In the Ladies' Room with Dr. Donnica Dr. Donnica Moore

Dr. Faubion is the Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at Mayo Clinic and the Director of their Center for Women’s Health. Stephanie is the Medical Director of The North American Menopause Society. She has come up with her own version of “the talk”. No, not an awkward conversation between you and your parents talking about menstruation and sex. Dr. Stephanie Faubion has developed a new version of “the talk” to get women information about menopause. She goes over everything from the definition of menopause to what to expect from it. Stephanie encourages women to talk to their doctors in their 40s to prepare for what’s going to happen during menopause. She has found that a lot of women are not even aware of some of the symptoms of menopause beyond hot flashes. The more informed women are when going into menopause, the better equipped they can be to work with their doctor to be ready for it. She goes over different options women have to combat symptoms that may come from menopause.
For more information on menopause, you can go to http://www.menopause.org/

Dr. Padmini Murthy is a Professor and Global Heath Director at New York Medical College School of Health Science and Practice. She is an obstetrician and gynecologist, as well as an activist. She has practiced medicine for over 30 years in several countries. She holds an MPH and an MS in Management from New York University. Dr. Murthy serves as the Medical Women’s International Association NGO representative to the United Nations as well as the Global Health Lead of American Medical Women’s Association. With many states still struggling to deal with COVID, Dr. Donnica and Dr. Murthy talk about how everyone is able to step up and help in the pandemic. They discuss the importance of blood donation, social distancing, and wearing a mask. Some people are afraid to go out and give blood, but Dr. Murthy debunks those fears! Taking small steps can make a big difference in making your community a healthier place. Padmini talks about helping women who don’t have access to feminine hygiene products. All over the world, America included, women aren’t able to get information and hygiene products needed for their periods. She shares the work she is doing to bring light to this issue and make it a more discussed topic.

In the ladies’ room today, we have US Congressional Candidate, Cathy Kunkel, who is running as a Democrat in West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. Cathy has defended West Virginians against monopoly electric utilities, analyzed the economic and financial impact of natural gas drilling and pipelines in the region, researched absentee land ownership in West Virginia, and fought electric utility corporate bailouts. She’s is the co-founder of Advocates for a Safe Water System in the aftermath of the January 2014 Freedom Industries chemical spill. She is the co-founder of Rise Up WV, an organization that advocates for healthcare for quality public education, better services for those suffering from addiction, and many other issues we’ve discussed on this podcast.
 
Cathy discusses her stance on healthcare. Specifically, in West Virginia, the coal industry that is now leaving and shrinking because of financial and environmental reasons has left a lot of former coal workers with black lung disease. Even though, many coal workers are entitled to help from getting this disease at work. they are struggling to fight big lawyers working against them. Now that many West Virginians have lost their coal mining jobs, they are being left without health insurance. She goes through her plans for helping the environment and health insurance if elected to Congress.

Dr. Dani Jackson is a first-generation college student finishing her final year of residency at the Yale Department of Psychiatry. Now she is working to address healthcare inequity and social justice of the unmet health needs of the black community due to systemic racism and structural vulnerability. She is the co-director of the Social Justice and Health Equity Curriculum for the Department of Psychiatry at Yale. She is also a recipient of the National Medical Association’s Top Health Care Providers Under 40 Award for 2020.
 
She enters the ladies’ room to talk about being a little girl who loved to learn and want to learn more about diseased directly affecting her family. This prompted her to go to medical school. Dani and Donnica talk about racial inequality in the health care system and also in medical school. Many people can go through elementary school, high school, and even into college without a black teacher. Even more never see a black doctor. The more representation there is in healthcare, the more people there are on the side of fighting racial inequity. Someone’s zip code should not dictate their life expectancy.

Candice is an Anesthesiologist/Pain Physician and musician from Los Angeles. Her passions from making quality music and spreading joy through live performance, writing, producing, and singing started during her childhood when she said she wanted to be a doctor and a musician when she grew up. After completing her medical education, she began studying piano, which led to her passion for R&B and jazz. Her nickname is KeyBoard Doc, which pays homage to her transition from being a physician to a musician, writer, and producer. Candice and her husband Keith are the co-founders of Backstage Consultants - a company that offers full-service live music support, in-person and virtual instruction in piano and drums, and support organizations wishing to improve the administration of their music departments.
 
She talks about her experience of feeling like an “other” often being the only woman in her classrooms. She was able to spin that experience into a positive for herself by learning about many other cultures as she was constantly surrounded by people different than herself. But she still faced discrimination when people constantly asked her to prove that she belonged in medical school. After working as a physician, she realized how much stress she was under. When she turned to music, she was able to find so much creative energy that was waiting for her. She made the hard decision to turn down having a steady income to trusting that if she jumped into the music world, she would find her footing.

Today we welcome comedy legend, Vicki Lawrence, back on the show. Vicki is best known for her iconic characters on Mama’s Family and The Carol Burnett Show, and she recently co-starred in “The Cool Kids” on Fox. Now she’s using her voice to share her personal experience with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU). She is partnering with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America on their national education and awareness program called “CIU & You”.
 
Most people haven’t heard of CIU, but it affects approximately 1.6 million people in the United States. Vicki talks about her experience dealing with this extremely uncomfortable feeling in their skin. Vicki spent 6 weeks dealing with hives and having discomfort but not understanding what was going on with her body. Finally, her doctor diagnosed her with CIU.
 
When people break out in hives, people often suspect it’s something they’ve done wrong. People try to change their diets, their detergents, and even give up their wine, when in actuality, this is a disease that isn’t anyone’s fault. Most people just don’t know about CIU, which leaves people wondering what’s happening to them. Vicki gives her tips on who to talk to and how to find the best doctor for this condition. She is now working to make this disease more well known so people don’t have to suffer not knowing what their diagnosis is, and she is now the proud self-proclaimed face of hives!
Learn more at https://www.ciuandyou.com/