ISSUE 11: JUNE 2025 

“Maybe Happy Ending” just won the 2025 Tony Award for Best Musical. It was SO well deserved! When I saw the play in NYC, I had a very unexpected response: a mild case of Stendhal Syndrome. That’s the psychosomatic reaction to overwhelming beauty with symptoms such as a rapid heartbeat, tears, sweating, even dizziness. Mine was a gentler version: I was completed flooded with emotion. The play was incredible (absolutely incredible!) because it captured the essence of what it means to be human. If you're in New York, put this play at the top of your must-see list.

 

Here's a snapshot of the health topics in this month's newsletter:

Seed oils: Toxic or trendy? I dug in so you don’t have to.

Alzheimer’s blood test: Truly a breakthrough advance—but not for everyone.

Breast cancer screening: Mammograms are stressful. So is figuring out what insurance covers. Things get a little easier in 2026.

Prostate PSA testing: What's the right age to start PSA testing? The answer is in the Biden section.

Knee replacements: The surgery works. The recovery? Longer than they tell you.

Startup stories: Innovation often starts with a personal health experience—just ask Pager and Vidscrip.

Social care is not a side note: At Blooming Day, experts made it clear—food, phones, and community support are essential parts of healthcare.

 

I hope you learn something new so that you can Speak Up For Your Health.

You can dive deeper into each topic by linking the segment or podcast. Links are in  red, underlined, and bolded. Thanks for reading! 

Seed Oils Can Be Part Of a Healthy Diet

Should you throw out your big bottle of canola, corn, soybean, sunflower, or safflower oil? As usual, it’s not a simple yes or no.

There are two main concerns about seed oils:

1. How They're Made: Seed oils are extracted through mechanical pressing (think crushing the seeds) and chemical solvents. These solvents are flagged as potentially toxic. While this might sound alarming, there’s no proven evidence that the small amounts used in your kitchen causes harm.

2. The Omega (Im)balance: Seed oils are rich in omega-6 fatty acids and relatively low in omega-3s. While omega-6s are essential for health, the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio may promote inflammation. Oils like olive and avocado have a more favorable ratio and are better options. 

But let’s flip the coin. Animal fats contain significantly lower levels of both omega-6s and omega-3s. Diets high in animal fats, especially saturated fat, have long been associated with increased cardiovascular and overall mortality.  Watch here

Alzheimer's Blood test Is (TRULY) a Breakthrough

The FDA just cleared a new blood test to help diagnose Alzheimer’s earlier and more easily. Until now, confirming a diagnosis meant getting a  PET scan or spinal tap—both invasive and costly. This test, Lumipulse, measures 2  proteins in the blood, which are linked to Alzheimer’s and predicts the likelihood of Alzheimer’s. How accurate is it? The results are 92–97% aligned with PET and spinal tap results. 

Here's are 2 important caveats: 

1. This is not a screening test. Lumipulse is only helpful for someone who already has symptoms. When used in the right sub-group of patients, this test can help clarify what’s going on - early on – so patients, families and doctors can plan ahead. 

2. Lumipulse is only helpful in diagnosing Alzheimer’s. Someone with cognitive symptoms and a negative (normal result) test could still have another type of dementia such as vascular dementia (2nd most common after Alzheimer's). Watch here

Insurance Coverage for Breast Cancer Screening

Understanding exactly what’s covered by insurance for breast cancer screening often depends on your age, the state you live in, your insurer and employer. But here's what you can generally expect.

 

1. Mammograms: For women 40–74, screening mammograms must be covered – with no cost sharing – at least every 2 years.  For women younger than 40 who meet high risk criteria, most plans cover screening with no cost sharing starting at age 30. 

2. Follow-up imaging (like MRI or ultrasound): In 2026, follow up testing after an abnormal screening mammogram must be covered without cost-sharing. Until then, it depends on the state you live in. 

3. Reconstruction after surgery for breast cancer:  Federal law requires coverage for all stages of reconstruction, including symmetry surgery and prosthetics. Some states (like Minnesota) require coverage for wigs after hair loss.

 

Wondering if you’re high risk? Here's a link to the National Cancer Institute Risk Calculator (or use the QR code above). A 20%+ lifetime risk is considered “high risk.” 

Watch the whole segment on Minnesota Live here.

 

BIDEN'S Stage 4 Prostate Ca Explained

Former President Biden’s prostate cancer diagnosis is unfortunate—but not uncommon. One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. What is unusual is that his cancer was discovered at Stage 4, after it had already spread to his bones—something that occurs in only 6% of cases. When the news broke, a reporter asked me, “How could this cancer get missed in a man who was once one of the most powerful in the world?” My answer: it may not have been missed at all.

 

Biden is 82 years old. According to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)—the government's sanctioned screening guidelines—PSA testing is not recommended after age 70 because the potential harms outweigh the benefits. Biden’s last PSA test was at age 71, which means he received appropriate care and..the odds were not in his favor. In the 11 years since that last test, an aggressive cancer developed and progressed undetected.

 

Answer to PSA screening test question: There is no recommended starting age for men to start PSA testing. The only recommendations are for men to discuss testing by certain ages. After that…the decision to if/when to start and stop PSA testing is up to each person.

Total Knee Replacement: What To Expect

Nearly 800,000 Americans undergo total knee replacement (TKR) each year, and most (eventually) achieve excellent results. But about 1 in 5 patients still report dissatisfaction—often because the recovery takes longer than they were led to believe. 

 

Orthopedic surgeons typically emphasize the first 12 weeks after surgery, when patients are able to walk without a cane or crutches. That focus unintentionally sends the message that recovery ends there. But it doesn’t. Pain, stiffness, and swelling can persist well beyond that point—and it's completely normal for full recovery to take up to a year.

 

This mismatch between expectations and reality can leave patients stressed and frustrated. If you’re preparing for TKR—or already recovering—consider scrolling through the Facebook group “Knee Replacement Support Group: Tips for Pre-Op & Recovery.” It’s a valuable source of peer support and real-world insights on what to (actually) expect. 

Coordinating care is time-consuming, fragmented, and confusing. No one is clearly in charge and no one wants to take charge. The reality is that it falls on patients (or their caregivers) to make sure appointments get made, prescriptions are filled and x-rays are scheduled. But, technology can make it easier. 

 

I spoke with Walter Jin, CEO of Pager Health, about how caring for both his parents during their cancer journeys exposed how hard it is to navigate through the healthcare system. Walter's personal experience drove him to invest in Pager Health, a company initially co-founded by one of Uber’s creators. Initially a board member, Walter led a pivotal discussion in the boardroom that shifted the company's focus to removing the “friction” in care—streamlining access, communication, and follow-through so patients can more easily get the help they need. Listen to my conversation with Walter here.

Serial health tech entrepreneur John Brownlee founded Vidscrip, a company that helps doctors record short videos answering their patients’ most frequently asked questions—because let’s face it, how often have you walked out of an appointment thinking, “Wait…what did they just say?”

But what if your doctor doesn’t use Vidscrip?

There’s a smart workaround: use ChatGPT (my go-to) Gemini, or other AI tools to help you prepare your questions before the visit. The goal isn’t to get medical answers—it’s to figure out what you should be asking during the visit. That distinction matters. Check out the image above for a sample prompt you can try and listen to my conversation with John here. 

Blooming DAY: Social Care Is HEalth Care

I had the honor of moderating Blooming Health’s 2nd Annual Blooming Day—an event focused on the evolving intersection of healthcare and social care. Kudos to CEO Nima Roohi and the entire Blooming Health team for their leadership in this critical space. Some of the Top Takeaways:

-Smartphones = social determinants. Access to digital tools is now a health equity issue (Dr. James McDonald, NY State Health Commissioner)

-Food is medicine. Dr. Dexter Shurney emphasized the importance of food in every treatment plan.

-Social care is non adjacent to healthcare—it is healthcare (Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Former CMS Administrator

 You can find previous editions of ArcHealth on my website. 

This newsletter is for informational purposes only and is not intended as professional medical advice. Always consult a healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.