Coming up Wednesday
Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy sparks debate: CNN's Zoraida Sambolin Reports
Angelina Jolie's decision to have a double mastectomy has sparked a national debate on breast and ovarian cancer treatment
While every woman must make the personal decision about what course of treatment is right for her, some doctors caution that all the publicity surrounding Jolie's choice may lead to some of us having unnecessary tests and procedures.
Dr. Monica Morrow explains BRCA1 gene mutations and breast cancer treatment options
Dr. Monica Morrow is the chief of Breast Services at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and she is on 'Starting Point' talking with CNN's Zoraida Sambolin about different treatment options woman with breast cancer have.
She also weighs in on the BRCA1 genetic tests, and options women have if they test have a BRCA1 genetic mutation.
Dr. Morrow says that while we are talking a lot about the BRCA gene, 'most women do not have BRCA,' this gene mutation is found in a small percentage of women. She stresses that knowledge is power, and that women, who have been diagnosed with cancer or the BRCA gene should gather as much information from their doctors as possible. She stresses that all women faced with these decisions need answers to the following three questions: 'what are your options? What does each option involve, and what are the outcomes?'
Model to have double mastectomy
Allyn Rose was Miss Washington D.C, and she is on 'Starting Point' talking with Zoraida Sambolin about her decision to have a preventive double mastectomy after losing her mother to breast cancer. At only 24-years-old her announcement was shocking to many in the pageant community.
At first Rose was hesitant to get the surgery, however after losing her mother, grandmother and great aunt Rose's father encouraged her to consider the procedure. Rose was diagnosed with a rare chromosomal disease that may predispose her to breast cancer. She thought having a preventive double mastectomy was 'radical,' but after doing research she decided it was a ‘good decision’ for her given her strong hereditary link to breast cancer and chromosomal abnormality. She made the decision because she realized she did not want to ‘run the risk of this happening to her.’
CNN anchor: 'I have breast cancer'
CNN anchor Zoraida Sambolin discusses her recent breast cancer diagnosis and her decision to have a double mastectomy.
Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains Angelina Jolie's cancer gene mutation that increased her risk for breast cancer
CNN's Elizabeth Cohen weighs in on Angelina Jolie's revelation about her double mastectomy. She explains the health risks behind having an abnormal mutation to the BRCA1 gene, which can increase a women's risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
In her op-ed piece Angelina Jolie writes, "I carry a 'faulty' gene, BRCA1, which sharply increases my risk of developing breast cancer and ovarian cancer. My doctors estimated that I had an 87 percent risk of breast cancer and a 50 percent risk of ovarian cancer, although the risk is different in the case of each woman."
Given this diagnosis Jolie, "decided to be proactive and to minimize the risk as much I could. I made a decision to have a preventive double mastectomy."
Actor Frankie Muniz, 27, recovers from 'mini-stroke': 'Until something happens, you really don’t expect it'
Actor, racer and musician Frankie Muniz comes to “Starting Point” with a harrowing tale of a recent health scare.
Just two weeks ago, the former “Malcolm in the Middle” started feeling strange while riding his motorcycle when he noticed he'd lost vision in one eye. After that, he was having trouble understanding words, and his fiancée noticed that he couldn't speak properly. A visit to the hospital revealed that he had suffered a mini-stroke. Muniz turned 27 just last week and shares his story of recovery this morning.
Muniz had worked out earlier that morning and felt perfectly healthy until the symptoms came on during his motorcycle ride. “Personally, I felt invincible,” Muniz says. “Until something happens, you really don’t expect it.”
Muniz and his doctors are still uncertain what caused the mini-stroke. "[I've] never had a drink of alcohol," Muniz says. Drugs? "I've never even been near them."
But Muniz admits extreme stress may be a factor. "I can say that is the one thing in my life that I do need to work on."
America faces epidemic of prescription drug overdoses – Dr. Gupta reports
A deadly drug epidemic is currently unfolding in the U.S. with prescription drug overdoses, particularly painkillers. Prescription drug poisoning is now a more common way to die than being killed in a car accident. This is just one of the startling statistics in Dr. Sanjay Gupta's new CNN documentary, "Deadly Dose.”
Dr. Gupta says he's been noticing in the hospital where he works, “that the number of pain prescriptions being given out were increasing” but it was a call from former President Clinton that raised his awareness about the problem.
CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent adds that during his conversation with the former president he was told about two of Clinton’s friends who had both lost sons within a few days of each other due to prescription drug overdoses.
“We prescribe enough painkillers in this country to give every man woman and child a pill every four hours for three weeks,” Dr. Gupta explains.
"Deadly Dose" airs this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.
CDC's Dr. Beth Bell says US is headed for worst year on record for the West Nile virus
Texas is experiencing the worst outbreak of West Nile virus in nearly a decade, resulting in the deaths of 16 in the state and another six deaths in Louisiana. Ten of those deaths occurred in Dallas County, where local officials have declared a state of emergency.
Officials with the Centers for Disease Control say the U.S. is headed for worst year on record, with almost 700 reported infections nationwide.
Dr. Beth Bell, a medical epidemiologist for Centers for Disease Control, says "this is a very unusual year. This is the more cases then we’ve ever seen by the second week of August since we’ve been tracking West Nile infection in the United States."
Dr. Bell went on to say she is unsure as to what this will mean for the rest of the season. “There’s all kinds of things that could happen that could mean that we’ll be fortunate and we won’t continue to see the rapid increase that we’ve been seeing so far. But that’s why it’s really so important for all of us to be tracking the spread of West Nile virus and mosquitoes and birds and people,” she says.
CNN'S chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta also weighs in describing symptoms of the mosquito-borne virus.
iCarly star partners with Birds Eye to motivate kids to eat their vegetables
Nickelodeon's award-winning comedy iCarly has been a hit with young viewers for five seasons and is notable for featuring topical subjects and newsworthy guests.
In conjunction with Birds Eye, the show has now launched a new campaign to try to get kids to eat their vegetables. Aiming to help kids look at vegetables in a new way, the show's star, Jennette McCurdy, is to become a "veggie loving ambassador."
McCurdy joins Soledad O'Brien on Starting Point this morning to discuss the initiative and to explain what it was like to work with Michelle Obama when she appeared on the show.
FDA set to approve new weight loss drug – Elizabeth Cohen explains
(CNN) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve a new prescription diet drug called Qnexa on Tuesday. The medication produced dramatic weight loss in clinical trials, but some are concerned over potential side effects, including increased heart rate, birth defects and other issues.
If approved, Qnexa (pronounced kyoo-NEX-uh) would become the second diet drug approved this year. The FDA approved a weight-loss pill called Belviq on June 27.
Patients in clinical trials experienced more dramatic weight loss with Qnexa than with Belviq. On Qnexa, patients went from an average 227 pounds to 204 pounds; on Belviq, the average weight dropped from 220 to 207.
But some consumer advocates worry the weight loss comes with a price. Some patients in the clinical trial suffered an increased heart rate and a condition called metabolic acidosis, which can lead to hyperventilation, fatigue, and anorexia.
This morning on "Starting Point," Elizabeth Cohen explains the Qnexa safety concerns.
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