flu and RSV to even hand foot and mouth we try to tackle many facets of the viral infections going around and some of the precautionary measures to take with certain instances including RSV and influenza vaccinations!

Denny Long jumped in for Susie today and we chatted with our good friend Dr. Hilden about heart health with February being National Heart Health Month and the rampant influenza spreading nationwide!

For today’s episode we chatted with Dr. Jay Sengupta, MD of Allina Health covering AFib, the Affera mapping system recently used in the cardiology field and also answers several heart health questions.

News broke late in the week that there are security concerns at the capitol building in Minnesota that have not yet been addressed so we talked to Mary Lahammer who is a political analyst for PBS Twin Cities and she discusses more on this story she published, we also dive into DFL leader Ken Martin being elected as the next Democratic Committee Chair! That and Blois brings us this week’s take!

Whether it is the changing weather in Minnesota or just bone health in general, millions struggle with arthritis and the various joint and ligament issues people struggle with when it comes to movement and body health so we chatted with Dr. Marta Michalska-Smith, MD with M Health Fairview about the many uncertainties with arthritis and the different types of arthritis!

So many people struggle with mental wellness so today we tackled this in a more widespread fashion whether it is mental illness, those on the ADHD and autism spectrums - we talked to a psychologist with Allina, Dr. David Nathan, PsyD LP joined Susie to talk about many issues.

As seniors it is always important to have a plan in place so we talked to Cathy Lauring, Vice President of Lifespark as well as a nurse practitioner, chatting about the various plans that are offered, the difference between those plans, various documents required for an Advanced Care Plan and much more as we deep dive into the specifics of these plans, proper precautions to take and even how to have the tough conversations!

Breaking down the struggles with eating disorders can be tough and is a hard conversation to have with those that deal with it. So, today we talked to Jillian Lampert, PhD, MPH, Vice President of Communications and Brand for Accanto Health, parent company of the Emily Program on various aspects of eating disorders, from insurance coverage, therapy and other resources available, what an under-eating disorder is and much more!

There is never a bad time to spread awareness for breast cancer so we invited Dr. Jennifer Carroll with Minnesota Oncology to talk more about the early signs, genetic factors and more when it comes to breast cancer and how often you should schedule a mammogram to stay in check!