October 15, 2024 โข 40 mins
Welcome to Season 3 of the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast!
According to the American Cancer Society, prostate cancer is the second most common cancer in American men, with about 1 in 8 men being diagnosed with prostate cancer during their lifetime. Early detection through regular screening is crucial, as prostate cancer is often without symptoms in its early stages.
One key to early detection and proper diagnosis is through having an important discussion with your Primary Care Physician regarding your personal risks and timing of screening. On today's episode, Dr. Shayla will be joined by a special guest, Dr. Byron Jasper and they will be spilling โ๐๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ง ๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ง๐จ๐ฐ ๐๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐ญ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐๐๐ซโ.
Dr. Byron Jasper is a Board Certified Family Physician and the esteemed Founder and CEO of Byja Clinic, a Direct Primary Care (DPC) Clinic located in Baton Rouge, LA. He also has extensive expertise in the fields of Community Health Leadership Development, HIV and Hepatitis care. In addition to his clinical work, Dr. Jasper is the author of the widely praised book Byja Blueprint: An Introductory Guide to Direct Primary Care For Doctors, Patients, and Businesses.
Synopsis:
- Discover the importance of the prostate gland and its role in menโs health
- Understand the current screening guidelines and why discussing these guidelines in detail with your PCP is of great importance
- Explore what risk factors you may personally have for increasing your risk for Prostate Cancer
- Understand how Prostate Cancer impacts communities of color
- Get Dr. Jasperโs โpiping hot teaโ on common myths about Prostate Cancer and why a drive by exam can be detrimental
Connect with Essence of Health:
โFREE Nourish & Flourish 5 Day Challenge at www.DrShayla.com/NFchallenge
โFREE Class โDitch The Diet: Mindful Strategies for Lasting Metabolic Healthโ at www.DrShayla.com/DTD
โEssence of Health Wellness Clinic & Coaching: www.DrShayla.com/EOH
โFREE "Healthy Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle" Guide: https://essenceofhealth.link/e-book
โFollow Dr. Shayla on social media at Essence of Health Wellness Clinic on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and at DrShayla on TikTok.
โ-----------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with Dr. Byron Jasper:
Linkedin: Byja Clinic
Instagram: @byjaclinic
Facebook: @byjaclinic
Byja Radio Show Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/byja-radio/id1735755360
Byja Blueprint Book: https://books2read.com/byjablueprintDPC
The Essence of Health is in You!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast. I am your host, Dr. Shayla Toons-Whithers.
(00:15):
As a double board certified family and obesity medicine physician with over 12 years of experience
in medicine, I teach motivated individuals how to achieve their desired quality of life
while preventing and reversing chronic diseases. It's tea time!
(00:36):
What part of your health journey is most challenging? Is it the actual effort of sticking to a plan?
The cooking and the meal planning? The exercise routine? Not enough time for everything you
think you need to do? Or the confusion of it all? If you said yes to any of these obstacles,
(00:57):
then keep listening to learn how you can smash these problems just by checking your email.
You check your email inbox every day already, but what if checking your inbox brought you
better health instead of the stress it sometimes can bring? Well, I have news for you. You can
improve your health, get a jump start on improving your health conditions, and start to feel
(01:21):
like a better version of you just by checking your email inbox over the next 5 days when
you join the free Nourish and Flourish 5 Day Challenge. You'll get health tips, actionable
videos, a goal and habit tracker, and healthy recipes every day for 5 days. Better health
(01:41):
is the best investment you'll ever make, and this is only a small investment of your time.
You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. The Nourish and Flourish 5 Day Challenge
was designed to set the foundation for healthy habits for life. Say yes to yourself today
and sign up now at drshayla.com forward slash nfchallenge. I'll also place these details
(02:08):
in the show notes. The essence of health is in you. See you in your inbox.
On today's episode of the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast, I have a special guest,
Dr. Byron Jasper. Traveling from Houma, Louisiana, Dr. Byron Jasper is the esteemed founder and
chief executive officer of Bia Clinic and a proud alumnus of Xavier University of Louisiana.
(02:32):
Dr. Jasper earned his medical degree from Tulane School of Medicine, complimented by
a master's degree from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed
family medicine residency at Baton Rouge General Family Medicine Residency Program and is board-certified
in the specialty of family medicine. Dr. Jasper has extensive expertise in the field of family
(02:55):
medicine, community health leadership development, and HIV and hepatitis care. In addition to
his clinical work, Dr. Jasper is the author of the widely praised book, Bia Blueprint,
an introductory guide to direct primary care for doctors, patients, and businesses, where
he offers an insightful and accessible exploration of the direct primary care model, which has
(03:20):
resonated with both healthcare professionals and patients alike. Beyond the practice of
medicine, Dr. Jasper aims to enhance public health in vulnerable communities by reducing
health disparities and promoting healthy lifestyles. Welcome to the show, Dr. Jasper.
I'm excited to have you here.
Yeah, thank you for having me. And amazing bio, almost sounds like somebody important,
(03:42):
almost, right? Not quite there.
You say, who is that person?
Right, exactly. I'm like, did I do that?
That can be me, right? Yeah, but no, thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity.
Yeah, for sure. All right. So we're just going to really start with the basics because I
think, you know, a lot of folks just really aren't even aware of what the prostate gland
is, nor even what it does. You know, I've had even some women asking me about their
(04:06):
prostate gland. So if you can just even give us the basics about the prostate gland.
Yeah, so real simple. The prostate for most males when we have the conversation, I tell
them is basically a gland that is for most part sexual health purposes. It does something
that allows when you're sexually active to basically make the fluid that comes out sperm
(04:31):
work better. It's basically the simple way to say it. You can get obviously more technical
and seminal fluid and all these big medical terms, but to keep it simple, which is always
important when you're having that discussion, it's basically when you're sexually active,
it makes the sperm work better. If your prostate does not function, your sperm does not do
what it's supposed to do. And then of course, if you're trying to conceive, it could be
(04:51):
a problem. Or if you're trying to enjoy sexual activity, it could be a problem. So the idea
for the gland is to hopefully be healthy enough that when you are sexually active, you are
enjoying and able to achieve the goal that you are trying to achieve, which most people
is trying to be a have a pleasurable experience. So we really want that prostate to be healthy,
(05:13):
not just because it's just something there and you really don't know what it is and don't
know what it can do. But we really want it to be where if it's working, it does all the
things we asked for it to do.
Yeah, yeah. And that's a great explanation there. So ladies, this topic, while it's not
exactly for you today, it is for the meaning your life, whether that be a partner, a spouse,
(05:36):
a brother, uncle, whoever, it's for them. So keep listening and pass it along.
Yeah, well, I'm going to jump in and say it definitely is for them as well. Because as
you just said, they have those significant others and those family members in their life.
But in a very weird way, people will realize that if you're really in a family setting,
(05:57):
whether it's a spouse or whatever, this can impact you as well. Obviously, we'll probably
talk about it. But one of the things I've had with patients is the man doesn't complain
about the problem because they think it's normal. But the wife will say he keeps getting
up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. And when he gets up, it wakes me
up and I'm like, well, that's not normal. We should talk about it. Right. So in a way,
(06:18):
it can affect the woman in that, you know, daytime, nighttime, you're tired because he's
getting up all the time. So in a domino effect, it can kind of have that downstream problem.
So I will say it does have some it's not directly but indirectly it can.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Thanks for pointing that out. Now, when we get into the screening
(06:38):
guidelines of the prostate, what are the most current screening guidelines for prostate
cancer? Because, you know, I started I've been practicing since 2010 and they've even
changed since then. So give us the most recent. Yeah, the ones that I usually tell people
are when you're talking about when do you get your prostate checked, I usually say it
depends and it depends on who you are and what are we potentially looking for. So just
(07:04):
general prostate screening to look for prostate cancer. You're talking about starting around
age 50 for most. But if you're African American or black, you are going to potentially start
earlier earlier because it in essence impacts black people at a faster and larger rate than
it would if you are a non black person. So 40 to 45 for black people. 50 is usually a
(07:26):
safe place to have it. Outside of those two, the screening itself can be done with either
a blood test or what we call a DRE, a digital rectal exam. I often tell males that I don't
think anybody really wants to do the rectal exam. I know I damn sure don't. I don't wake
up excited to say, you know what, we're doing that today, but we do it because because we
(07:46):
have to. If we do not have to, because we do a good job of discussing risk factors,
history and all the things that come along with prostate screening, we may not need to
do a record exam and we just check your blood test and then obviously keep an eye on that
blood test by trending it out over a couple of years or a couple of decades, depending
on how long you're going to be patient in that practice. But oftentimes people get nervous
(08:11):
because the first thing they think is I have a prostate exam. It always is a rectal exam.
Rarely do we have to do that. If everything else checks out, you don't have a lot of risk
factors, you're in the right age range and we're checking that blood test regularly.
You may not ever need one, but in the event we do need one, we just need to get it done
because it's better to get it treated early. So we live a long, happy, healthy life rather
(08:34):
than not screen, not do anything, ignore it and then all of a sudden we're getting really
sick at an early age. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And you know, really what you said for me
highlights the point in the importance of folks having a primary care doctor and you
know, one that they've really developed a relationship with and one that they trust
(08:56):
because the way things have shifted in the world of prostate cancer screening is really
that discussion piece is so important, even in the direction that you would go in for
the screening. Folks like you and I with direct primary care type of practices, you know,
for us, one of the things I know me as a physician that I enjoy about my practice is I get the
(09:17):
chance to have those deeper discussions with my patients and this is just an example of
why that's so important. Yeah, absolutely. And the idea is you have
more time, you don't feel rushed and of course you have the ability to really explain what
the prostate is, what it does, what it doesn't do, when to use it, when not to use it, when
to get checked, when not to get checked, how to get checked, rectal exam, blood, like all
(09:38):
of that takes time. Now you can squeeze it into a quick five, ten minute conversation,
but you're leaving so much out that a person can potentially get confused and think, well,
look, I had a colonoscopy so I don't need a prostate exam. So now we're kind of having
the ability to say what's the difference, why are both important, when do you need it,
when do you not? And that time is so much more valuable than people will really and
(10:02):
truthfully give it. They think I've had patients literally being a visit for almost an hour
and a half and they think, oh, we only been here 10 minutes. And I'm like, no, we've been
talking for about an hour and you're still having more to discuss, which is great. We
can obviously get you rescheduled really quickly. But that point goes to show that
when you have time, more discussion happens, more help is being built from a mental health,
(10:23):
physical health, financial health, just comfort level gets better and everybody feels better
overall. So this is one of those prime examples because it's such a small gland, but usually
takes a lot of time to really get into why are we doing what we're doing and how do we
keep it healthy?
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And then it helps, you know, for the comfort level of that patient,
you know, you mentioned a lot of a lot of men are not comfortable with getting that
(10:45):
digital rectal exam. And I can imagine, you know, going into the traditional 15 minute
visit, which really turns in about seven minutes that they actually see the doctor and you're
getting a drive by exam. That would be very comfortable.
I don't think I've ever heard drive by rectal exam. I think that's a good one. I'm going
to have to go ahead and possibly use that in our promotion of do you really want to
(11:07):
drive by rectal exam? Most people don't say no. So I think we are we're on the something.
We need to trademark that Shaila. Right, right. Yeah, that relationship.
There you go. And now as a fellow African American physician, you know, we know the
importance of being mindful of the impact that certain conditions may have on people
(11:27):
of color. So how does prostate cancer particularly impact men of color? And how does the conversation
that you may have with your patients look with this?
Yeah. Yeah. So I think for the men of color, the conversation I have, and we kind of spoke
about it briefly earlier, one of the things is that we tell patients that if you're an
African American male, you're going to have more likelihood that patients are going to
(11:51):
need things done sooner, sooner because those exams are oftentimes neglected just in general
because they're uncomfortable. And if they are uncomfortable, we're having issues where
you don't want to do them automatically, let alone you're not actually engaging with the
idea that you need them done earlier. Right. So you're thinking, look, I got to wait till
50 to do this. So I'm just going to put it off because, hey, 50, I can wait to 55. I
(12:15):
can wait to maybe 60. So I'm only 10 years behind when in actuality you're 20 years behind
because you're supposed to get it done at age 40. So having the understanding that some
disease processes are going to affect men of color a lot differently than it would if
you were someone who is not in that category is important to getting the best result. So
a lot of our patients will come and they're in their late thirties and I give them what
(12:38):
I call the notice. The notice is like, look, in about a year or two, we're going to have
a conversation about your prostate or, hey, we have not talked about your prostate, but
that's going to be at your next visit because you're going to be in this age range. Right.
Or hey, mentally preparing for that. Exactly. Right. So having that conversation proactively
sometimes lowers that guard. Right. Like, I don't want to talk about this, but more
(13:00):
importantly, like, Hey, I go home and more than likely tell the woman in my life, Hey,
they told me I need to talk about my prostate. And that probably puts them in the conversation
as well, which also is very helpful because now it's a family discussion rather than a
silo discussion of they said something about a prostate or something and they walk out
the door. It's a lot more detailed up. I'm giving you notice that your next visit in
(13:24):
a year in six months and three months in a week, we're going to really talk about this
and that a person of color oftentimes appreciates the idea that we're going to have an actual
visit for this and it's going to be a prime focus. So I highly encourage getting in care
in primary care specifically, but I highly encourage the idea that if you're comfortable
(13:44):
with someone who's going to acknowledge that, Hey, you're a person of color. You do have
to think and do things slightly different because that's just the way it is, especially
in the country that we live in and health is no different. And if we are very proactive
at doing things, you're going to probably have a better outcome than if we just kind
of do it as quote unquote, everybody else does.
Right, right. Yeah, that's true. You know, I'll tell you the story. I had two patients
(14:07):
and this was just within the past couple of years on both black males. One was 40 and
you know, we had that discussion at 40 and they actually didn't have any family history
of prostate cancer, but he was at this point of life where he was really wanting to just,
you know, take more better care of himself and just be more in charge of his health.
(14:27):
And so after we had, you know, the risk benefit discussion, we did check the PSA. Turns out
it was pretty elevated and he did, you know, I sent them on neurology and he did in fact
have prostate cancer that was called early painfully and you know, he was able to get
proper treatment. And then the other black male patient that I had, he was a bit older.
(14:48):
He was closer to 50, but kind of same situation. He did have a few symptoms, which is why we
went ahead and checked, but he hadn't had it checked before even at that point. And
you know, same deal. He had prostate cancer as well. So just, you know, even as you said,
just with these two different cases, one with family history, one without, younger, but
(15:08):
still at the age of 40 and both males of color, it is so important to be aware and to have
a doctor who was going to have this discussion with you.
Yeah. Very knowledgeable doctor, of course, needs to be in the room with you. That usually
helps to mitigate a lot of risks. And you hit on some of the things that I think a lot
of men oftentimes don't know. Women may not know obviously because they don't have prostates,
(15:31):
but they tend to know a little bit more about health, even men's health and the men do,
but those symptoms that are often ignored are the other thing, right? Not only knowing
risk factors are higher in men of color. So we screened earlier, but hey, what are those
symptoms, right? So as you just mentioned, basically it's the common things that most
people may think of, which is, Hey, I'm not able to perform the way I'd like to when I'm
(15:53):
sexually active. So we'll say, you know, if you want to wrap it up, it's a erectile dysfunction.
That is the common thing that a lot of people just basically brush off, right? Men don't
want to talk about that. They're not performing the way they want to, or the way they used
to. They just assume either I'm getting older or it just happens. And it could be a diagnosis
of a prostate problem. It may not always be cancer, but it could be a problem. So that's
(16:16):
one of the biggest ones that I always tell people. If you're having this, we need to
check your prostate numbers, maybe even check your prostate with the rectal exam. The other
ones of course are just urinary symptoms, which are the little bit more common, which
people will say, okay, I'm not able to go to the bathroom and urinate like I want to.
I'm having trouble starting the stream, troubled stopping the stream. When I go to urinate,
(16:37):
I feel like I got to go right back. So I'm not emptying all the way. And then sometimes
it's really hard to actually finish going to the bathroom because you're having that
hesitancy, meaning you're standing at the toilet and it's just taking a long time to
get going. So all of that being said, those symptoms play a huge part as well in the screening,
because if you're having those symptoms in your twenties, we want to know why we want
(16:57):
to know what to do. We want to check you even earlier because it's still a potential you
can have something in the twenties or thirties. But if you're having nothing, we tend to start
in the forties. And then of course, when we do the screenings, we kind of go over all
those symptoms as well as just risk factors from your family history, which are important
as well.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Now, what role when we look at prostate cancer prevention, you
(17:21):
know, you talked about some of the risk factors, but what role does even lifestyle factors
play in reducing one's prostate cancer risk? And what are just even some things that men
can do to improve their health and lessen these risks?
So the common lifestyle things I tell people is of course diet and exercise. That's just
kind of like the mantra in family medicine and internal medicine. You'll hear people
(17:42):
say that if you're eating the right food, drinking the right things, and basically exercising,
you live a longer, happier, healthier life. Another thing that a lot of people are surprised
about is eliminating stress, right? When we talk about mental health, mental health tends
to be one of the things that people think that, hey, if I'm not depressed or anxious,
then I just quote unquote, feel better. But the other thing is you live longer, right?
(18:04):
Your heart's not having as much strain on it. Your brain is not having as much strain
on it. Your kidneys and even your prostate are going to have more strain on things when
you have high levels of stress, high levels of depression, high levels of anxiety. So
we try to eliminate that as a part because it's kind of weird to say I have no risk factors,
but I ended up having bad heart disease, bad kidney disease and prostate disease, but I
(18:29):
didn't do anything other than you were stressed the whole time. So having that-
Yeah, yeah. Dr. Dess, I'm going to hold you even right there because you mentioned stress
and the studies have come out more recently even from the CDC where we're recognizing
more chronic stress in communities of color. So it just points more to that picture how
we've talked about that men of color being more at risk with prostate cancer. And you're
(18:50):
right, even without recognizing these other risk factors, chronic stress is still likely
to be there. Yeah, it is a huge thing for a lot of health
and it's surprising when I tell people, you know your prostate could be a problem because
you're just really stressed out. People are looking at me like, are you making this up?
And I'm like, no, it's actually scientifically proven. And the other one that leads into
(19:13):
that is sleep. So if you're not sleeping well, that can actually affect your prostate. So
of course the risk factors we always go over don't always match what you're potentially
going to do to mitigate those risk factors because a person may say, well, you know,
how do I stop family history? Well, you sometimes can't, but you can do things about what you're
putting into your body, what comes into your life, right? Stress and eliminating that.
(19:38):
And then how do you take care of your body by getting enough rest to adequately rejuvenate
the things that we have done and used all day? I often use the analogy because I love
analogies in healthcare of when you have a phone and you use it all day, your battery
gets low. And what do we automatically do at the end of the day when the battery is
low? We charge it, we recharge it, we recharge it, we recharge it. Well, if you don't sleep
(20:01):
enough, you're not recharging your battery and it's just going to get drained until
eventually it stops working. So people start to understand that a little bit better and
will sleep more. They feel better, their health is better and they live longer and have healthier
and happier lives.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. And thank you for pointing all of those out because
(20:22):
those are very important. And as you mentioned, you know, patients, they probably feel like
they get tired of hearing that, but it's because it isn't so important with those lifestyle
factors for just so many reasons. But even just knowing, you know, that getting more
sleep and reducing your stress and putting some vegetables on your plate can reduce your
cancer is that's pretty huge.
Extremely, extremely.
(20:43):
If you're frustrated with your weight, taking more medications than you like to, have been
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(21:07):
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(21:31):
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of Health is in you.
Now what strategies do you suggest if patients who may not have a doctor like you or I right
(21:55):
now to communicate more effectively with their health care providers about their prostate?
What strategies do you mention to those folks?
Yeah, I think in general, prostate is an extension of just health in general, right? Like you
should have a good relationship with the doctor that you are getting care from. Whoever that
is, whatever type of doctor it is, the goal is to have really good, healthy, open communication.
(22:18):
And a lot of that is relationship building, right? Like the first time you meet one of
your good friends, you probably don't have the best conversation. It's probably a lot
of feeling each other out until a certain point where that click happens and you're
like, this is a good friend of mine. I feel open. I feel comfortable talking to them about
these private matters. The same thing should happen hopefully with your doctor. On the
first visit, you may not give them everything, maybe, maybe not. But as time goes on, you
(22:42):
should feel comfortable explaining and having conversation with people to where you are
hopefully going to get the most authentic, very genuine answer that helps you feel better.
So how do we communicate like that? Well, coming in and being again, open and authentic
is the first thing. But then I think the second thing is preparing yourself with questions
and feeling like it's okay for me to ask because I don't know everything. But I do know this
(23:06):
is something I want to kind of get more information about. And the goal for us on the physician
side, it's not only saying, hey, I want you to ask, but also being okay for us to tell
you, look, hey, we don't know. We can look into it for you. We can figure it out. If
we do know, we're going to tell you right then and there. But if we don't, we want to
be able to communicate effectively by saying, I don't know that. But we do have a propensity
(23:28):
goal and look things up, especially on the physician side. We're trained to go and find
answers even if we don't know a lot of times we do know. But when we don't, we'll come
back and look into it and do that. So that communication has to be on both sides, open
and authentic from the patient coming in, talking to the doctor. And then of course,
being prepared with questions about things you experienced, feel, and want to know. On
(23:50):
the doctor side is being open and authentic as well and saying, hey, this is what I do
know. This is what I don't know. I want to be able to give you the right answer. So I'm
going to do what I can to tell you right now what I know and tell you, I don't know, go
look it up and come back to it. And when that communication flows back and forth, especially
in direct primary care, we have a really good time where patients have no problem calling
us directly, especially after hours, which is sometimes the best time to have these conversations.
(24:15):
But more importantly, sending us text messages that sometimes are to a link of an article,
to a news story, to a medication, to a supplement. And we're able to say, hey, this is what I
do. This is what I don't do. This is what I know. This is what I don't know. This is
where I'm going to tell you to go and get more information. This is where I'm going
to tell you, I am going to look it up and get back to you. And that authentic open communication
(24:38):
happens in the exam room, over the phone, via text. And that is how I think we get better
health overall, especially with the prostate. If you don't know the answer and the question
in the exam room, you go home, you talk to your wife, you talk to your spouse, you talk
to your sibling, you talk to your uncle. And another question pops up. You just call right
at that point, you call us and we can tell you, hey, great question. I'm glad you called.
(25:01):
I'm going to give you your answer right now. Or hey, good question. I never heard about
that supplement. Let me go look it up and I'll get back with you because it could be
something very helpful. It could be something that's not really the best for you. But that
conversation is happening in multiple levels, possibly in multiple settings and over multiple
days. And what happens with the patients then in this very long winded robust answer is
(25:22):
me saying, you are going to get an answer that helps you get to better health in some
way, shape or form. And patients love that because they'll say, I can communicate what
works for me. Some people may not be phone people. Some people may not be text people.
Some people may be in person people. But we do it all right in the direct primary care
space. Our goal is to communicate, give people the health, meet them where they are. And
(25:45):
people love that with this type of discussion, sexual health, prostate, all that. It just
gives them that I'm now disarmed. I now don't have to worry. I'm not going to get judged.
I don't have to get it all in this five minute visit. And if I forget, I got to wait three
months. It's us meeting them where they are. Absolutely. Which is, and I think I'm glad
you said that actually you said you're taking stress out, which is what we just said. What
(26:08):
we're adding stress to the person and telling them to stop stressing. But we're also feeding
the problem in the traditional system. So for us on the direct primary care site, we're
eliminating that stress and people really in truth, they're healthier for it. Yeah,
for sure. I get a lot of emails from my patients as well. They'll say, you know, send me a
link. Well, what do you think about this article? You know, I read this or even sometimes, you
(26:30):
know, nowadays we get what do you, I saw this on TikTok. So, you know, what do you think
about that? And I've seen even just in forums where some of our colleagues will get pretty
frustrated because their time is limited and they don't have time to maybe debunk or look
up what you saw on TikTok. But for us, we can, we can dive into that a bit more and
say, you know, there may be some truth to that or probably not kind of thing, you know,
(26:52):
have more time and it's not stressing me out and it's not stressing them out either. We
can continue to have those upfront discussions with one another for the overall betterment
of their health. Agreed. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Alrighty. So before we go, let's talk a little
bit about some of those misconceptions about prostate cancer that you may have encountered
(27:15):
with some of your patients. I think one of the most common misconceptions we have with
prostate cancer tends to be the adage of, hey, you're going to have a symptom and that's
how you're going to know you have cancer. A lot of cancers, prostate cancer being one
of them are very slow and very, very, very silent. You will oftentimes go years if not
(27:36):
decades with no symptoms at all. And then when you do have a symptom, it doesn't scream
cancer, right? It could be I'm having back pain or I'm having real, you know, discomfort
with going to the bathroom. It's just really difficult to start urinating or I see blood
in my urine. I don't know what that is. So those symptoms are so few and far between
for a lot of patients that we will find it well before a patient has a symptom. I have
(27:58):
a patient currently, no insurance, Hispanic male who is undocumented from Mexico. And
we have discovered his prostate cancer on routine screening with blood tests and finally
got him into a urologist where he's fortunate enough able to potentially get the care he
needs even without insurance because we know how to navigate a system that will not necessarily
(28:21):
be kind to patients with no insurance. So based on that, it was very much if we didn't
check for him having routine screenings, it would have been where he would have been with,
you know, that silent killer, if you will, and we don't want that. So I think the other
misconception besides it being, hey, I'm going to have cancer symptoms pop up is that it
is not going to happen to me, right? It just, it's just not going to happen. You know,
(28:45):
no one in my family has prostate cancer. No one in my family has prostate symptoms. It's
not going to be me. Well, I'll say this, no one in your family is you either, right? You
could also have a diet different than them. Maybe you're a smoker. Maybe you have way
more stress. Maybe you have so many things that can affect your ability to stay healthy
or not stay healthy that you could be the first. So the idea that I'm too young to have
(29:08):
it, I don't have any symptoms, so I'm fine. I don't need to go to the doctor and I'm
sure you get this all the time. I rarely go to the doctor because I'm never sick. Well,
that doesn't mean that you don't have something going on. It just means we haven't seen it
yet. We haven't found it. That's like the patients I end up finding about 10 different
diagnoses haven't been diagnosed yet. I had a lady yesterday. Her first visit was yesterday.
(29:32):
No insurance, literally called and kind of said, look, I'm trying to figure out how to
get in because I'm having this horrible stomach pain. But I haven't been a doctor in years
because I rarely ever get sick. And of course, walks in the door has high blood pressure,
has extreme anxiety, has bad insomnia, has trouble with acid reflux. And we're just running
(29:53):
through in one visit four different issues that I diagnosed. And literally, I'm just
sitting here like this is the healthy person that I don't really get sick. So that misconception
that people tend to have is that, well, if I'm not checking and I don't feel bad, then
nothing's wrong. And again, analogy wise, I like to say that's equivalent to saying,
(30:13):
well, I'm driving a car and there is nothing going on. There's no check engine light. There's
nothing ever popping up. So I don't ever need to go get it checked or I don't need to get
my old change. I don't need to get the tires rotated. I'm just going to drive until something
happens. And when that happens, that's when a problem pops up that is so far gone that
you have a hard time getting it back to where it should be. The engine is burned up. The
(30:33):
tires are really, really, really bad. So you can't stop and you're sliding off the road.
So we don't want that. We don't want you to have those negative things happen. We want
you to catch it early. And that misconception that it can't be you, we got to wait till
we have symptoms, that it's going to be a really noticeable symptom that pops up first.
So we will be able to catch it early. All those are things we don't want to have. And
(30:54):
of course, in direct primary care, we have more time to really talk about why we're checking,
who we're checking, when we're checking, how cost effective it'll be to check this because
we are very much more knowledgeable of not only the health care side, but the business
side. And it also gives people a lot more reassurance that we have time to really go
into checking all these things and catching them early.
(31:15):
Right. Yeah. And I'll add to that one misconception that I've heard. I don't know if you've heard
this one, but for some men, they think, oh, well, that's an old man's disease prostate
cancer. You know, because they say, oh, I remember my granddad having that. But isn't
that an old man's thing? Not realizing as we've discussed today that as early as 40,
you can be screened for this because you might've even had it showing up before then had it
(31:40):
been screened.
Well, I think one thing I'll say to the people who say it's an old man's disease, and this
is me just being me, I tell people, you know, you're going to get old too, right? I know
you think you, you are young until you hit whatever that magical age may be, but you're
old to somebody, right? So if you have children, you're old or older. So you should start checking
(32:01):
as soon as you even remotely think that comes into your mind. Oh, it's an old man's disease.
How do you know it's because you think that you don't need to, how about we just go find
out, right? Unless it's going to break the bank and it's just so hard to check, right?
Like we just have to do this very invasive procedure. Why don't we just check it? And
a lot of times it's so cost effective to check it and not use the insurance because insurance
(32:26):
just runs the bill up so high that you checking a PSA or a prostate specific antigen, that
blood test, if we're checking that PSA, it literally will be so inexpensive that we just
can check it and just be sure, right? Even in your twenties, a lot of people can just
get that out the way and you know, as opposed to just assume I'm healthy, right? And I'm
(32:48):
a spin it for a real quick second. I have another gentleman, he works out roughly seven
times a week, eats very healthy. So we think, and with him physically looks like the person
you want a person to look like, right? Low body fat, very muscular guy, does martial
arts, all this stuff. Long story short, we check in his cholesterol is high and he's
(33:08):
looking at me like, how's this even possible? I work out all the time and so on and so forth.
And I said, yeah, that's the thing. That's the misconception. People think because you
look healthy, therefore you are healthy. But we know people who are oftentimes looking
healthy but have really bad habits. They drink a lot of alcohol, they smoke cigarettes, they
eat very poorly. And my favorite is they also are extremely stressed. They come in, they
(33:32):
smile, hey, everybody looks happy and then they go home and they're crying in the car
kind of thing, right? All of that affects your health and prostate, as you just said,
is something that can easily get sick and doesn't tell you it's sick. But because you
are thinking or faking the phone, therefore, hey, I must be healthy. Now that's just not
how the body works. The body is very resilient until it's not. And when all of a sudden it's
(33:55):
not resilient, a lot of times it's too late. So we want to catch these things early. We
want to get them to be treated very early and then we go from there.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, thank you so much for sharing all of this with us. Now before
you go, I do want you to tell us more about your book. Why did you write it? And how do
we get a copy? Yeah. So the name of the book is the Biden
(34:17):
Blueprint. It is an introductory guide to direct primary care for patients, physicians
and businesses. The idea of the book was basically written for us to get the word of direct primary
care out to more people. You and I are in a lot of the same Facebook groups and we've
been to the same conferences. So we will oftentimes run into a lot of doctors who are interested
(34:38):
in learning more about DPC. But a lot of times they don't really have all the ins and outs.
So the good news for them is they can go into a conference and give some understanding and
education on DPC. But a lot of patients, a lot of that comes into them having to talk
to a DPC doctor or someone who is familiar with DPC, maybe another patient or something
like that to get that information. So I say, well, it's getting to the point where I'm
(35:00):
having to explain it over and over so many times. I wish there was something that could
be put out into the world that would have people easily say, if you want to learn what
DPC is, this is a good book. It really kind of hits all the high points. It's not into
the weeds of all the little small things. Like we're not talking about the lab prices. We're
not talking about how we send stuff directly to the pharmacy and how do you set that up,
(35:24):
which a lot of books have been written about how to do that. It's more of these are the
things that can be done. And these are things that people are already doing within direct
primary care. So the patients have an opportunity to learn more about it. Physicians, of course,
get to learn about it in the clinic. It also gets taught to them in the conferences. But
now there's a book that you can easily take home with you before you even decide to kind
(35:47):
of jump into a conference or go into another clinical setting. You can just kind of sit
at home and listen and or read and have that conversation with yourself of like this model
sounds more like something I want to explore further. So that intro guide, as I said, it's
really the first step into hopefully what direct primary care can be for a lot of people.
(36:08):
And lastly, for businesses, it's a really good book because it helps to show how businesses
can save time, save money, keep employees healthy and keep them from having that missing
work all the time if they're so sick. So we really want it to be that if you want to learn
what direct primary care is, here's the book for you. And so far, it's been going pretty
well. We've had a lot of people give us good feedback that I really had no idea direct
(36:28):
primary care did all of these things. And now that I hear and have read and learn about
it, I want to learn more. And that's exactly what we wanted it to do.
Yeah, awesome. Awesome. And I'm glad you wrote it because it is it's so important for for
more people to know about it, not just for physicians, but even for families, patients,
employers, because so many people can benefit from a direct primary care being a part of
(36:52):
a direct primary care practice. And just, you know, some of the few things that we've
even just highlighted today just in our discussion. So folks go out and get the book. I'm going
to place the link in the show notes to this episode so that you can go grab your copy.
And then Dr. Jasper, tell our folks how they can connect with you on social media or online.
(37:13):
Yeah, so simply website is probably the best place to kind of get the most information
about us. That is www.byja.org, which is short for Bija Clinic, which is our clinical practice.
We also have a nonprofit division of our practice that is meant to help basically get more services
(37:34):
to the underserved who sometimes can't access DPC because of the feeling of having to pay
out of pocket, maybe a little bit too much for them. So the nonprofit arm is the Bija
Charitable Alliance. And that website is www.byjaca.org. So those are our two websites that we point
people to if you're someone who's local and, you know, looking for a male physician, feel
(37:56):
free to give us a call, come and see us. If you say, well, I don't necessarily have the
ability to see Dr. Jasper, but I want to still support. We are again a nonprofit 501 C3.
So we do have tax deductible donations that we accept and use for those underserved patients.
Outside of that, we're on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at Bija Clinic, all
(38:17):
one word. And then outside of that, we do have a podcast that we are recording here
and there. I say here and there because we kind of put it on pause to kind of get the
book out and start promoting the book. But that podcast is Bija Radio, and that is on
Apple, Spotify, SoundCloud, and I do believe YouTube Music last that we checked. So we
(38:39):
are again out there. It shouldn't be hard to find us. If you type the word Bija into
pretty much any browser, something will pop up about us. And our goal is to obviously
get the direct primary care message out and get more people into care so they have better
health and better outcomes.
Wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks so much for coming on the show. Folks who are listening,
(39:00):
I'm going to put all of those links in the show notes because I do want you to reach
out and connect with Dr. Jasper, especially if you're in the Louisiana area. You need
a doctor like Dr. Jasper. So go see him. All righty. But thanks so much for being on the
show. Thank you so much. And we really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you for joining me
today on the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast. Click the subscribe button on your favorite
(39:23):
podcast platform so that you never miss a moment of the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast.
Check out the show notes to obtain your free tips for Healthy Living God to get you started
on your health and wellness path. Follow me on social media at Essence of Health Wellness
Clinic on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and at doctor.tw at EOHWC on TikTok. Interested
(39:51):
in becoming a member of the Essence of Health coaching program? Well, head on over to www.eohcoaching.com.
The Essence of Health is a year.
Welcome to the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast. I am your host, Dr. Shayla Toons-Whithers.
(00:15):
As a double board certified family and obesity medicine physician with over 12 years of experience
in medicine, I teach motivated individuals how to achieve their desired quality of life
while preventing and reversing chronic diseases. It's tea time!
(00:36):
What part of your health journey is most challenging? Is it the actual effort of sticking to a plan?
The cooking and the meal planning? The exercise routine? Not enough time for everything you
think you need to do? Or the confusion of it all? If you said yes to any of these obstacles,
(00:57):
then keep listening to learn how you can smash these problems just by checking your email.
You check your email inbox every day already, but what if checking your inbox brought you
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(01:21):
like a better version of you just by checking your email inbox over the next 5 days when
you join the free Nourish and Flourish 5 Day Challenge. You'll get health tips, actionable
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You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain. The Nourish and Flourish 5 Day Challenge
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and sign up now at drshayla.com forward slash nfchallenge. I'll also place these details
(02:08):
in the show notes. The essence of health is in you. See you in your inbox.
On today's episode of the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast, I have a special guest,
Dr. Byron Jasper. Traveling from Houma, Louisiana, Dr. Byron Jasper is the esteemed founder and
chief executive officer of Bia Clinic and a proud alumnus of Xavier University of Louisiana.
(02:32):
Dr. Jasper earned his medical degree from Tulane School of Medicine, complimented by
a master's degree from Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine. He completed
family medicine residency at Baton Rouge General Family Medicine Residency Program and is board-certified
in the specialty of family medicine. Dr. Jasper has extensive expertise in the field of family
(02:55):
medicine, community health leadership development, and HIV and hepatitis care. In addition to
his clinical work, Dr. Jasper is the author of the widely praised book, Bia Blueprint,
an introductory guide to direct primary care for doctors, patients, and businesses, where
he offers an insightful and accessible exploration of the direct primary care model, which has
(03:20):
resonated with both healthcare professionals and patients alike. Beyond the practice of
medicine, Dr. Jasper aims to enhance public health in vulnerable communities by reducing
health disparities and promoting healthy lifestyles. Welcome to the show, Dr. Jasper.
I'm excited to have you here.
Yeah, thank you for having me. And amazing bio, almost sounds like somebody important,
(03:42):
almost, right? Not quite there.
You say, who is that person?
Right, exactly. I'm like, did I do that?
That can be me, right? Yeah, but no, thank you for having me. I appreciate the opportunity.
Yeah, for sure. All right. So we're just going to really start with the basics because I
think, you know, a lot of folks just really aren't even aware of what the prostate gland
is, nor even what it does. You know, I've had even some women asking me about their
(04:06):
prostate gland. So if you can just even give us the basics about the prostate gland.
Yeah, so real simple. The prostate for most males when we have the conversation, I tell
them is basically a gland that is for most part sexual health purposes. It does something
that allows when you're sexually active to basically make the fluid that comes out sperm
(04:31):
work better. It's basically the simple way to say it. You can get obviously more technical
and seminal fluid and all these big medical terms, but to keep it simple, which is always
important when you're having that discussion, it's basically when you're sexually active,
it makes the sperm work better. If your prostate does not function, your sperm does not do
what it's supposed to do. And then of course, if you're trying to conceive, it could be
(04:51):
a problem. Or if you're trying to enjoy sexual activity, it could be a problem. So the idea
for the gland is to hopefully be healthy enough that when you are sexually active, you are
enjoying and able to achieve the goal that you are trying to achieve, which most people
is trying to be a have a pleasurable experience. So we really want that prostate to be healthy,
(05:13):
not just because it's just something there and you really don't know what it is and don't
know what it can do. But we really want it to be where if it's working, it does all the
things we asked for it to do.
Yeah, yeah. And that's a great explanation there. So ladies, this topic, while it's not
exactly for you today, it is for the meaning your life, whether that be a partner, a spouse,
(05:36):
a brother, uncle, whoever, it's for them. So keep listening and pass it along.
Yeah, well, I'm going to jump in and say it definitely is for them as well. Because as
you just said, they have those significant others and those family members in their life.
But in a very weird way, people will realize that if you're really in a family setting,
(05:57):
whether it's a spouse or whatever, this can impact you as well. Obviously, we'll probably
talk about it. But one of the things I've had with patients is the man doesn't complain
about the problem because they think it's normal. But the wife will say he keeps getting
up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. And when he gets up, it wakes me
up and I'm like, well, that's not normal. We should talk about it. Right. So in a way,
(06:18):
it can affect the woman in that, you know, daytime, nighttime, you're tired because he's
getting up all the time. So in a domino effect, it can kind of have that downstream problem.
So I will say it does have some it's not directly but indirectly it can.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah. Thanks for pointing that out. Now, when we get into the screening
(06:38):
guidelines of the prostate, what are the most current screening guidelines for prostate
cancer? Because, you know, I started I've been practicing since 2010 and they've even
changed since then. So give us the most recent. Yeah, the ones that I usually tell people
are when you're talking about when do you get your prostate checked, I usually say it
depends and it depends on who you are and what are we potentially looking for. So just
(07:04):
general prostate screening to look for prostate cancer. You're talking about starting around
age 50 for most. But if you're African American or black, you are going to potentially start
earlier earlier because it in essence impacts black people at a faster and larger rate than
it would if you are a non black person. So 40 to 45 for black people. 50 is usually a
(07:26):
safe place to have it. Outside of those two, the screening itself can be done with either
a blood test or what we call a DRE, a digital rectal exam. I often tell males that I don't
think anybody really wants to do the rectal exam. I know I damn sure don't. I don't wake
up excited to say, you know what, we're doing that today, but we do it because because we
(07:46):
have to. If we do not have to, because we do a good job of discussing risk factors,
history and all the things that come along with prostate screening, we may not need to
do a record exam and we just check your blood test and then obviously keep an eye on that
blood test by trending it out over a couple of years or a couple of decades, depending
on how long you're going to be patient in that practice. But oftentimes people get nervous
(08:11):
because the first thing they think is I have a prostate exam. It always is a rectal exam.
Rarely do we have to do that. If everything else checks out, you don't have a lot of risk
factors, you're in the right age range and we're checking that blood test regularly.
You may not ever need one, but in the event we do need one, we just need to get it done
because it's better to get it treated early. So we live a long, happy, healthy life rather
(08:34):
than not screen, not do anything, ignore it and then all of a sudden we're getting really
sick at an early age. Yeah, yeah, exactly. And you know, really what you said for me
highlights the point in the importance of folks having a primary care doctor and you
know, one that they've really developed a relationship with and one that they trust
(08:56):
because the way things have shifted in the world of prostate cancer screening is really
that discussion piece is so important, even in the direction that you would go in for
the screening. Folks like you and I with direct primary care type of practices, you know,
for us, one of the things I know me as a physician that I enjoy about my practice is I get the
(09:17):
chance to have those deeper discussions with my patients and this is just an example of
why that's so important. Yeah, absolutely. And the idea is you have
more time, you don't feel rushed and of course you have the ability to really explain what
the prostate is, what it does, what it doesn't do, when to use it, when not to use it, when
to get checked, when not to get checked, how to get checked, rectal exam, blood, like all
(09:38):
of that takes time. Now you can squeeze it into a quick five, ten minute conversation,
but you're leaving so much out that a person can potentially get confused and think, well,
look, I had a colonoscopy so I don't need a prostate exam. So now we're kind of having
the ability to say what's the difference, why are both important, when do you need it,
when do you not? And that time is so much more valuable than people will really and
(10:02):
truthfully give it. They think I've had patients literally being a visit for almost an hour
and a half and they think, oh, we only been here 10 minutes. And I'm like, no, we've been
talking for about an hour and you're still having more to discuss, which is great. We
can obviously get you rescheduled really quickly. But that point goes to show that
when you have time, more discussion happens, more help is being built from a mental health,
(10:23):
physical health, financial health, just comfort level gets better and everybody feels better
overall. So this is one of those prime examples because it's such a small gland, but usually
takes a lot of time to really get into why are we doing what we're doing and how do we
keep it healthy?
Yeah, yeah, for sure. And then it helps, you know, for the comfort level of that patient,
you know, you mentioned a lot of a lot of men are not comfortable with getting that
(10:45):
digital rectal exam. And I can imagine, you know, going into the traditional 15 minute
visit, which really turns in about seven minutes that they actually see the doctor and you're
getting a drive by exam. That would be very comfortable.
I don't think I've ever heard drive by rectal exam. I think that's a good one. I'm going
to have to go ahead and possibly use that in our promotion of do you really want to
(11:07):
drive by rectal exam? Most people don't say no. So I think we are we're on the something.
We need to trademark that Shaila. Right, right. Yeah, that relationship.
There you go. And now as a fellow African American physician, you know, we know the
importance of being mindful of the impact that certain conditions may have on people
(11:27):
of color. So how does prostate cancer particularly impact men of color? And how does the conversation
that you may have with your patients look with this?
Yeah. Yeah. So I think for the men of color, the conversation I have, and we kind of spoke
about it briefly earlier, one of the things is that we tell patients that if you're an
African American male, you're going to have more likelihood that patients are going to
(11:51):
need things done sooner, sooner because those exams are oftentimes neglected just in general
because they're uncomfortable. And if they are uncomfortable, we're having issues where
you don't want to do them automatically, let alone you're not actually engaging with the
idea that you need them done earlier. Right. So you're thinking, look, I got to wait till
50 to do this. So I'm just going to put it off because, hey, 50, I can wait to 55. I
(12:15):
can wait to maybe 60. So I'm only 10 years behind when in actuality you're 20 years behind
because you're supposed to get it done at age 40. So having the understanding that some
disease processes are going to affect men of color a lot differently than it would if
you were someone who is not in that category is important to getting the best result. So
a lot of our patients will come and they're in their late thirties and I give them what
(12:38):
I call the notice. The notice is like, look, in about a year or two, we're going to have
a conversation about your prostate or, hey, we have not talked about your prostate, but
that's going to be at your next visit because you're going to be in this age range. Right.
Or hey, mentally preparing for that. Exactly. Right. So having that conversation proactively
sometimes lowers that guard. Right. Like, I don't want to talk about this, but more
(13:00):
importantly, like, Hey, I go home and more than likely tell the woman in my life, Hey,
they told me I need to talk about my prostate. And that probably puts them in the conversation
as well, which also is very helpful because now it's a family discussion rather than a
silo discussion of they said something about a prostate or something and they walk out
the door. It's a lot more detailed up. I'm giving you notice that your next visit in
(13:24):
a year in six months and three months in a week, we're going to really talk about this
and that a person of color oftentimes appreciates the idea that we're going to have an actual
visit for this and it's going to be a prime focus. So I highly encourage getting in care
in primary care specifically, but I highly encourage the idea that if you're comfortable
(13:44):
with someone who's going to acknowledge that, Hey, you're a person of color. You do have
to think and do things slightly different because that's just the way it is, especially
in the country that we live in and health is no different. And if we are very proactive
at doing things, you're going to probably have a better outcome than if we just kind
of do it as quote unquote, everybody else does.
Right, right. Yeah, that's true. You know, I'll tell you the story. I had two patients
(14:07):
and this was just within the past couple of years on both black males. One was 40 and
you know, we had that discussion at 40 and they actually didn't have any family history
of prostate cancer, but he was at this point of life where he was really wanting to just,
you know, take more better care of himself and just be more in charge of his health.
(14:27):
And so after we had, you know, the risk benefit discussion, we did check the PSA. Turns out
it was pretty elevated and he did, you know, I sent them on neurology and he did in fact
have prostate cancer that was called early painfully and you know, he was able to get
proper treatment. And then the other black male patient that I had, he was a bit older.
(14:48):
He was closer to 50, but kind of same situation. He did have a few symptoms, which is why we
went ahead and checked, but he hadn't had it checked before even at that point. And
you know, same deal. He had prostate cancer as well. So just, you know, even as you said,
just with these two different cases, one with family history, one without, younger, but
(15:08):
still at the age of 40 and both males of color, it is so important to be aware and to have
a doctor who was going to have this discussion with you.
Yeah. Very knowledgeable doctor, of course, needs to be in the room with you. That usually
helps to mitigate a lot of risks. And you hit on some of the things that I think a lot
of men oftentimes don't know. Women may not know obviously because they don't have prostates,
(15:31):
but they tend to know a little bit more about health, even men's health and the men do,
but those symptoms that are often ignored are the other thing, right? Not only knowing
risk factors are higher in men of color. So we screened earlier, but hey, what are those
symptoms, right? So as you just mentioned, basically it's the common things that most
people may think of, which is, Hey, I'm not able to perform the way I'd like to when I'm
(15:53):
sexually active. So we'll say, you know, if you want to wrap it up, it's a erectile dysfunction.
That is the common thing that a lot of people just basically brush off, right? Men don't
want to talk about that. They're not performing the way they want to, or the way they used
to. They just assume either I'm getting older or it just happens. And it could be a diagnosis
of a prostate problem. It may not always be cancer, but it could be a problem. So that's
(16:16):
one of the biggest ones that I always tell people. If you're having this, we need to
check your prostate numbers, maybe even check your prostate with the rectal exam. The other
ones of course are just urinary symptoms, which are the little bit more common, which
people will say, okay, I'm not able to go to the bathroom and urinate like I want to.
I'm having trouble starting the stream, troubled stopping the stream. When I go to urinate,
(16:37):
I feel like I got to go right back. So I'm not emptying all the way. And then sometimes
it's really hard to actually finish going to the bathroom because you're having that
hesitancy, meaning you're standing at the toilet and it's just taking a long time to
get going. So all of that being said, those symptoms play a huge part as well in the screening,
because if you're having those symptoms in your twenties, we want to know why we want
(16:57):
to know what to do. We want to check you even earlier because it's still a potential you
can have something in the twenties or thirties. But if you're having nothing, we tend to start
in the forties. And then of course, when we do the screenings, we kind of go over all
those symptoms as well as just risk factors from your family history, which are important
as well.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Now, what role when we look at prostate cancer prevention, you
(17:21):
know, you talked about some of the risk factors, but what role does even lifestyle factors
play in reducing one's prostate cancer risk? And what are just even some things that men
can do to improve their health and lessen these risks?
So the common lifestyle things I tell people is of course diet and exercise. That's just
kind of like the mantra in family medicine and internal medicine. You'll hear people
(17:42):
say that if you're eating the right food, drinking the right things, and basically exercising,
you live a longer, happier, healthier life. Another thing that a lot of people are surprised
about is eliminating stress, right? When we talk about mental health, mental health tends
to be one of the things that people think that, hey, if I'm not depressed or anxious,
then I just quote unquote, feel better. But the other thing is you live longer, right?
(18:04):
Your heart's not having as much strain on it. Your brain is not having as much strain
on it. Your kidneys and even your prostate are going to have more strain on things when
you have high levels of stress, high levels of depression, high levels of anxiety. So
we try to eliminate that as a part because it's kind of weird to say I have no risk factors,
but I ended up having bad heart disease, bad kidney disease and prostate disease, but I
(18:29):
didn't do anything other than you were stressed the whole time. So having that-
Yeah, yeah. Dr. Dess, I'm going to hold you even right there because you mentioned stress
and the studies have come out more recently even from the CDC where we're recognizing
more chronic stress in communities of color. So it just points more to that picture how
we've talked about that men of color being more at risk with prostate cancer. And you're
(18:50):
right, even without recognizing these other risk factors, chronic stress is still likely
to be there. Yeah, it is a huge thing for a lot of health
and it's surprising when I tell people, you know your prostate could be a problem because
you're just really stressed out. People are looking at me like, are you making this up?
And I'm like, no, it's actually scientifically proven. And the other one that leads into
(19:13):
that is sleep. So if you're not sleeping well, that can actually affect your prostate. So
of course the risk factors we always go over don't always match what you're potentially
going to do to mitigate those risk factors because a person may say, well, you know,
how do I stop family history? Well, you sometimes can't, but you can do things about what you're
putting into your body, what comes into your life, right? Stress and eliminating that.
(19:38):
And then how do you take care of your body by getting enough rest to adequately rejuvenate
the things that we have done and used all day? I often use the analogy because I love
analogies in healthcare of when you have a phone and you use it all day, your battery
gets low. And what do we automatically do at the end of the day when the battery is
low? We charge it, we recharge it, we recharge it, we recharge it. Well, if you don't sleep
(20:01):
enough, you're not recharging your battery and it's just going to get drained until
eventually it stops working. So people start to understand that a little bit better and
will sleep more. They feel better, their health is better and they live longer and have healthier
and happier lives.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. For sure. And thank you for pointing all of those out because
(20:22):
those are very important. And as you mentioned, you know, patients, they probably feel like
they get tired of hearing that, but it's because it isn't so important with those lifestyle
factors for just so many reasons. But even just knowing, you know, that getting more
sleep and reducing your stress and putting some vegetables on your plate can reduce your
cancer is that's pretty huge.
Extremely, extremely.
(20:43):
If you're frustrated with your weight, taking more medications than you like to, have been
told that you are at risk for the development of a chronic preventable disease, or just
are not feeling in the best of health, then I'm talking to you. Why? Because you're tired
of fat dieting, you know it's time for a change and you want a sustainable plan to improve
(21:07):
your health. If you have found yourself at this place in life, well, I have developed
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(21:31):
coaching to give you a personalized path to help that's just for you. The benefits are
priceless. So join today. Head on over to eohcoaching.com to learn more. The Essence
of Health is in you.
Now what strategies do you suggest if patients who may not have a doctor like you or I right
(21:55):
now to communicate more effectively with their health care providers about their prostate?
What strategies do you mention to those folks?
Yeah, I think in general, prostate is an extension of just health in general, right? Like you
should have a good relationship with the doctor that you are getting care from. Whoever that
is, whatever type of doctor it is, the goal is to have really good, healthy, open communication.
(22:18):
And a lot of that is relationship building, right? Like the first time you meet one of
your good friends, you probably don't have the best conversation. It's probably a lot
of feeling each other out until a certain point where that click happens and you're
like, this is a good friend of mine. I feel open. I feel comfortable talking to them about
these private matters. The same thing should happen hopefully with your doctor. On the
first visit, you may not give them everything, maybe, maybe not. But as time goes on, you
(22:42):
should feel comfortable explaining and having conversation with people to where you are
hopefully going to get the most authentic, very genuine answer that helps you feel better.
So how do we communicate like that? Well, coming in and being again, open and authentic
is the first thing. But then I think the second thing is preparing yourself with questions
and feeling like it's okay for me to ask because I don't know everything. But I do know this
(23:06):
is something I want to kind of get more information about. And the goal for us on the physician
side, it's not only saying, hey, I want you to ask, but also being okay for us to tell
you, look, hey, we don't know. We can look into it for you. We can figure it out. If
we do know, we're going to tell you right then and there. But if we don't, we want to
be able to communicate effectively by saying, I don't know that. But we do have a propensity
(23:28):
goal and look things up, especially on the physician side. We're trained to go and find
answers even if we don't know a lot of times we do know. But when we don't, we'll come
back and look into it and do that. So that communication has to be on both sides, open
and authentic from the patient coming in, talking to the doctor. And then of course,
being prepared with questions about things you experienced, feel, and want to know. On
(23:50):
the doctor side is being open and authentic as well and saying, hey, this is what I do
know. This is what I don't know. I want to be able to give you the right answer. So I'm
going to do what I can to tell you right now what I know and tell you, I don't know, go
look it up and come back to it. And when that communication flows back and forth, especially
in direct primary care, we have a really good time where patients have no problem calling
us directly, especially after hours, which is sometimes the best time to have these conversations.
(24:15):
But more importantly, sending us text messages that sometimes are to a link of an article,
to a news story, to a medication, to a supplement. And we're able to say, hey, this is what I
do. This is what I don't do. This is what I know. This is what I don't know. This is
where I'm going to tell you to go and get more information. This is where I'm going
to tell you, I am going to look it up and get back to you. And that authentic open communication
(24:38):
happens in the exam room, over the phone, via text. And that is how I think we get better
health overall, especially with the prostate. If you don't know the answer and the question
in the exam room, you go home, you talk to your wife, you talk to your spouse, you talk
to your sibling, you talk to your uncle. And another question pops up. You just call right
at that point, you call us and we can tell you, hey, great question. I'm glad you called.
(25:01):
I'm going to give you your answer right now. Or hey, good question. I never heard about
that supplement. Let me go look it up and I'll get back with you because it could be
something very helpful. It could be something that's not really the best for you. But that
conversation is happening in multiple levels, possibly in multiple settings and over multiple
days. And what happens with the patients then in this very long winded robust answer is
(25:22):
me saying, you are going to get an answer that helps you get to better health in some
way, shape or form. And patients love that because they'll say, I can communicate what
works for me. Some people may not be phone people. Some people may not be text people.
Some people may be in person people. But we do it all right in the direct primary care
space. Our goal is to communicate, give people the health, meet them where they are. And
(25:45):
people love that with this type of discussion, sexual health, prostate, all that. It just
gives them that I'm now disarmed. I now don't have to worry. I'm not going to get judged.
I don't have to get it all in this five minute visit. And if I forget, I got to wait three
months. It's us meeting them where they are. Absolutely. Which is, and I think I'm glad
you said that actually you said you're taking stress out, which is what we just said. What
(26:08):
we're adding stress to the person and telling them to stop stressing. But we're also feeding
the problem in the traditional system. So for us on the direct primary care site, we're
eliminating that stress and people really in truth, they're healthier for it. Yeah,
for sure. I get a lot of emails from my patients as well. They'll say, you know, send me a
link. Well, what do you think about this article? You know, I read this or even sometimes, you
(26:30):
know, nowadays we get what do you, I saw this on TikTok. So, you know, what do you think
about that? And I've seen even just in forums where some of our colleagues will get pretty
frustrated because their time is limited and they don't have time to maybe debunk or look
up what you saw on TikTok. But for us, we can, we can dive into that a bit more and
say, you know, there may be some truth to that or probably not kind of thing, you know,
(26:52):
have more time and it's not stressing me out and it's not stressing them out either. We
can continue to have those upfront discussions with one another for the overall betterment
of their health. Agreed. 100%. Yeah. Yeah. Alrighty. So before we go, let's talk a little
bit about some of those misconceptions about prostate cancer that you may have encountered
(27:15):
with some of your patients. I think one of the most common misconceptions we have with
prostate cancer tends to be the adage of, hey, you're going to have a symptom and that's
how you're going to know you have cancer. A lot of cancers, prostate cancer being one
of them are very slow and very, very, very silent. You will oftentimes go years if not
(27:36):
decades with no symptoms at all. And then when you do have a symptom, it doesn't scream
cancer, right? It could be I'm having back pain or I'm having real, you know, discomfort
with going to the bathroom. It's just really difficult to start urinating or I see blood
in my urine. I don't know what that is. So those symptoms are so few and far between
for a lot of patients that we will find it well before a patient has a symptom. I have
(27:58):
a patient currently, no insurance, Hispanic male who is undocumented from Mexico. And
we have discovered his prostate cancer on routine screening with blood tests and finally
got him into a urologist where he's fortunate enough able to potentially get the care he
needs even without insurance because we know how to navigate a system that will not necessarily
(28:21):
be kind to patients with no insurance. So based on that, it was very much if we didn't
check for him having routine screenings, it would have been where he would have been with,
you know, that silent killer, if you will, and we don't want that. So I think the other
misconception besides it being, hey, I'm going to have cancer symptoms pop up is that it
is not going to happen to me, right? It just, it's just not going to happen. You know,
(28:45):
no one in my family has prostate cancer. No one in my family has prostate symptoms. It's
not going to be me. Well, I'll say this, no one in your family is you either, right? You
could also have a diet different than them. Maybe you're a smoker. Maybe you have way
more stress. Maybe you have so many things that can affect your ability to stay healthy
or not stay healthy that you could be the first. So the idea that I'm too young to have
(29:08):
it, I don't have any symptoms, so I'm fine. I don't need to go to the doctor and I'm
sure you get this all the time. I rarely go to the doctor because I'm never sick. Well,
that doesn't mean that you don't have something going on. It just means we haven't seen it
yet. We haven't found it. That's like the patients I end up finding about 10 different
diagnoses haven't been diagnosed yet. I had a lady yesterday. Her first visit was yesterday.
(29:32):
No insurance, literally called and kind of said, look, I'm trying to figure out how to
get in because I'm having this horrible stomach pain. But I haven't been a doctor in years
because I rarely ever get sick. And of course, walks in the door has high blood pressure,
has extreme anxiety, has bad insomnia, has trouble with acid reflux. And we're just running
(29:53):
through in one visit four different issues that I diagnosed. And literally, I'm just
sitting here like this is the healthy person that I don't really get sick. So that misconception
that people tend to have is that, well, if I'm not checking and I don't feel bad, then
nothing's wrong. And again, analogy wise, I like to say that's equivalent to saying,
(30:13):
well, I'm driving a car and there is nothing going on. There's no check engine light. There's
nothing ever popping up. So I don't ever need to go get it checked or I don't need to get
my old change. I don't need to get the tires rotated. I'm just going to drive until something
happens. And when that happens, that's when a problem pops up that is so far gone that
you have a hard time getting it back to where it should be. The engine is burned up. The
(30:33):
tires are really, really, really bad. So you can't stop and you're sliding off the road.
So we don't want that. We don't want you to have those negative things happen. We want
you to catch it early. And that misconception that it can't be you, we got to wait till
we have symptoms, that it's going to be a really noticeable symptom that pops up first.
So we will be able to catch it early. All those are things we don't want to have. And
(30:54):
of course, in direct primary care, we have more time to really talk about why we're checking,
who we're checking, when we're checking, how cost effective it'll be to check this because
we are very much more knowledgeable of not only the health care side, but the business
side. And it also gives people a lot more reassurance that we have time to really go
into checking all these things and catching them early.
(31:15):
Right. Yeah. And I'll add to that one misconception that I've heard. I don't know if you've heard
this one, but for some men, they think, oh, well, that's an old man's disease prostate
cancer. You know, because they say, oh, I remember my granddad having that. But isn't
that an old man's thing? Not realizing as we've discussed today that as early as 40,
you can be screened for this because you might've even had it showing up before then had it
(31:40):
been screened.
Well, I think one thing I'll say to the people who say it's an old man's disease, and this
is me just being me, I tell people, you know, you're going to get old too, right? I know
you think you, you are young until you hit whatever that magical age may be, but you're
old to somebody, right? So if you have children, you're old or older. So you should start checking
(32:01):
as soon as you even remotely think that comes into your mind. Oh, it's an old man's disease.
How do you know it's because you think that you don't need to, how about we just go find
out, right? Unless it's going to break the bank and it's just so hard to check, right?
Like we just have to do this very invasive procedure. Why don't we just check it? And
a lot of times it's so cost effective to check it and not use the insurance because insurance
(32:26):
just runs the bill up so high that you checking a PSA or a prostate specific antigen, that
blood test, if we're checking that PSA, it literally will be so inexpensive that we just
can check it and just be sure, right? Even in your twenties, a lot of people can just
get that out the way and you know, as opposed to just assume I'm healthy, right? And I'm
(32:48):
a spin it for a real quick second. I have another gentleman, he works out roughly seven
times a week, eats very healthy. So we think, and with him physically looks like the person
you want a person to look like, right? Low body fat, very muscular guy, does martial
arts, all this stuff. Long story short, we check in his cholesterol is high and he's
(33:08):
looking at me like, how's this even possible? I work out all the time and so on and so forth.
And I said, yeah, that's the thing. That's the misconception. People think because you
look healthy, therefore you are healthy. But we know people who are oftentimes looking
healthy but have really bad habits. They drink a lot of alcohol, they smoke cigarettes, they
eat very poorly. And my favorite is they also are extremely stressed. They come in, they
(33:32):
smile, hey, everybody looks happy and then they go home and they're crying in the car
kind of thing, right? All of that affects your health and prostate, as you just said,
is something that can easily get sick and doesn't tell you it's sick. But because you
are thinking or faking the phone, therefore, hey, I must be healthy. Now that's just not
how the body works. The body is very resilient until it's not. And when all of a sudden it's
(33:55):
not resilient, a lot of times it's too late. So we want to catch these things early. We
want to get them to be treated very early and then we go from there.
Yeah, yeah, for sure. Well, thank you so much for sharing all of this with us. Now before
you go, I do want you to tell us more about your book. Why did you write it? And how do
we get a copy? Yeah. So the name of the book is the Biden
(34:17):
Blueprint. It is an introductory guide to direct primary care for patients, physicians
and businesses. The idea of the book was basically written for us to get the word of direct primary
care out to more people. You and I are in a lot of the same Facebook groups and we've
been to the same conferences. So we will oftentimes run into a lot of doctors who are interested
(34:38):
in learning more about DPC. But a lot of times they don't really have all the ins and outs.
So the good news for them is they can go into a conference and give some understanding and
education on DPC. But a lot of patients, a lot of that comes into them having to talk
to a DPC doctor or someone who is familiar with DPC, maybe another patient or something
like that to get that information. So I say, well, it's getting to the point where I'm
(35:00):
having to explain it over and over so many times. I wish there was something that could
be put out into the world that would have people easily say, if you want to learn what
DPC is, this is a good book. It really kind of hits all the high points. It's not into
the weeds of all the little small things. Like we're not talking about the lab prices. We're
not talking about how we send stuff directly to the pharmacy and how do you set that up,
(35:24):
which a lot of books have been written about how to do that. It's more of these are the
things that can be done. And these are things that people are already doing within direct
primary care. So the patients have an opportunity to learn more about it. Physicians, of course,
get to learn about it in the clinic. It also gets taught to them in the conferences. But
now there's a book that you can easily take home with you before you even decide to kind
(35:47):
of jump into a conference or go into another clinical setting. You can just kind of sit
at home and listen and or read and have that conversation with yourself of like this model
sounds more like something I want to explore further. So that intro guide, as I said, it's
really the first step into hopefully what direct primary care can be for a lot of people.
(36:08):
And lastly, for businesses, it's a really good book because it helps to show how businesses
can save time, save money, keep employees healthy and keep them from having that missing
work all the time if they're so sick. So we really want it to be that if you want to learn
what direct primary care is, here's the book for you. And so far, it's been going pretty
well. We've had a lot of people give us good feedback that I really had no idea direct
(36:28):
primary care did all of these things. And now that I hear and have read and learn about
it, I want to learn more. And that's exactly what we wanted it to do.
Yeah, awesome. Awesome. And I'm glad you wrote it because it is it's so important for for
more people to know about it, not just for physicians, but even for families, patients,
employers, because so many people can benefit from a direct primary care being a part of
(36:52):
a direct primary care practice. And just, you know, some of the few things that we've
even just highlighted today just in our discussion. So folks go out and get the book. I'm going
to place the link in the show notes to this episode so that you can go grab your copy.
And then Dr. Jasper, tell our folks how they can connect with you on social media or online.
(37:13):
Yeah, so simply website is probably the best place to kind of get the most information
about us. That is www.byja.org, which is short for Bija Clinic, which is our clinical practice.
We also have a nonprofit division of our practice that is meant to help basically get more services
(37:34):
to the underserved who sometimes can't access DPC because of the feeling of having to pay
out of pocket, maybe a little bit too much for them. So the nonprofit arm is the Bija
Charitable Alliance. And that website is www.byjaca.org. So those are our two websites that we point
people to if you're someone who's local and, you know, looking for a male physician, feel
(37:56):
free to give us a call, come and see us. If you say, well, I don't necessarily have the
ability to see Dr. Jasper, but I want to still support. We are again a nonprofit 501 C3.
So we do have tax deductible donations that we accept and use for those underserved patients.
Outside of that, we're on social media, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn at Bija Clinic, all
(38:17):
one word. And then outside of that, we do have a podcast that we are recording here
and there. I say here and there because we kind of put it on pause to kind of get the
book out and start promoting the book. But that podcast is Bija Radio, and that is on
Apple, Spotify, SoundCloud, and I do believe YouTube Music last that we checked. So we
(38:39):
are again out there. It shouldn't be hard to find us. If you type the word Bija into
pretty much any browser, something will pop up about us. And our goal is to obviously
get the direct primary care message out and get more people into care so they have better
health and better outcomes.
Wonderful. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks so much for coming on the show. Folks who are listening,
(39:00):
I'm going to put all of those links in the show notes because I do want you to reach
out and connect with Dr. Jasper, especially if you're in the Louisiana area. You need
a doctor like Dr. Jasper. So go see him. All righty. But thanks so much for being on the
show. Thank you so much. And we really appreciate the opportunity. Thank you for joining me
today on the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast. Click the subscribe button on your favorite
(39:23):
podcast platform so that you never miss a moment of the Essence of Health Tea Time podcast.
Check out the show notes to obtain your free tips for Healthy Living God to get you started
on your health and wellness path. Follow me on social media at Essence of Health Wellness
Clinic on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube and at doctor.tw at EOHWC on TikTok. Interested
(39:51):
in becoming a member of the Essence of Health coaching program? Well, head on over to www.eohcoaching.com.
The Essence of Health is a year.
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