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Empaths... in Space?
30 Plays12 days ago
Our first episode is here! Dr. Aidan and Julie discuss:
- the new National Lung Cancer Screening Program and who is eligible
- what being an astronaut does to your body
- whether empaths are a real thing or a TikTok invention
Follow us on Instagram and TikTok
Get in touch with us at questions@thismightsting.com.au
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Transcript
Introduction and Overview
00:00:00
Speaker
Hi there and welcome to this first episode of This Might Sting. I'm Dr Aidan Barron and today I'm joined by the gorgeous Julie McCrossan. On today's episode we're going to be discussing cancer screenings that might save your life, what space does to your bones, and whether empaths are a medical real thing.
Commitment to Evidence-Based Medicine
00:00:18
Speaker
Over to you Julie. Well, here we are at our very first episode of This Might Sting, and we're two people, would agree, Aidan, who are incredibly dedicated to evidence-based medicine, allied health and nursing, and all supportive people seeking to be healthy.
00:00:36
Speaker
And we're surprisingly different in age. I'm 70. Tell us about yourself and how old are you? Well, Julie, I'm 29 and in a few days, 30. There's a one or two years between us. I guess I started off in healthcare at a young age. I started off as a little St. John and Bionds cadet and I became a paramedic and I'm a doctor and I've been a health services researcher and a passionate health advocate along the way.
00:00:58
Speaker
Okay. Well, but I'm 70, as I said, and you know when it comes to health, I come from very much an evidence-based perspective. I had a stage four throat cancer about 12 years ago and I think I'm alive because I did... absolutely everything I was told.
00:01:16
Speaker
And so when it comes to health, I'm very focused on evidence. And also I come from a medical family. I've been influenced by that. A couple of brothers who are doctors, my daughter's a doctor. But I also, as a cancer survivor of the throat, relied heavily on allied health, particularly speech pathology and dieticians, and also nurses, nurses, nurses. So you know i'm and i have to tell you that I feel like almost any condition, the answer is eat healthy food and and exercise, but hopefully we'll have more to talk about than that.
00:01:47
Speaker
Look, you're 100% not wrong, Jewel. That does seem to be the solution, but I'm really glad to hear also how wonderful the multidisciplinary team came to your sort of your rescue and and were able to be there for you there. I think it's so undervalued and increasingly we recognise how important everyone's role is in the team.
Australia's Lung Cancer Screening Program
00:02:09
Speaker
We're going to do a lot of different news topics, and this is our news episode. And also once a week we're going to talk in depth to a clinician on a major topic. And, you know, we're already keen to hear from our listeners on the topics they'd like us to cover. But let's go to our first news item for our first episode, and it's the National Lung Cancer Screening Program that's going to kick off across Australia at the start of July 2025. this year, what do you want to...
00:02:36
Speaker
what do you want to think about, talk about when it comes to this screening program? Aidan? Look, it's such a great question. Whenever we have a screening program, the first question is why? Why did we need a screening program? There's a lot of diseases out there which we can test for, but we shouldn't.
00:02:52
Speaker
So prostate cancer is one of the really big contentious ones. We have a saying in medicine that men die with prostate cancer, not of prostate cancer. And so there's a bunch of diseases we can test for, but the real question is, should we be testing for it?
00:03:06
Speaker
And if we are, what are we going to do with that? Well, I've got an answer for that. And it's not just because my partner's sister died of lung cancer and some people close to me have done a lot of smoking.
00:03:17
Speaker
I think the Australian health system has brought its it's normal, unbelievable, systemic intelligence to this screening program. So we have some of the highest survival rates in cancer worldwide.
00:03:31
Speaker
across Australia. And I think that's because we have targeted our screening to where something can be done about it. And I'm thinking of breast screening, bowel screening and cervical screening. but So we've got a great track record.
00:03:43
Speaker
And this National Lung Cancer Screening Programme, what impresses me, Aidan, is that they they're targeting it really precisely. they've got to be be between 50 and 70. You've got to have no symptoms, but you have to have a history of a 30 pack a year.
00:03:59
Speaker
So that's 30 pack a year and still be smoking or have only quit in the last 10 years. So to me, they're really targeting.
00:04:10
Speaker
And they've also got some other good ideas about how the screening is going. But do you feel a bit reassured by the targeting? Look, if I was going to come in here knowing nothing about it, I would say that's a fantastic target audience or rather like a sample population to look at. That's the right thing to be doing with the screening program, really making sure that we're targeting the right people who are at very high risk of a disease in order to make sure that we pick up the disease in them. Because if we start screening everyone, we're more likely to pick up false positives than true disease.
00:04:40
Speaker
Absolutely. But, you know, the other question you asked was, you know, why are we doing it? And I think why we're doing it is because it's such a deadly cancer. And to have a good chance of surviving early diagnosis, early detection is critical. It's critical for all cancer. It's critical with my cancer. But yeah.
00:05:01
Speaker
yeah it's very critical with lung cancer. So they're focusing on the high risk group. They're trying to get them early. And I should reassure people, because not every you everyone likes to be scanned, but they're going for low dose scans. So that marvellous principle of of medicine, do no harm, is being looked at. But I think...
00:05:23
Speaker
It's the early diagnosis they're looking for so they can make a difference. Can I just say one thing? you might know more about this than me, but because I'm a bit of a cancer nerd because I've had it and you end up knowing lots of other people who've had it, there is this stuff called immunotherapy now. And while i radiation, surgery, chemotherapy are the three key cancer tools, immunotherapy, this new kind of medication is becoming increasingly critical.
00:05:52
Speaker
And I do know some people with lung cancer who had all the standard treatments, but then it came back and they had immunotherapy and they're still alive.
00:06:04
Speaker
I think there's luck, isn't there, Aiden? Sometimes it works more for some people than others. Yeah, I mean, immunotherapy is a phenomenal breakthrough in medical treatment, and and it's thanks to millions of dollars put into research over the last 30 years that we can do it today.
00:06:18
Speaker
Basically, it's teaching your immune system to fight the cancer. So it's not putting medication into your body to kill the cancer. It's actually teaching your own immune system to become... a super detective, find those cancer cells and kill them.
00:06:33
Speaker
And it's incredibly targeted. It's not a broad broad broad based, you know, brushstroke. It's highly selective, highly targeted, and it depends on the person and depends on the cancer. It feels like it's still down to luck, but really there's some precise science behind it and we're still figuring out so much every day.
00:06:52
Speaker
I guess the thing is there are all these treatment options out there, but at the end of the day, it doesn't matter if you don't get the detection right early on So if this is something that you're worried about, or if you think this might apply to you, I guess I'd say, you know, get into your GP early, ask them if it's appropriate for you and ask if you are eligible for screening.
00:07:12
Speaker
Dr. Aidan, this is our first conversation together and already I'm falling in love with you because that's exactly the message I wanted to say too, that you don't have to wait till you're between the ages of 50 or 70. You don't have to build up the number of packs to 30 a year.
00:07:29
Speaker
You know, if you have the symptoms of lung cancer, we might maybe we could run through a few of the key symptoms. Go to your GP now and ask for help. Do you want to give us a couple of symptoms of lung cancer?
00:07:41
Speaker
Look, I think first of all, the feeling's mutual, Julie. Things you should be looking out for are the general symptoms for cancer, which is unexplained weight loss over a period of time, like you know a few months when you're not trying to lose weight, but you are sort of losing weight.
00:07:55
Speaker
Waking up at night with... hot and cold sweats that are going on for a long period of time, a significant drop in energy over a significant period of time. And in general, if you're feeling pains that are getting worse and you don't have a really good explanation for them, that should be a trigger to go to your GP.
00:08:14
Speaker
And that's your doctor's job to find out with you what's going wrong. And, you know, for people who cough up blood or their voice is hoarse for a really long time, you've changed.
00:08:27
Speaker
And if your shortness of breath, particularly if you're younger, there'll be lots of younger people listening to this. ah therere There are other key symptoms, chest infections that won't go away. particularly want talk to the blokes. you know, I've got men in my life I love and, you know, don't wait.
00:08:42
Speaker
get there Before we leave the the National Lung Cancer Screening Program starting in July 2025, I just want to say there are some people who won't be eligible for this screening.
00:08:54
Speaker
and That's why I wanted to mention those symptoms because my understanding is, correct me if I'm wrong, Aidan, there are people who get lung cancer who have never smoked.
00:09:05
Speaker
And there's also a great prejudice against people who get lung cancer. People tend to assume you've smoked. And I suppose I want to say is number one is you can have these symptoms and you can get lung cancer without smoking. But number two is don't be mean to people who get it who are smokers, you know, because goodness me, let's have empathy and compassion for people with a deadly cancer.
00:09:26
Speaker
Oh, look, 100%, Julie. this is the The tragedy of cancer is that it strikes and it's sometimes just bad luck. And that it's not that you've done anything wrong.
00:09:37
Speaker
It's just really unfortunate. It's just life. It's mutation. That's how our cells work at a really intrinsic level. Sometimes cancer gets through the defense mechanisms. So if you're getting symptoms, you don't have to be someone who's been smoking for years. In fact, as you said, you never have to have picked up a cigarette in your life.
00:09:54
Speaker
If you're getting worrying symptoms, get into your GP and ask them about them. It's the best thing you
Space Travel vs Aging: Health Effects
00:10:00
Speaker
can do. Look, my instinct is to go to our next item, and I'm particularly interested in this because it's about outer space.
00:10:09
Speaker
And those two astronauts, ah Sonny Williams, 59-year-old Sonny Williams and 62-year-old Butch oh wilman Wilmore ah from the United States, who you know got stuck up in the space station, which is my idea of claustrophobic hell.
00:10:24
Speaker
But then they've plummeted to Earth and there's been interesting media coverage of their health problems. Do you want to kick off? What are some of your thoughts or questions about these astronauts who've plummeted back to Earth?
00:10:36
Speaker
Look, my first reaction was, I'm so jealous they get to go to space. And then my second reaction was, oh my god, the idea of being stuck in a little space shuttle for more than a few days is actually terrifying.
00:10:48
Speaker
The problem with space is that there's no gravity. And you might think that's fun at first, but the problem is all of our bones, our blood vessels, our heart, it relies on the fact that gravity is constantly pulling us down to earth, quite literally.
00:11:04
Speaker
And so when that isn't happening, what we start to happen have to us is... our body starts changing because it's constantly adapting. Every time you're walking, your bones are restructuring themselves on a micro level.
00:11:18
Speaker
And every time you do weights, as someone of the age of 50, you're significantly improving your bone strength and health because you're putting stress on your bones as they're constantly what we call remodeling. And so when you're up in space for an extended period of time, your bones stop remodeling in order to strengthen them to resist gravity.
00:11:36
Speaker
And so they become fragile. And as they become fragile, they start leaching calcium out of the bones into your bloodstream. And as that happens, you start building up calcium in other parts of your body so it can be painful.
00:11:48
Speaker
And as your heart doesn't have to resist gravity and pump hard to to resist the force of gravity pulling blood down and and your heart's pushing blood up into your brain, into your chest, the heart weakens.
00:12:01
Speaker
And your blood vessels, which are really elastic and normally squeezing blood, they they relax. And so all these changes in your body happen, which means that the moment you hit Earth, you can't even stand up properly. In fact, they actually have to sit the astronauts down because they're too weak to stand up. It's going to take months, if not years, for them to recover.
00:12:21
Speaker
You know, Aidan, when i started looking into this myself, and ah what struck me, because as I mentioned, I'm 70, and yeah ah happy birthday for 30. That'll probably be in another episode.
00:12:33
Speaker
But, you know, how similar the long-term impacts of being up in space, because ah Sunny and Butch were up there almost the longest anyone's ever been in space. Yeah. It's so similar to aging because so I am someone who has to go to an exercise physiologist to strengthen my muscles, which are naturally weakening with age.
00:12:52
Speaker
I've got osteoarthritis, which is evidently a major issue for people who've been in space for so long. They have balanced dizziness and weaker cardiovascular function.
00:13:04
Speaker
ah That's 70 and beyond. you know suppose it left me, before we go on to more of their health issues, with incredible respect for astronauts because they're so skilled and they're essentially scientists. I think they're all up there doing science experiments and just how committed they are to have the knowledge of what they're doing to their body and still go up.
00:13:26
Speaker
Totally, totally. I think I have a huge admiration for them because they really do put their body on the line for science. They know that they're reducing their lifespan by going up there. They know that there's a risk that they could die every time we launch a shuttle.
00:13:38
Speaker
So I have a huge admiration and respect for them. and And just like every day, we use things which we have because of space scientists and astronauts. We have microwaves in our kitchen because of NASA.
00:13:54
Speaker
Well, we couldn't live without a microwave. No, I personally couldn't live without my air fryer either. and yeah I was thinking you particularly because I don't think we've shared with people that Dr Aidan, my partner in crime here on This Might Sting, you've been working in accident and emergency as part of your rotations as you rise up the the ladder of medicine and you wouldn't have time to cook, would you? Your life must be full of microwaves.
00:14:19
Speaker
I can't possibly divulge my secrets, Julie. but You know, another impact of space travel is something called baby feet because I love terminology and baby feet is such an evocative title.
00:14:34
Speaker
My understanding is that they lose the thickness of the the skin on the base of their feet and they go all soft like a little baby, which must make walking even, you know, a little bit dangerous. You'd have to be careful while you build up your calluses again.
00:14:48
Speaker
Yeah, look, it's it's
Vestibular System and Space Travel
00:14:50
Speaker
definitely a thing. We have glabrous skin, which is this thick skin that our body develops whenever we're coming into contact with our friction and surfaces a lot. It's how you get calluses on your hands as well.
00:15:00
Speaker
And we developed that because we're walking all the time on on the base of our foot. And it's something that actually can come back after a few months, which is good news for the astronauts. But yeah, walking is not going to be fun for the first few days for that and many other reasons.
00:15:14
Speaker
The dizziness interested me because, as I understand, there's something about the lack of gravity that affects the vestibular system in your ear. Can you give us a snapshot vision of what on earth a vestibular system is?
00:15:29
Speaker
Yeah. Look, it's one of my favourite systems because people have problems with it all the time. Essentially, imagine that your balance system or your vestibular system is a chandelier inside your ear. It's a bunch of crystals that are suspended and they're hanging there, swinging backwards and forwards. And that's how your brain determines which direction you're turning in, where's up, where's down. And it's why some people, after they get a really bad virus or cold and that system gets a bit inflamed, get a total vertigo and they can't really get a good sense of balance. And every time they turn their head, it feels like the whole world's spinning.
00:16:04
Speaker
And so gravity pulls those crystals down and helps us determine essentially a thing called proprioception. It's our sense of where we are in motion and being up in space for so long that chandelier has just been floating there.
00:16:17
Speaker
Those crystals aren't being pulled down to earth and they, they really have issues with balance for, for weeks after they get back to earth. And it's something that they have to re acclimate to. And, and that,
00:16:29
Speaker
difficulty with balance also can bring on nausea. I feel like my role in this is going to be the older person telling you the patient what's happening to baby boomers. But again, you you could give me the proper medical language, but those little crystals you're talking about that are inside my ear with this swooshy thick liquid,
00:16:47
Speaker
sometimes they can, as you get older, they can little bits of them can drop off. And as I understand it, there's all these little hairs that are in that fluid. And as the little bit of bone that breaks off but follows gravity down through the system. It can bang up against the little hairs and it sends all these confusing messages to the brain that mean you're unbelievably nauseated, you vomit, and you have to close your eyes but and your eyeball i your eyes actually go in towards your nose. Now, why do I know this? Not from Google.
00:17:22
Speaker
I've had it happen to me on a couple of occasions and I can honestly say I felt like dying and We had to call a doctor to the house. I'm vomiting into a bucket. And he said, Julie, open your eyes and look at me. And I go, vomit, I can't, vomit, I can't.
00:17:37
Speaker
And he insisted that I do it. And he diagnosed me, whacked some anti-nausea into me with a needle and I was right. But um again, I'm faced with the fact that you know, these brave astronauts are taking on the risk of some ageing illnesses by going into space because one of them is atrial fibrillation. We can't miss a chance to mention that. Do you want to explain that one?
00:18:01
Speaker
Yeah, look, I mean, we'll we'll dive into atrial fibrillation or AFib in a second, but I just want to say, I'm so glad you mentioned that vertigo syndrome, it's it's something that happens to so many people. It's called BPPV, benign positional paroxysmal vertigo. And it's super common in the population.
00:18:18
Speaker
It's not life-threatening at all. unless you get really, really dehydrated. So it's it's exactly as described, a little crystal sort of breaks off the chandelier and it's swimming around. And every time you move your head, it hits those tiny little fibrous hairs and you get this whoosh of of vertigo and nausea and it triggers vomiting.
00:18:37
Speaker
And what's really interesting is the reason we have nausea and vomiting. And I might just deep dive into the history there for a second. If you think about our evolutionary ancestors, cavemen, they were out on the Kalahari plains and in you know in the Sahara Desert and they find a fruit or a berry and they eat that berry.
00:18:56
Speaker
And let's say that that berry is healthy for them, nothing bad happens. But if it's a toxic berry, it starts to produce all these symptoms of a toxicology in them. It starts to produce a toxidrome, we call.
00:19:10
Speaker
And part of that is that they start to get a disequilibrium or they can't really see properly. And so they start to get balance issues and blurriness and they can't see the horizon.
00:19:22
Speaker
And again, this ties into our vestibular system, our balance, our proprioception. If you were the caveman who then vomited because you got dizzy, you vomited those poison berries up and you survived.
00:19:36
Speaker
But if you were the caveman who didn't vomit, you died. And so we evolutionarily adapted that when we get dizzy and we lose our sense of the horizon and we get balance issues, we often get nausea and vomiting. And that's how we survived from eating poisonous berries, probably back in the old days.
00:19:53
Speaker
The old, old days, Julie. Older than me. Yeah, just a little bit, right? only Only half a million years, which I think is such a cool thing to know. And it's why when I'm in a long car trip, I try and focus on the horizon to stop me getting nauseated.
00:20:09
Speaker
And it's why these anti-nausea, anti-vomiting medications work so well. We might have to save up atrial fibrillation for a future episode of This Might Sting. We've got a funny little bit of information for you, each of us, about health coming up. But you're listening to This Might Sting with Dr. Aidan and Julie, and we'll be back in a minute.
00:20:36
Speaker
Well, welcome back to This Might Sting. And Aidan, I think we're going to come up with a fact of the week, something that's caught your curiosity, anything at all about health that's on your mind this week in particular.
00:20:50
Speaker
Where do I start? I could give you 50 things, Julie. Look, is that because you work in accident and emergency and you see everything in that place? You know, I think the beauty of our Australian healthcare system is that unlike America and and many other countries, junior doctors who go through training have to rotate through all sorts of different specialties. And so we pick up things from accident emergency and surgery and medicine.
00:21:14
Speaker
It's one of the real strengths of our healthcare system. And it means most doctors you meet have really had a breadth of experience. Probably my key factor of the week is that it's really normal for your blood pressure to go up and down on a daily basis. And sometimes if you've got a home blood pressure machine and perhaps you're but more life experience than others, and you're measuring your blood pressure every day, you might have a few days where your blood pressure is really high. You know, it's maybe even like 160, 170, 180.
00:21:39
Speaker
And as a once-off, that's probably okay. the The danger with high blood pressure is that it's too high for too long because that starts to put strain on the kidneys. But unless it's really high, you know, plus 200 and you're getting symptoms, a bit of high blood pressure for one day never killed anyone.
00:21:57
Speaker
um I'm glad to hear that. I'll tell you my yeah reflection on health for the week. It's a bit of good news, I guess, something that lifted my spirits. And I share it because I think the world at the moment is so turbulent that sharing any source of uplift is a good idea. But I travelled interstate to see a fantastic opera at the Sydney Opera House. I'm based in Adelaide. and And I travel with a friend who has very significant physical disability involving, but you know, the need for crutches and a wheelchair and so on.
00:22:28
Speaker
And at every point on this journey, on an aeroplane, on taxis, on going to the Sydney Opera House, which is ah but a myriad of people were involved in taking us through a series of tunnels to get us to the right place for this project.
00:22:43
Speaker
woman to be able to watch this fantastic opera. We were just treated and and in the hotel and we were in a cheap hotel. At every stage, people were just so welcoming, so helpful, broke rules about parking, ah got us into the right lift.
00:22:58
Speaker
You know, it was, I just share that with you because You know, a lot of health treatments that we get might save our lives. and We're lucky to live long. We have very good life expectancy here in Australia. But it doesn't mean you're not left with some side effects that can be of great significance. And that's what's happened to my friend. And so I'm just sharing the yeah good news that the ah spirit of helpful mateship and rule breaking to assist someone with a physical disability is alive and well.
00:23:25
Speaker
You know, I'm so glad to hear that. It's nice to know that there's still a sense of coming together in in society. You're right, the news can really be depressing sometimes, and it's nice to escape from that and to hear that everyday people are helping each other.
The Science and Skepticism of Empaths
00:23:39
Speaker
Now, well, let's go to our next item and our news on This Might Sting. And you're going to have to help me with this, Dr. Aidan, because it's about empaths. And they're all over social media. And this is like dead set new to me.
00:23:55
Speaker
But it's an issue, um and like an idea that seems to tremendous interest to a lot of people. So what the hell is an empath? Welcome to Millennial and Gen Z TikTok, Julie.
00:24:06
Speaker
So the whole idea of an empath is someone who's like really connected to their emotions and other people's emotions and has this super ability to sense other people's emotions. And if you watch, you know, the TikTok videos and Instagram videos, it's this superhuman sense of like really getting what another person's about and being tapped into their emotions and being able to perceive these like micro emotional triggers. And I'm just not buying it.
00:24:32
Speaker
What's a microemotional trigger? It's a term i just made up right now.
00:24:39
Speaker
Well, look, a quick look, it seems to be some idea that empaths literally share the feelings of people they're near. I mean, they sounded like the sort of cavoodles of the human species. You know, a lot of it that an awful lot of women love cavoodles because there's insanely needy dogs that just cling to your leg perpetually.
00:25:02
Speaker
But this notion of sharing feelings, I mean, is there any... psychological significance or evidence-based diagnosis going on here? Or is it just ah personality trait of some kind? Oh, look, Julie, it's not good news. I think it might be terminal. No, this is this is absolutely just basic human nature at play. We have evolved as a species to be able to tell what the other person's feeling. It's how we get along well. It's how we make sure that In small packs and tribes, we survived.
00:25:31
Speaker
Because when someone else is angry, you don't go tease them and poke them with a stick. Instead, you give them some food from you know that the the communal pot of food or you know not so much pot back in the the caveman days. you you know You give them a bite of of the whatever you've caught that day and you help them out.
00:25:49
Speaker
And you don't you don't irritate them because they're angry and you can sense that they're angry. And that's that's a basic evolutionary skill that most people have evolved is sensing other people's emotions. so And if someone else is crying, you yourself feeling sad,
00:26:04
Speaker
is probably a totally normal thing to happen. So what I'm seeing online and and this whole empath trend, I think it's just describing people who are slightly more empathetic than average, because if you think about it, we're all existing on a sort of bell curve. There's a you know and And I'm cautious with this word. There's a spectrum out there of of human performance and behavior.
00:26:27
Speaker
And yeah, it makes total sense that there are people who fall to one side of that spectrum or bell curve and they're more emotionally connected you know and and they feel emotions more strongly than other people do.
00:26:39
Speaker
But I'm very happy to reassure everyone that it's a totally normal part of of human emotion and behaviour and and social behaviour that we're able to tap into how other people are feeling. and And if someone else is sad, we're able to feel that sadness ourselves, probably because we're relating to things which make us sad.
00:26:56
Speaker
What struck me when I had a quick look, knowing you know we were going to talk about this on our first episode, was there's a huge amount of discussion about whether... It makes you a better lover if you're an empath or it's it's best to be in a relationship with an empath because you'll be happier.
00:27:14
Speaker
i am a nerd who's been in a relationship for 28 years, so I was trying to remember dating in the distant past. But, you know, it can be a bit of a – it's a tough old world, dating, isn't it? and It can be. And and so – you know, I'm trying to understand the cultural significance, I suppose, what draws people to thinking and reflecting about this rather than just thinking people are fools, if you know what I mean.
00:27:38
Speaker
Yeah, it's interesting. I think part of it comes from natural inclination or rather a desire within society to find points of difference within ourselves, almost our, but you know, and I'm cringing saying this, our unique selling point.
00:27:53
Speaker
I think everyone would like to believe that. you say a unique selling point? you mean as someone like when you're dating? Yeah, yeah. come on, Aidan, what's your unique selling point? You've got to tell me. Julie, we're going to have to leave that for another episode. i couldn't possibly say.
00:28:08
Speaker
Look. Only if you promise that we can come back to it in a next episode. Done deal. I think you know everyone wants to believe and and should believe that there's something special about them and that they bring something special to the table. And for many people in a world which is just oversaturated with things online, they're looking for a sense of community and someone to validate that special part of themselves.
00:28:33
Speaker
And so if we're able to say, oh, I feel strong emotions, I'm an empath, that's something special I bring to the table, that's potentially really rewarding and affirming for a lot of people. And I think that's probably what we're tapping into here is this sense that people who've previously been told that there's something wrong or defective with them because they feel strong emotions are actually going, hang on a second, this is a strength.
00:28:54
Speaker
I actually bring something special to the table by feeling strong emotions. And I would tend to agree with that. There's nothing wrong with feeling strong emotions and it totally can be a strength.
00:29:05
Speaker
Yeah, I guess that's what we're seeing. you know And I don't think there's anything good or bad with quote unquote being an empath. I think it's certainly a strength being able to relate to other people's emotions and feel them.
00:29:18
Speaker
But at the same time, if you're constantly feeling everyone else's emotions really strongly, that's going to suck. It's going to suck when you see someone who's sad and then you're sad the entire day.
00:29:29
Speaker
That's not productive and healthy. And so as always, you know, there's a natural bell curve and and the extremes on either end are probably unhelpful and and almost, you know, and ah and I use this carefully, pathological because it's not healthy and and easy to go through life either feeling every single emotion you see super strongly all the time or really struggling to tap into other people's emotions.
00:29:53
Speaker
Look, ah we're at a point now in our first episode of our program, This Might Sting, ah of reflecting, yeah you know, for ourselves, you know, one of one or two key things you're taking away from our our first episode that's caught your attention and imagination. Do you want to kick off or do you want not me to have a go?
00:30:11
Speaker
ah why don't you go first, Julie? Well, look, I suppose began by talking a lot about smoking. and I did have throat cancer, as I mentioned. So I've spent a lot of time in hospitals.
00:30:23
Speaker
You know, you but when you have cancer in Australia, they you stick with them for five years because they check for recurrence. So I've spent a lot of time in hospitals. And I and i didn't hadn't smoked i yeah for over 35 years and I hadn't drunk any alcohol, which is pretty unusual.
00:30:39
Speaker
for over 40 years ah when I got cancer because I got it from the human papillomavirus, HPV, and we'll probably cover that in a future episode of our show, all the different health problems connected with HPV.
00:30:52
Speaker
But, you know, I just saw the results of smoking because a lot of the people in cancer wards are there because of smoking. And I guess I just wanted to reach out to people who might be listening to this who are still having a fag from time to time or they're smoking and and say, you know, my heart is with you. And, the you know, ring the quit line. Find a doctor or or any sort of health professional, allied health professional you think might help you. and And don't give up trying to stop. You know, it's never too late to keep trying.
00:31:23
Speaker
You know, it's totally, it's such an important message. And i'm I'm really glad you said that. And it's something that I used just the other day. know, I was coming off night shift. I am coming off night shift at the moment.
00:31:34
Speaker
A colleague of mine in the UK, actually, who's quite involved in public health, first brought to me the ah concept of ultra brief interventions. And they're particularly effective for smoking cessation, which is helping people to quit or reduce smoking.
00:31:47
Speaker
and And I remember him sitting me down in a pub once and he goes, you know, and the best way to get through to someone is to say, hey, if you ever want to reduce your smoking, let me know. There's stuff we can use to help you.
00:31:58
Speaker
And that's it. Because everyone who's smoking or drinking too much, they know it's a problem. They don't need us to tell them it's a problem and shove it down their throat. you've got to be Everyone knows that they need to reduce it, but it's hard.
00:32:10
Speaker
And so I... I'd encourage everyone who's listening who is a health professional or who is perhaps a friend or a supporter colleague of someone who's struggling with smoking too much or or drinking too much, not to go in with the guilt and to try and convince them, but just to say, hey,
00:32:27
Speaker
if you ever want support, I'm here to help you because that's probably what those people need to hear. It's what we all need to hear when we're struggling. It's, hey, there's help out there and I'm someone who's willing to help you. Because once you take that first step, I can tell you that we as health professionals will drag you with us the rest of the way.
00:32:43
Speaker
You just need to come to us and ask for help. We've been asked also by yeah producer Josh, who's with us on this journey of This Might Sting, to give one quick prescription, you know, a little bit of a little bit of advice. So you go first and then I'll give a patient perspective.
00:33:01
Speaker
I guess my prescription is fiber, fiber, fiber. We do not have enough fiber in our diets. We know that increased fiber will reduce your bowel cancer risk. It reduces the risk of the uptake of bad fats. And and it's just so crucial for our health and none of us are getting enough of it.
00:33:18
Speaker
So if you are unsure, speak to a dietitian or nutritionist or your GP about how you can get more fiber in. Green leafy vegetables are a great place to start, but they're probably not enough. You need to go hard on the fiber gently and seek medical advice when you need it.
00:33:34
Speaker
And what I'd like to say is, as you know as the older age bracket recommended, I'm on a few medications. And I think the tip I'd like to offer ah is take your medication as prescribed when it's prescribed.
00:33:47
Speaker
One of the things that really startled me as I was accompanying my mum to the age of 94, and she had the most astonishing medical history, but managed to make it to 94, was the number of people who don't take their medication as prescribed. and That was even true with cancer, which is really...
Medication Adherence and Benefits in Australia
00:34:03
Speaker
tragic because my you know I was with people whose life was literally on the line. And yeah know we're just so lucky to have the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, the PBS, and we're lucky to have two big parties with so many differences, but in fact, they all shake hands on the PBS. And so we can get it.
00:34:19
Speaker
And if we take it as prescribed, it gives you a whacking better chance of a quality of life and survival. Julie, think I'm in love with you. I am so happy to hear you say that. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
00:34:31
Speaker
Please take your medicine as prescribed. And yes, we are so blessed to have the PBS. You know, our our predecessors worked hard for that. We are so lucky that we can afford medicine. I mean, I speak to my American colleagues and their patients can't afford their drugs.
00:34:46
Speaker
Yes. We're thinking maybe take your me medication as prescribed can be one of our takeaways. Our time is absolutely up. In a nanosecond, share one thing you're looking forward to talking about at a future episode because we're asking you, of course, to subscribe and to tune in ah to future episodes of This Might Sting and remembering that we're going to be doing in-depth one-hour interviews with professionals people with tremendous expertise as well as our weekly news. But is there a topic you're looking forward to or you want get on the list?
Upcoming Topics and Educational Focus
00:35:19
Speaker
I think do I have ADHD is one of the big trends in, you know, people my age at the moment, young adults, adolescents, online. It's everywhere I look on TikTok, on Instagram, on Facebook. Well, okay, maybe less so Facebook.
00:35:33
Speaker
And that's something I'm really excited to deep dive into. I'd like to talk about why oral sex is tremendous, but you need to know about HPV and what to watch out for in terms of cancer.
00:35:45
Speaker
But it will be reassuring because most of us, our immune system, chews up HPV and spits it out, but not all. And I'll explain the link between oral cancer and oral sex a little later, but continue doing it until our next episode.
00:36:00
Speaker
Julie, I just wish our listeners could see the way that Josh, our producer, is pissing himself laughing at the moment. Well, look, I think we're at the close of This Might Sting with Julie McCrossin and Dr Aidan Barron. And please subscribe. Please listen out for us.
00:36:16
Speaker
yeah Can't they vote for us in some way in cyberspace so that people might find out we exist? Yeah, they can like, subscribe and watch out for more episodes. And our motto, as always, is we diagnose nonsense and we prescribe the truth.
00:36:35
Speaker
This Might Sting is hosted by Aidan Barron and Julie McCrossin. Executive produced by Joshua Kirsch. While we always work to give you the best information and tips, nothing in This Might Sting should be construed as personal healthcare care advice.
00:36:51
Speaker
You should always make health decisions in consultation with your general practitioner and specialists. If you'd like to hear us talk about a topic on the show, or if you think we've made a mistake and wanna request a correction,
00:37:04
Speaker
please contact us at questions at thismightsting.com.au.