A Woman’s Journey: Insights That Matter

Our moderator Lillie Shockney talks with Drs. Kate Thomas and Tammy Senn about the intimacy levels that change during a woman's lifetime.

In this podcast, our moderator Lillie Shockney is talking with Dr. Scott Newsome, director of the Johns Hopkins Stiff Person Syndrome Center.

COVID first brought to global attention that our ability to smell could be affected by disease.  In this month's podcast, moderator Lillie Shockney sits down with otolaryngologist and clinic director of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at the Johns Hopkins Health Care & Surgery Center – Green Spring Station, Dr. Nicholas Rowan, to discuss anosmia, which is the partial or complete loss of the sense of smell.

December is the start of the holiday season. The holiday season can be filled with love and laughter, but for some, it can also be stressful and overwhelming.  In this month's podcast, moderator Lillie Shockney talks to clinical psychologist Dr. Neda Gould, who serves as director of the Mindfulness Program at Johns Hopkins and associate director of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center Anxiety Disorders Clinic about techniques we can use to deal with holiday stress and interpersonal conflict. 

With every fall, comes a new flu vaccine. As we age, vaccines become an increasingly important tool to keep us healthy and avoiding unnecessary illnesses. In this month's podcast, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by infectious disease expert, Dr. Anna Durbin, to discuss various different vaccines and the importance of vaccine compliance as we age. 

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.  According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation: 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in her lifetime. In 2024, an estimated 310,720 women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. An estimated 42,250 U.S. women will die from breast cancer in 2024. In this month's podcast, moderator, nurse and two-time breast cancer survivor, Lillie Shockney, sits down with medical oncologist Dr. Channing Paller, associate director of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to discuss her study showing that natural compounds derived from soy and other plants can reduce breast cancer recurrence and improve survival.

As baby boomers grow older, the World Health Organization projects that by 2060, 95 million people will be age 65 or older. This month, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by geriatrician and researcher Peter Abadir, an associate professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to discuss aging well, especially the role that our DNA plays in the development of chronic inflammation. 

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the U.S. will see just over 2 million new cancer cases in 2024, as well as over 611,000 cancer deaths.  In this month's podcast, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by medical oncologist and researcher Dr. Neeha Zaidi to discuss vague symptoms — such as unexplained weight loss, fatigue, bleeding, GI problems and new lumps or masses — that can be among the signs of cancers.

An estimated 8 million Americans are affected by peripheral arterial disease, also known as peripheral artery disease (PAD). This condition can cause leg discomfort when walking or more serious problems such as pain in the foot at rest, toe ulcers, toe infections and gangrene.   In this month's podcast, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by vascular surgeon Dr. Rebecca Marmor, an assistant professor who specializes in the open and endovascular treatment of a wide range of vascular conditions.

According to the Skin Cancer Foundation: In the U.S., more than 9,500 people are diagnosed with skin cancer every day. More than two people die of the disease every hour. In this month's podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by dermatologist Dr. Farah Succaria, M.D., assistant professor of dermatology. Her research interests focus on various cancers including melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

According to the CDC: Every year, more than 795,000 people in the United States have a stroke. About 77 % of which are first-time or new strokes. Every 3 minutes and 14 seconds, someone dies of stroke. In this month's podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by neurologist, Dr.  Argye Hillis, who is the Sheikh Khalifa Stroke Institute Professor of Acute Stroke Diagnoses and Management and also serves as the director of the Center of Excellence in Stroke Detection and Diagnosis, Sheikh Khalifa Stroke Institute.

Every woman will eventually go through menopause and while each woman's experience is unique, there is some unique experiences that unite women of color during perimenopause through post-menopause.  Special guest moderator for this podcast is psychiatrist Erica Richards, who serves as Chair and Medical Director in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Sibley Memorial Hospital.  Dr. Richards sits down to discuss what women of color need to know about menopause with associate professor of gynecology and obstetrics, Dr. Wen Shen, who serves as director of the Women's Wellness & Healthy Aging Program at Johns Hopkins.

In the 2nd of 3 A Journey for Women of Color, reporter Ava-joye Burnett sits down to discuss what women of color need to know about multiple myeloma.  Her guest is Johns Hopkins Medicine associate professor of oncology, Dr. Carol Ann Huff, whose major research interests focus on the development of novel therapeutic approaches for the treatment of multiple myeloma and other plasma cell dyscrasias.

Did you know that there is there a difference in aging concerns between Caucasian women and non-Caucasian women? In the 1st of three A Journey for Women of Color podcasts, reporter Ava-joye Burnett sits down with professor of otolaryngology Dr. Kofi Boahene, who serves as a facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

Approximately 20 million people in the United States (344 million worldwide) have #dryeye disease. Dry eye is most common in people over age 50. In this month's podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Lauren Gormley, an optometrist at the Wilmer Eye Institute.

Sleep disturbances affect a significant portion of the population. 50 to 70 million Americans have some type of sleep disorder. In this month's podcast, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by psychiatrist Andrew Huhn, M.D. to discuss the impact of sleep on our overall health.

In 2023, approximately 153,020 individuals were diagnosed with colorectal cancer and an estimated 52,550 will die from the disease, including nearly 20,000 cases and 3750 deaths in individuals younger than 50 years. In this month's podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by colorectal surgeon, Dr. Ada Graham, assistant professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She practices in the National Capital Region.  

According to the Alzheimer's Association, more than 6 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer's disease, nearly three quarters of whom are age 75 or older.  This means that about 1 in 9 people age 65 and older has Alzheimer's.  Almost two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer's are women. In this month's podcast, the first of the new year, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Halima Amjad, an assistant professor of medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, whose clinical expertise focuses on individuals living with dementia. 

Substance abuse and addiction kill 11.8 million people annually, more than all cancers combined. This month's podcast features a discussion on the root of addictive behaviors and substance abuse disorders between moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney and Johns Hopkins Medicine internal medicine and public health physician, Dr. Michael Fingerhood, who serves as director of addiction medicine at Johns Hopkins Medicine.  

The World Health Organization estimates that 537 million people globally are living with diabetes  and by 2045, projections show this number rising to some 783 million diabetics globally. We frequently hear that obesity, a contributing factor to diabetes, has reach epidemic proportions in the U.S. Today, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by Johns Hopkins Medicine endocrinologist Dr. Daisy Duan to discuss the highs and lows of managing diabetes.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, podcast moderator Lillie Shockney is joined breast surgeon Dr. Hanh-Tam Tran, clinical associate at the Sullivan Breast Center at the Sibley Memorial Hospital, whose clinical research focuses on identifying patients who could avoid having axillary surgery to discuss ductal carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) breast cancer, which accounts for about 20% of breast cancers.  

In this podcast, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by gynecologist Dr. Wen Shen, who is an associate professor of gynecology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She is also the clinical director of the Menopause Consultation service and Co-Director of the Women's Wellness & Healthy Aging Program. 

We all drink caffeine is some form or another.  When we think of caffeine, we automatically think of coffee.  According to the National Coffee Association: post-Covid coffee consumption is up nearly 14% since January 2021 and 66% of Americans now drink coffee each day, more than any other beverage including tap water.  In this podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by addiction researcher Dr. Dustin Lee to discuss the upside and downside of caffeine and some myths surrounding caffeine consumption.   

Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by medical dermatologist and director of the Johns Hopkins Itch Center, Dr. Shawn Kwatra. They discuss the various causes of chronic itch and the implication of untreated chronic itch.

Heart health is vital! Exercise can play an important role in the conditioning and even improving our hearts.  Moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Kerry Stewart, director of Clinical and Research Exercise Physiology at Johns Hopkins Bayview to discuss the many benefits of regular exercise. 

In the final installment of the three part Journey for Women of Color podcast series, special guest moderator Ava-joye Burnett is joined by Johns Hopkins Medicine endocrinologist Dr. Sudipa Sarkar, who serves as the Director of the Inpatient Diabetes Management Service at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.

In this second installment, special guest moderator Ava-joye Burnett sits down with hematologist Dr. Robert Brodsky who serves as professor of medicine and director of the Division of Hematology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His area of clinical expertise is classical hematology and haploidentical bone marrow transplant for sickle cell disease and aplastic anemia.

Did you know that although their overall rate of developing breast cancer is lower than white women, African American women tend to have worse breast cancer outcomes?  Black women seem to be more likely to have what is called triple-negative breast cancer, which accounts for about 10% to 20% of all breast cancer cases. Special guest moderator and reporter Ava-joye Burnett is joined by breast cancer surgeon, Dr. Olutayo Sogunro, who serves as an assistant professor of surgery at The Center for Breast Health at Johns Hopkins Howard County General Hospital. 

Join moderator, Dr. Lillie Shockey as she sits down with ophthalmologist Dr. Meghan Berkenstock from the Johns Hopkins Wilmer Eye Institute to discuss how an eye examination can be used to diagnose other health conditions.

Probiotics are live bacteria that research suggests may have many health benefits (John Hopkins Medicine, 2022) They can be found in yogurt and other fermented foods, dietary supplements, and beauty products (NIH, 2023). Moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by Johns Hopkins clinical dietitian Ashli Greenwald to discuss probiotics.

According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States, which balances out to one person dying every 34 seconds in the United States. One cause of heart disease is valvular heart disease. Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by cardiac surgeon, Dr. James Gammie, who serves as surgical lead and co-director for the Johns Hopkins Heart and Vascular Institute and cardiac surgeon-in-chief for the Johns Hopkins Health System. 

Medicine is concerned with advancing effective methods to treat existing disease but also the proactive prevention of disease. New evidence is emerging about the value of a plant-based diet in preventing disease and enhancing wellbeing. In this podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by clinical dietitian Jaclyn Rose to discuss plant-based diets.

According to several sources: 80% of the US population will experience lower back pain in their lifetime. Women aged between 45 and 65 years old are most likely to suffer from back pain. Learn more with orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Lee Riley, III, professor of orthopaedic surgery at Johns Hopkins.

November 13-19 is Transgender Awareness Month followed by November 20, which is serves as a Day of Remembrance. To mark these dates, we bring you an introductory discussion on transgender health with three Johns Hopkins Medicine experts. In this podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by Paula Neira, the Program Director of LGBTQ+ Equity and Education at Johns Hopkins Medicine, Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity. Next, is internist Dr. Helene Hedian, who serves as director of Clinical Education at the Center for Transgender Health. Our final Johns Hopkins Medicine expert is clinical assistant professor in plastic surgery, Dr. Fan Liang, who serves as the Medical Director for the Center for Transgender Health.

Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by psychiatrist, Dr. Denis Antoine, who serves as the Director of the Center for Addiction and Pregnancy (CAP) and Director of the Addiction Treatment Services (ATS) at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center to have a frank discussion about when drinking alcohol becomes a problem.

Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by neurologist Dr. Alexander Pantelyat, who also serves as the director of the Atypical Parkinsonism Center at Johns Hopkins and is the co-founder and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Music and Medicine to discuss the potential role music can play within medicine to help heal and prevent some neurodegenerative diseases.

In the final podcast in the A Journey for Women of Color series, moderator Kelly Swoope explores the importance of heart disease prevention with cardiologist Sabra Lewsey, M.D. and cardiovascular nurse epidemiologist Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, Ph.D.

In the second podcast of the A Journey for Women of Color series, special guest moderator Kelly Swoope is joined by two Johns Hopkins Medicine experts to discuss the threat of colon cancer for women of color: colorectal surgeon, Dr. Alodia Gabre-Kidan and oncologist and Co-Director of Cancer Genetics and epigenetics, Dr. Nilofer Azad.

In the first of three special podcasts under the title "A Journey for Women of Color," special guest moderator, Kelly Swoope Anchor/Reporter for WMAR 2 News, discusses the importance of coping with stress and anxiety for women of color with psychiatrist and chair and medical director of the department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital, Dr. Erica Richards.

It has been a hard two years for everyone! The COVID pandemic has been life altering and has changed how they interact in the world. In this podcast, moderator Dr. Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Stuart Ray, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases within the Department of Medicine to talk about present and future issues in the case of pandemics. 

Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by gastroenterologist Dr. Aline Charabaty, who is the clinical director of the Gastroenterology Division and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital for a conversation on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).

This month, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Steven Frank, professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.  Dr. Frank serves as medical director for the Bloodless Medicine and Surgery Program. He is also director of the Interdisciplinary Blood Management Program and of Perioperative Blood Management Services at Johns Hopkins for a discussion on the U.S. Blood Shortage and the role of Bloodless Medicine in combating this shortage.

In this episode, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by ophthalmologist Sharon Solomon, M.D., the Katharine M. Graham Professor of Ophthalmology to discuss common issues from dry eye to macular degeneration, which can develop in the eye as we age.

With over 100 autoimmune disease affecting 23.5 million Americans and nearly 80% of those being women, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Julie Paik, assistant professor of medicine and the director of Clinical Trials at the Johns Hopkins Myositis Center to discuss autoimmune diseases in women.  

Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by dermatologist Anna Chien, M.D., an associate professor of dermatology and the medical director of Johns Hopkins Dermatology at Howard County to talk about the different types of light we come in contact with on a daily basis, skin aging and photoprotection.

Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by cardiologist Dr. Ilan Wittstein, the foremost expert in “broken heart syndrome,” also known as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo cardiomyopathy. Dr. Wittstein and Professor Shockney talk about exactly what stress cardiomyopathy or broken heart syndrome is, its symptoms and how it differs from other heart issues.

In this episode, moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Gina Adrales, an associate professor of surgery and the director of the division of minimally invasive surgery at Johns Hopkins Medicine. Dr. Adrales and Professor Shockney talk about various types of hernias and minimally invasive surgical options available to treat the hernias.

According to the American Sleep Association, 50-70 million US adults have a sleep disorder with insomnia as the most common specific sleep disorder. Short term issues were reported by about 30% of adults and chronic insomnia by 10%. Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by Dr. Rachel Salas, a professor of neurology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a sleep specialist focusing on sleep disorders such as restless legs syndrome, sleep apnea and snoring disorders. 

COVID has certainly brought to the forefront everyone's ability to adapt to uncertain times. This has never been more so in the case of businesses, who had to adapt to having their workforce remote. Healthcare is no different. For several years, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare as been a topic of interest. In this month's Insights that Matter, computer scientist Mathias Unberath discusses the role and potential of AI in the healthcare setting.

Moderator Lillie Shockney is joined by Johns Hopkins Medicine plastic and reconstructive surgeon, Dr. Oluseyi Aliu to discuss the complexity of our lymphatic system and one particular condition resulting as a consequence of a damaged lymphatic system, lymphedema.  

This has been a trying time for everyone, especially children who have seen their lives upended for the last 18 months. In the latest Insights that Matter podcast, pediatric psychiatrist and former public school teacher Hal Kronsberg, M.D., discusses the signs of anxiety that children may be feeling about returning to school after a tumultuous year of virtual learning. The discussion will address isolation, loneliness, apprehension, and depression, which has tripled among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.