October 21, 2023 • 29 mins
Ryan Gorman hosts an iHeartRadio nationwide special featuring Sarah Kate Ellis, President & CEO of GLAAD. Sarah Kate Ellis joins the show to recap Spirit Day 2023, the country’s most visible anti-LGBTQ bullying campaign, along with some of the issues LGBTQ youth face and how GLAAD is working to address those problems. Dr. William Dahut, Chief Scientific Officer at the American Cancer Society, also checks in. Dr. Dahut joins the show for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, stressing the importance of women getting tested early and often, along with the progress made over the past few decades in diagnosing and treating breast cancer.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you this week. Here's Ryan Gorman. Thanks so much for joining us here
on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm Ryan Gorman, and we have a few very important
conversations lined up for you for thisshow coming up in just a bit for
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we'll checkin with the Chief Scientific Officer for the
(00:24):
American Cancer Society. Is going toexplain why the ACS is urging women to
get mammograms early and often, sosome really vital information is on the way
in just a bit, but rightnow to get things started. This week,
GLAD, the world's largest lesbian,gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer media advocacy organization, hosted SpiritDay, with participants all across the country
(00:50):
going purple and taking the pledge forSpirit Day in the United stand against bullying
and as a show of support forlgbtqu Since the first Spirit Day in twenty
ten, LADD has organized hundreds ofcelebrities, along with media outlets, brands,
landmarks, sports leagues, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges
(01:11):
and universities in what's become the mostvisible anti LGBTQ bullying campaign. The Empire
State Building was lit up purple onWednesday, the day before Spirit Day,
and numerous other events were held tomark the occasion, along with iHeartRadio stations
nationwide participating in Spirit Day by showingsupport for LGBTQU and joining me now to
(01:36):
talk more about Spirit Day along withthe work GLAD does is Sarah Kate ellis
President and CEO of GLAD. Youcan learn more and support the work they
do at glad dot org. That'sglaad dot org. Sarah Kate, thanks
so much for taking a few minutesto come on the show. And while
(01:57):
your organization is certainly very well known, let's start with a little bit more
about the mission LAD is on andhow your organization first came about. So
well, hello, and thank youfor having me so Glad it was founded
in nineteen eighty five. We werefounded actually during the AIDS crisis in New
York City, and the reason wasbecause all of the misinformation that was happening.
(02:23):
Misinformation is not a new thing thatwas happening around the gay community,
specifically gay men, during the AIDScrisis, and we were putting pressure on
media to cover it. Fairly andaccurately and to stop demonizing and villainizing gay
men. And at the same time, our founders realized that the reason that
(02:46):
we were being demonized so much asa community was because nobody knew who we
were. So we started lobbying Hollywoodto tell our stories, to exclude us
in TV shows and in movies.And GLAD has always been and continues to
always be at the center of mediato tell the stories of our community,
(03:08):
to open heartston minds, And sonow we work across all media platforms social
media, video games, film,news, and journalisms. Hollywood obviously,
but even CEOs they aren't media platforms, but they have platforms, or Congress
(03:29):
and senators, they have huge platformsnow and so we work with every influencer
across the board to help accelerate acceptancefor the LGBTQ community. Are there some
major moments in recent history in themedia that you think ended up being particularly
(03:51):
notable for the LGBTQ community. Ithink there are there are watershed moments throughout
our movement over the past forty yearsfor the LGBTQ community, both good and
bad. But I think one ofthe biggest moments has really been around marriage
(04:13):
equality, right, the way thatwe were able to introduce America to LGBTQ
folks through shows and people like EllenDeGeneres or that's what I was thinking.
Great, yeah, yeah, Soit's been and I think President Biden said
it best right. He said hefelt that Will and Grace did more for
(04:36):
marriage equality than anything else, becauseall of a sudden, you were meeting
a gay couple in your own livingroom, in your own home, who
were funny and humble and all thethings that we all are as people,
and we were humanized. How didyou first get involved with Glad You've been
president and CEO for nine years.You were named to this year's Time one
(05:00):
hundred lists of congratulations for that.Tell us your story, thank you well.
So I've always worked in media,so for two decades about I worked
at publishing companies. So I workedfor in Style, Vogue, Real Simple,
magazines, and digital properties. SoI always understood how important media is
(05:25):
as a cultural influence in our countryand the world at largest. Our largest
cultural export from America is media,So I think. And then my wife
and I had twins, and itfelt like the right time for me to
make a change, to give backto make the world a better place,
(05:48):
and I loved media, so Iended up by GLAD. It turned out
it could you know, for me, it's a calling, it's not a
job. I wake up every dayto make the world, I hope,
a better place, especially for LGBTQU. We're joined here on Ihear Radio Communities
by Sarah Kate Ellis, President andCEO of GLAD. You can learn more
(06:12):
about the work they do at gladdot org. That's g laa d dot
org. This relationship that GLAD haswith the media and the work you do
with the media. Can you explaina little bit more about that, sure?
I think you know. I alwayssay we work in the court of
(06:32):
public opinions, which tends to makesense to people. So the way that
we work with media is primarily totell the stories of LGBTQ people, because
we know once you know someone who'sLGBTQ, once you know someone who's LGBTQ,
(06:53):
you're less likely to hate them ordiscriminate against them. And so one
of the big things that we havegoing on right now now is you've seen
attacked left, right and center againstthe transgender community. And the thing that
I know is only thirty percent ofAmericans report knowing someone who's transgender. More
(07:14):
Americans say they've seen a ghost thanthat they know someone who's transgenders, So
that seventy percent of Americans are figuringout who transgender people are through media,
and there's no real great media outthere that's fair and inclusive showcasing trans folks.
(07:35):
And so that's our job to fillthis information gap and to connect people
so that we all understand our sharedhumanity and we look at our how we
are the same and how our differencescan be celebrated and not weaponized. So
I mentioned earlier Spirit Day, whichyou hosted this week and which started back
(07:59):
in twenty and it's become the mostvisible anti LGBTQ bullying campaign out there.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about how Spirit Day was created,
how it grew into what it's become, and the goal behind the special day.
Absolutely so, Spirit Day is thelargest and most visible anti bullying effort
(08:24):
in the world, and it's avery simple idea. The idea is where
Purple in a united stand against bullyingand thereby show your support for LGBTQ youth.
It's about creating possibility models in theworld for LGBTQ youth to see themselves
(08:46):
represented and thriving in the world thatwe live in today. And so this
past week we were able to getcompanies and media companies and political people to
wear purple to signify their support forLGBTQ youth. And you know, we
(09:11):
need it more than ever, Honestly. This year, specifically, nearly seven
to ten LGBTQ students say they feelunsafe at schools, seven out of ten.
And no one should be bullied orcalled names simply for being who they
(09:31):
are. So this was a reallyreally important Spirit Day for us. Can
you expand a little bit more onsome of the issues that LGBTQ youth are
facing these days, because I've talkedto a number of different organizations, I've
gone over the statistics on this show, but I always think it's important to
(09:52):
bring them up yet again because theyare so stunning, especially when you get
into the numbers involving suicide attempts andthings like that. It really is jaw
dropping what we're seeing across the country. It is I completely agree with you,
(10:13):
So yeah, I mean, it'sit is a sad fact that we
face, but LGBTQ uth. Alarge majority of LGBTQ use have not only
contemplated, but attempted suicide. AndI think that we've seen these numbers as
(10:37):
opposed to get smaller, we've seenthem get larger over the past several years.
And we really think that is tiedto the culture that we live in
now and how different things have beenover the past you know, five plus
years. So we also conducted ourfirst ever Spirit Day Index, which found
(11:01):
that everyday people are just as ifnot more effective than celebrity voices when it
comes to supporting LGBTQ you use.So that's a really important lesson. People's
stories matter, and that's how everyonecan get involved and make a change.
(11:22):
And I always say pain starts athome. Pain starts on your Facebook page,
in your school board, at yourdinner table, because when you start
to show support for people who aremarginalized or underrepresented, you start to lift
them up and you create a safeplace for them to exist and then to
(11:45):
start to thrive. So we takeaway that that you know, shame.
So when you think about you know, suicide attempts and suicide race, especially
for you kids who come from accessingfamilies, have a much much smaller percentage
(12:07):
of attempts for ideation. I'm RyanGorman, joined by Sarah Kate Ellis,
President and CEO of GLAD. Youcan learn more about all the work they
do at glad dot org. That'sglaad dot org. I want to ask
you about the Social Media Safety Indexthat you put together because social media,
(12:28):
it's such a double edged short Attimes, it can certainly be an area
where people who are part of theLGBTQ community can come together and find support,
but it could also be a placefor bullying and a lot of hate.
Tell us about this index, whatit means, and how you came
up with it. So this isthe third year that we've done the Social
(12:54):
Media Safety Index, and what wedo is that we look at the five
largest platforms and we evaluate them onthe safety for LGBTQ folks. Because it's
just like what you said, whichis originally social media was a great connector
for our community, it has sincebeen weaponized and is actually quite a dangerous
(13:18):
place, not only for LGBTQ youthbut for youth in general. And so
we put this safety index together tostart holding these major companies accountable because nobody
is holding them accountable. Our governmentdefinitely isn't at this moment in time,
and so this rates e grades them. And as I say, so,
(13:41):
nobody has done a phenomenal job.The best of the past used to be
Twitter, but they literally fell offa clip in the past, you know,
eighteen months, year and a halfand are now at the bottom of
the barrel in terms of safety forthe LGBTQ community. And I think a
(14:03):
lot of times. So some ofthe biggest learnings that I've found from this
report is that a lot of thesocial media safety social media companies actually have
policies on safety and trust. Thechallenges is they don't enforce them, or
they enforce them willy nilly at theirwhims as opposed to across the board,
(14:26):
and they let really dangerous, dangerouscontent, misinformation and bullying continue to happen
on their sites because they monetize it. So it's really like they do have
the policies, they choose not todo it because it's making them a lot
of money. Hate makes money,and so that so what I say about
(14:50):
We've seen incremental improvements on these companiesand we work with them year round to
hold them accountable. It's not justthat the report comes out and then we
talked to them. We are onthe phone with them every day trying to
hold them accountable, and they've madeincremental change. What I always say though,
(15:11):
is that if we didn't have thisreport, think about how far back
they would slide. So incremental changefor me is sadly a win. That's
how upside down this world has becomefor those who are listening, who are
part of the LGBTQ community, andmaybe they have faced some of the bullying
(15:33):
that human raising awareness about through SpiritDay. In fact, how Spirit Day
was first started, the story behindit, If you don't mind sharing a
little bit about Brittany McMillan, itreally is another one of those eye opening
experiences that everyone should know about.But I also want to get to what
(15:54):
those listening can do, maybe sometips that you have for them in order
to find the help that maybe theyneed so they can overcome whatever it is
they might be going through. Absolutely, So, there was a time period
about a little over probably about twelveyears now, twelve thirteen years where there
(16:21):
were you know, a couple ofkids who had these who ended up ending
their lives because of bullying. Brittanywho lived up in Canada, took the
purple out of the rainbow flags,which is about spirit and hope, and
started a just on Facebook. Andyou know, Facebook was much younger than
(16:48):
asked people to turn their profiles purple, to wear purple, and it really
started taking off in support of lgbtto youth. And so she called us
and said, you know what,this is getting bigger than I can manage.
Can you come in and help memanage this? And we've been managing
it for her ever since. Butit really is about standing up for LGBTQ
(17:12):
youth and doing it in a verysimple way, just by wearing purple.
And I think for kids who feelbullied that I want them to see a
sea of purple. I want peopleto step out and stand up for our
youth. They are they need usmore than ever and it makes such a
(17:37):
huge difference in their lives and givesthem the encouragement. Encouragement even if they're
in situations that are untenable at thismoment in time, if they see a
world in which they can exist andbe their true authentic self and live their
lives, that will keep them havinghope, holding up on and flourishing down
(18:02):
the line. And so I thinkyou can always do small things. You
can hang a flag, you canwear purple, you can tell people about
how you've supported or how supportive youare of the LGBTQ community, especially you.
So use your platforms, use youraccess, and use your voice to
(18:22):
support. And final question for you, how can people get involved? How
can they support the work your organizationdoes? And where can they learn more
about some of the research that youhave, the information, the resources you
have and everything else GLAD is upto absolutely well, thank you for asking
that. So everything we do isbased on data and we look at how
(18:47):
we can move sentiment, right Isaid, we work in the court of
public opinion, and so you cango to GLAD glaad dot org and you
can see all of our research thatwe have where we're tracking what sentiment is,
how we where it's where, whereit's most challenged, where we need
to change things, and then webuild programs around that. So we have
(19:11):
programs in the South, we haveprograms in Silicon Valley, we have programs
in Hollywood, we have programs throughoutthe country. We have programs against the
election to make sure that every LGBTQperson's voice is her who's you know,
who's old enough to vote? Soour programs are truly endless because the work
(19:33):
is endless. So please go toglad dot org and support us. You
can donate, you can find outabout what we're doing. We have a
ton of events that you can attendand participate, sign up for our newsletter,
and just become a part of thefamily. Again. That's glad dot
org g l a A D dotorg. Sarah Kate ellis President and CEO
(19:56):
of GLAD with us here. SarahKate, I want to thank you so
much for the work you're doing andfor the time. Thanks for coming on
the show. We really appreciate it. Thank you all right. I'm Ryan
Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities and nowlet's bring in our next guest. October
is Breast cancer Awareness Month, andthe American Cancer Society is urging women to
get screened early and often. TheAmerican Cancer Society, of course, is
(20:19):
working constantly to improve the lives ofcancer patients and their families through advocacy,
research, and patient support to ensureeveryone has the opportunity to prevent, detect,
treat, and survive cancer. Andyou can learn more about the work
they're doing on breast cancer specifically,along with lots of great resources and information
(20:42):
at cancer dot org slash breast cancerand to talk more about this issue,
we're joined now by the Chief ScientificOfficer at the American Cancer Society, doctor
William Deahut. Doctor day Hut,thank you so much for coming on the
show. And let's start with abig picture view of the impact breast cancer
(21:02):
has on this country each year.So a couple of facts. The good
news is, since nineteen eighty nine, we decrease breast cancer mortality by forty
three percent, which is wonderful,but sadly, we still have over forty
three thousand women dying in her breastcancer. So we do know that regular
screenings can actually significently decrease your riskyou're dying from breast cancer. And so
(21:23):
that's why we think Breast Cancer AwarenessMonths is so important. Since breast cancer
screenings are really the focus of yourmessage for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let's
talk about them for a moment.How much have those screenings evolved in terms
of technology and what we're able tolearn with them, and how crucial do
they become in helping women survive acase of breast cancer. Well, we
(21:48):
know breast cancer is actually one ofthe most treatable, potentially curable cancer refound
early, and romography does have theability to catch cancers before they have spread.
Now, mimography is a test that'sbeen around for a long time,
as you're probably know, probably closeto fifty years. And while the technology
mimography has improved, we are hopefulwith the addition of things such as AI
(22:12):
and other testing abilities that will actuallyeven increase our sensitivity of picking up the
more aggressive cancers. What are therecommendations for screenings depending on the age of
the person looking to get one.Well, every woman should actually talk to
the position to make a starting mimographyat age forty and certainly everyone should be
(22:34):
having a mammogram starting at age fortyfive. But if you're at higher risk,
and the higher risk could be froma strong family history or genetic mutation
puts you at risk for breast cancer, you should start earlier. And in
fact we recommend that though it wasnot yet in our guidelines, that if
there's a breast cancer in your family, particularly a breast cantoner young person,
(22:57):
you should begin your screening about tenyears beforehand, and if you do do
screening when you're in your safe you'rethirties, you probably need an MRI or
ultrasound in addition to your mimography beforegoing and getting that screening, before going
and getting a mammogram. Is thereanything in particular that women should know or
(23:18):
be aware of. I think thereally important thing is for women to have
a sense of their own risk ofbreast cancer. You know, your history
of dense breasts or strong family historyor other mutations. I think that really
information is crucial because that really maychange your screening paradigm. The other thing
is thatmography actually has the ability tofind cancers when they're very small and very
(23:42):
early, when they're treatable, andwhere theoretically the treatment is not nearly as
invasive. So I think women canbe afraid of it. The bad news
does come and there's a cancer diagnosis, there's a very good chance that can
be treated and one can have alifespan the same as someone that without breast
cancer. I'm Ryan Gorman joined rightnow by the chief Scientific Officer at the
(24:06):
American Cancer Society, doctor William Deahutt, is with us for Breast Cancer Awareness
Month. You can learn a wholelot more. Again, lots of great
resources and information at cancer dot orgslash breast cancer. So, doctor day
Hutt, what are some of thetreatment options, especially for cases of breast
(24:26):
cancer that are caught early through thescreenings that we've been talking about well early
on. Oftentimes what's needed is theresection of the abnormal of actually the cancer
itself, and oftentimes that we've donewith a lumpectomy, so just to remove
up the cancer. Love radiation issometimes needed, you know, as part
(24:48):
of that treatment, and then somewomen need to go on treatment then to
actually decrease the cancer cancer recurrens,and that's author hormoral treatment, although sometimes
it could be a target treat percumatherapy. Some women because of the size
of the tumor or the aggressiveness ofit, would actually start with drugs first.
They could even be immunotherapy or chemotherapyor hormoral therapy, and then answer
(25:12):
the drugs are given, then alocal treatment such as surgery would be you
know. Over the years, we'veseen a number of public figures and celebrities
who have come out and let itbe known that they got a masectomy or
a double misseectomy due to some ofthe risk factors that they faced when it
(25:33):
comes to breast cancer. Can youexplain why that could potentially be a smart
option for some women and some ofthose risk factors that women should look for
as they're trying to make a decisionlike that. Yes, that's a great
question. So I think that's whyit's really important for women to actually understand
(25:53):
their own cancer risk. And thereare some cancer mutications inherited cancer mutations such
as the breast cancer gene, thebracketgene that puts patients at risk for breast
cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and actually in their male relatives,
prostate cancer. And so having youknow, a surgery of propoglactic surgery may
(26:17):
make sense for women, particularly thosethat are carriers of rare mutations. For
those who have gotten some kind ofa breast enhancement surgery or breast reduction surgery,
are there certain things that they needto be aware of as they're getting
a mamm or gram and getting checkedfor breast cancer each year, are there
certain things specifically for them that theyshould know about. Yeah, it's a
(26:42):
great question. I think you know, talking to your healthcare team because obviously,
you know, having a breast operation, you know, whether it's enhancement
or reduction, could have an impacton the imaging and determining whether additional tests
beyond the monophy makes sense. Again, that would likely be an ultracent or
potentially an MRI. But those arequestions that definitely should be brought up before
(27:04):
you undergard you're screening. One thingI do want to point out for Breast
Cancer Awareness Month, while this isprimarily an issue that impacts women, it
does also impact some men. Canyou talk a little bit about breast cancer
in men? Well, I thinkagain it's a very good point that men
can get breast cancer, and there'snot routine screen for breast cancer for men,
(27:27):
and breast cancer rates have not fallen. Retatealities have not fallen in men
the same way they have fallen inthe women the last in the thirty or
forty years. So men should reallybe sensitive to, you know, any
changes they noticed in their breast tissue. If men have again have a family
history of cancer, even breast cancer, that's important. They received radiation to
(27:47):
the chest area another risk factor forbreast cancer. So an awareness I think
in the community that men can getbreast cancer. It can be treated very
often in similar ways women are treated, but it's getting the word out,
particularly when there's no Richie screening stunevent. It's very forward. Final question
for you, what are some ofthe advancements that you're looking towards that you're
(28:11):
working on at the American Cancer Societyor that could be on the horizon.
As breast cancer has become such abig focus the month of October and the
raising of awareness of it has becomesuch a big moment here in this country,
are there things moving forward that weshould be keeping an eye off for.
Yeah, I think there really are. You know, we're proud how
long the American Cancers that I hasbeen involved with with cancer research. You
(28:33):
know, we currently have over onehundred and twenty seven million dollars out of
grant studying it. So it's it'sthe core of who we are in many
ways. So I think one areawould be, you know, sort of
therapeutic prevention strategy, the ways thatif you had a sort of a known
mutation, could a a vaccine bedeveloped it could actually decrease the likelihood of
breast cancer. And the second thingI think is looking at AI technology to
(28:56):
help with the diagnosis of breast canceras well as improving screening techniques. So
I think improved technologies, whether it'svaccine based or whether it's AI based for
imaging, I think are in thenear future and can have potentially real impact
on patients. Chief Scientific Officer atthe American Cancer Society, doctor William de
(29:18):
Hut, with us for Breast CancerAwareness Month. You can learn more lots
of really great resources and information availableat cancer dot org slash breast cancer.
That's cancer dot org slash breast cancer. Doctor day Hut thank you so much
for tickets some time to come onthe show and break all of that down
for us. We really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks all Ryan for having
me take it all right, Andthat'll do it for this edition of iHeartRadio
(29:41):
Communities. I want to thank youall so much for listening. I'm your
host, Ryan Gorman. We'll talkto you again real soon.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a publicaffairs special focusing on the biggest issues impacting
you this week. Here's Ryan Gorman. Thanks so much for joining us here
on iHeartRadio Communities. I'm Ryan Gorman, and we have a few very important
conversations lined up for you for thisshow coming up in just a bit for
Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we'll checkin with the Chief Scientific Officer for the
(00:24):
American Cancer Society. Is going toexplain why the ACS is urging women to
get mammograms early and often, sosome really vital information is on the way
in just a bit, but rightnow to get things started. This week,
GLAD, the world's largest lesbian,gay, bisexual, transgender, and
queer media advocacy organization, hosted SpiritDay, with participants all across the country
(00:50):
going purple and taking the pledge forSpirit Day in the United stand against bullying
and as a show of support forlgbtqu Since the first Spirit Day in twenty
ten, LADD has organized hundreds ofcelebrities, along with media outlets, brands,
landmarks, sports leagues, faith groups, school districts, organizations, colleges
(01:11):
and universities in what's become the mostvisible anti LGBTQ bullying campaign. The Empire
State Building was lit up purple onWednesday, the day before Spirit Day,
and numerous other events were held tomark the occasion, along with iHeartRadio stations
nationwide participating in Spirit Day by showingsupport for LGBTQU and joining me now to
(01:36):
talk more about Spirit Day along withthe work GLAD does is Sarah Kate ellis
President and CEO of GLAD. Youcan learn more and support the work they
do at glad dot org. That'sglaad dot org. Sarah Kate, thanks
so much for taking a few minutesto come on the show. And while
(01:57):
your organization is certainly very well known, let's start with a little bit more
about the mission LAD is on andhow your organization first came about. So
well, hello, and thank youfor having me so Glad it was founded
in nineteen eighty five. We werefounded actually during the AIDS crisis in New
York City, and the reason wasbecause all of the misinformation that was happening.
(02:23):
Misinformation is not a new thing thatwas happening around the gay community,
specifically gay men, during the AIDScrisis, and we were putting pressure on
media to cover it. Fairly andaccurately and to stop demonizing and villainizing gay
men. And at the same time, our founders realized that the reason that
(02:46):
we were being demonized so much asa community was because nobody knew who we
were. So we started lobbying Hollywoodto tell our stories, to exclude us
in TV shows and in movies.And GLAD has always been and continues to
always be at the center of mediato tell the stories of our community,
(03:08):
to open heartston minds, And sonow we work across all media platforms social
media, video games, film,news, and journalisms. Hollywood obviously,
but even CEOs they aren't media platforms, but they have platforms, or Congress
(03:29):
and senators, they have huge platformsnow and so we work with every influencer
across the board to help accelerate acceptancefor the LGBTQ community. Are there some
major moments in recent history in themedia that you think ended up being particularly
(03:51):
notable for the LGBTQ community. Ithink there are there are watershed moments throughout
our movement over the past forty yearsfor the LGBTQ community, both good and
bad. But I think one ofthe biggest moments has really been around marriage
(04:13):
equality, right, the way thatwe were able to introduce America to LGBTQ
folks through shows and people like EllenDeGeneres or that's what I was thinking.
Great, yeah, yeah, Soit's been and I think President Biden said
it best right. He said hefelt that Will and Grace did more for
(04:36):
marriage equality than anything else, becauseall of a sudden, you were meeting
a gay couple in your own livingroom, in your own home, who
were funny and humble and all thethings that we all are as people,
and we were humanized. How didyou first get involved with Glad You've been
president and CEO for nine years.You were named to this year's Time one
(05:00):
hundred lists of congratulations for that.Tell us your story, thank you well.
So I've always worked in media,so for two decades about I worked
at publishing companies. So I workedfor in Style, Vogue, Real Simple,
magazines, and digital properties. SoI always understood how important media is
(05:25):
as a cultural influence in our countryand the world at largest. Our largest
cultural export from America is media,So I think. And then my wife
and I had twins, and itfelt like the right time for me to
make a change, to give backto make the world a better place,
(05:48):
and I loved media, so Iended up by GLAD. It turned out
it could you know, for me, it's a calling, it's not a
job. I wake up every dayto make the world, I hope,
a better place, especially for LGBTQU. We're joined here on Ihear Radio Communities
by Sarah Kate Ellis, President andCEO of GLAD. You can learn more
(06:12):
about the work they do at gladdot org. That's g laa d dot
org. This relationship that GLAD haswith the media and the work you do
with the media. Can you explaina little bit more about that, sure?
I think you know. I alwayssay we work in the court of
(06:32):
public opinions, which tends to makesense to people. So the way that
we work with media is primarily totell the stories of LGBTQ people, because
we know once you know someone who'sLGBTQ, once you know someone who's LGBTQ,
(06:53):
you're less likely to hate them ordiscriminate against them. And so one
of the big things that we havegoing on right now now is you've seen
attacked left, right and center againstthe transgender community. And the thing that
I know is only thirty percent ofAmericans report knowing someone who's transgender. More
(07:14):
Americans say they've seen a ghost thanthat they know someone who's transgenders, So
that seventy percent of Americans are figuringout who transgender people are through media,
and there's no real great media outthere that's fair and inclusive showcasing trans folks.
(07:35):
And so that's our job to fillthis information gap and to connect people
so that we all understand our sharedhumanity and we look at our how we
are the same and how our differencescan be celebrated and not weaponized. So
I mentioned earlier Spirit Day, whichyou hosted this week and which started back
(07:59):
in twenty and it's become the mostvisible anti LGBTQ bullying campaign out there.
Can you tell us a little bitmore about how Spirit Day was created,
how it grew into what it's become, and the goal behind the special day.
Absolutely so, Spirit Day is thelargest and most visible anti bullying effort
(08:24):
in the world, and it's avery simple idea. The idea is where
Purple in a united stand against bullyingand thereby show your support for LGBTQ youth.
It's about creating possibility models in theworld for LGBTQ youth to see themselves
(08:46):
represented and thriving in the world thatwe live in today. And so this
past week we were able to getcompanies and media companies and political people to
wear purple to signify their support forLGBTQ youth. And you know, we
(09:11):
need it more than ever, Honestly. This year, specifically, nearly seven
to ten LGBTQ students say they feelunsafe at schools, seven out of ten.
And no one should be bullied orcalled names simply for being who they
(09:31):
are. So this was a reallyreally important Spirit Day for us. Can
you expand a little bit more onsome of the issues that LGBTQ youth are
facing these days, because I've talkedto a number of different organizations, I've
gone over the statistics on this show, but I always think it's important to
(09:52):
bring them up yet again because theyare so stunning, especially when you get
into the numbers involving suicide attempts andthings like that. It really is jaw
dropping what we're seeing across the country. It is I completely agree with you,
(10:13):
So yeah, I mean, it'sit is a sad fact that we
face, but LGBTQ uth. Alarge majority of LGBTQ use have not only
contemplated, but attempted suicide. AndI think that we've seen these numbers as
(10:37):
opposed to get smaller, we've seenthem get larger over the past several years.
And we really think that is tiedto the culture that we live in
now and how different things have beenover the past you know, five plus
years. So we also conducted ourfirst ever Spirit Day Index, which found
(11:01):
that everyday people are just as ifnot more effective than celebrity voices when it
comes to supporting LGBTQ you use.So that's a really important lesson. People's
stories matter, and that's how everyonecan get involved and make a change.
(11:22):
And I always say pain starts athome. Pain starts on your Facebook page,
in your school board, at yourdinner table, because when you start
to show support for people who aremarginalized or underrepresented, you start to lift
them up and you create a safeplace for them to exist and then to
(11:45):
start to thrive. So we takeaway that that you know, shame.
So when you think about you know, suicide attempts and suicide race, especially
for you kids who come from accessingfamilies, have a much much smaller percentage
(12:07):
of attempts for ideation. I'm RyanGorman, joined by Sarah Kate Ellis,
President and CEO of GLAD. Youcan learn more about all the work they
do at glad dot org. That'sglaad dot org. I want to ask
you about the Social Media Safety Indexthat you put together because social media,
(12:28):
it's such a double edged short Attimes, it can certainly be an area
where people who are part of theLGBTQ community can come together and find support,
but it could also be a placefor bullying and a lot of hate.
Tell us about this index, whatit means, and how you came
up with it. So this isthe third year that we've done the Social
(12:54):
Media Safety Index, and what wedo is that we look at the five
largest platforms and we evaluate them onthe safety for LGBTQ folks. Because it's
just like what you said, whichis originally social media was a great connector
for our community, it has sincebeen weaponized and is actually quite a dangerous
(13:18):
place, not only for LGBTQ youthbut for youth in general. And so
we put this safety index together tostart holding these major companies accountable because nobody
is holding them accountable. Our governmentdefinitely isn't at this moment in time,
and so this rates e grades them. And as I say, so,
(13:41):
nobody has done a phenomenal job.The best of the past used to be
Twitter, but they literally fell offa clip in the past, you know,
eighteen months, year and a halfand are now at the bottom of
the barrel in terms of safety forthe LGBTQ community. And I think a
(14:03):
lot of times. So some ofthe biggest learnings that I've found from this
report is that a lot of thesocial media safety social media companies actually have
policies on safety and trust. Thechallenges is they don't enforce them, or
they enforce them willy nilly at theirwhims as opposed to across the board,
(14:26):
and they let really dangerous, dangerouscontent, misinformation and bullying continue to happen
on their sites because they monetize it. So it's really like they do have
the policies, they choose not todo it because it's making them a lot
of money. Hate makes money,and so that so what I say about
(14:50):
We've seen incremental improvements on these companiesand we work with them year round to
hold them accountable. It's not justthat the report comes out and then we
talked to them. We are onthe phone with them every day trying to
hold them accountable, and they've madeincremental change. What I always say though,
(15:11):
is that if we didn't have thisreport, think about how far back
they would slide. So incremental changefor me is sadly a win. That's
how upside down this world has becomefor those who are listening, who are
part of the LGBTQ community, andmaybe they have faced some of the bullying
(15:33):
that human raising awareness about through SpiritDay. In fact, how Spirit Day
was first started, the story behindit, If you don't mind sharing a
little bit about Brittany McMillan, itreally is another one of those eye opening
experiences that everyone should know about.But I also want to get to what
(15:54):
those listening can do, maybe sometips that you have for them in order
to find the help that maybe theyneed so they can overcome whatever it is
they might be going through. Absolutely, So, there was a time period
about a little over probably about twelveyears now, twelve thirteen years where there
(16:21):
were you know, a couple ofkids who had these who ended up ending
their lives because of bullying. Brittanywho lived up in Canada, took the
purple out of the rainbow flags,which is about spirit and hope, and
started a just on Facebook. Andyou know, Facebook was much younger than
(16:48):
asked people to turn their profiles purple, to wear purple, and it really
started taking off in support of lgbtto youth. And so she called us
and said, you know what,this is getting bigger than I can manage.
Can you come in and help memanage this? And we've been managing
it for her ever since. Butit really is about standing up for LGBTQ
(17:12):
youth and doing it in a verysimple way, just by wearing purple.
And I think for kids who feelbullied that I want them to see a
sea of purple. I want peopleto step out and stand up for our
youth. They are they need usmore than ever and it makes such a
(17:37):
huge difference in their lives and givesthem the encouragement. Encouragement even if they're
in situations that are untenable at thismoment in time, if they see a
world in which they can exist andbe their true authentic self and live their
lives, that will keep them havinghope, holding up on and flourishing down
(18:02):
the line. And so I thinkyou can always do small things. You
can hang a flag, you canwear purple, you can tell people about
how you've supported or how supportive youare of the LGBTQ community, especially you.
So use your platforms, use youraccess, and use your voice to
(18:22):
support. And final question for you, how can people get involved? How
can they support the work your organizationdoes? And where can they learn more
about some of the research that youhave, the information, the resources you
have and everything else GLAD is upto absolutely well, thank you for asking
that. So everything we do isbased on data and we look at how
(18:47):
we can move sentiment, right Isaid, we work in the court of
public opinion, and so you cango to GLAD glaad dot org and you
can see all of our research thatwe have where we're tracking what sentiment is,
how we where it's where, whereit's most challenged, where we need
to change things, and then webuild programs around that. So we have
(19:11):
programs in the South, we haveprograms in Silicon Valley, we have programs
in Hollywood, we have programs throughoutthe country. We have programs against the
election to make sure that every LGBTQperson's voice is her who's you know,
who's old enough to vote? Soour programs are truly endless because the work
(19:33):
is endless. So please go toglad dot org and support us. You
can donate, you can find outabout what we're doing. We have a
ton of events that you can attendand participate, sign up for our newsletter,
and just become a part of thefamily. Again. That's glad dot
org g l a A D dotorg. Sarah Kate ellis President and CEO
(19:56):
of GLAD with us here. SarahKate, I want to thank you so
much for the work you're doing andfor the time. Thanks for coming on
the show. We really appreciate it. Thank you all right. I'm Ryan
Gorman here on iHeartRadio Communities and nowlet's bring in our next guest. October
is Breast cancer Awareness Month, andthe American Cancer Society is urging women to
get screened early and often. TheAmerican Cancer Society, of course, is
(20:19):
working constantly to improve the lives ofcancer patients and their families through advocacy,
research, and patient support to ensureeveryone has the opportunity to prevent, detect,
treat, and survive cancer. Andyou can learn more about the work
they're doing on breast cancer specifically,along with lots of great resources and information
(20:42):
at cancer dot org slash breast cancerand to talk more about this issue,
we're joined now by the Chief ScientificOfficer at the American Cancer Society, doctor
William Deahut. Doctor day Hut,thank you so much for coming on the
show. And let's start with abig picture view of the impact breast cancer
(21:02):
has on this country each year.So a couple of facts. The good
news is, since nineteen eighty nine, we decrease breast cancer mortality by forty
three percent, which is wonderful,but sadly, we still have over forty
three thousand women dying in her breastcancer. So we do know that regular
screenings can actually significently decrease your riskyou're dying from breast cancer. And so
(21:23):
that's why we think Breast Cancer AwarenessMonths is so important. Since breast cancer
screenings are really the focus of yourmessage for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, let's
talk about them for a moment.How much have those screenings evolved in terms
of technology and what we're able tolearn with them, and how crucial do
they become in helping women survive acase of breast cancer. Well, we
(21:48):
know breast cancer is actually one ofthe most treatable, potentially curable cancer refound
early, and romography does have theability to catch cancers before they have spread.
Now, mimography is a test that'sbeen around for a long time,
as you're probably know, probably closeto fifty years. And while the technology
mimography has improved, we are hopefulwith the addition of things such as AI
(22:12):
and other testing abilities that will actuallyeven increase our sensitivity of picking up the
more aggressive cancers. What are therecommendations for screenings depending on the age of
the person looking to get one.Well, every woman should actually talk to
the position to make a starting mimographyat age forty and certainly everyone should be
(22:34):
having a mammogram starting at age fortyfive. But if you're at higher risk,
and the higher risk could be froma strong family history or genetic mutation
puts you at risk for breast cancer, you should start earlier. And in
fact we recommend that though it wasnot yet in our guidelines, that if
there's a breast cancer in your family, particularly a breast cantoner young person,
(22:57):
you should begin your screening about tenyears beforehand, and if you do do
screening when you're in your safe you'rethirties, you probably need an MRI or
ultrasound in addition to your mimography beforegoing and getting that screening, before going
and getting a mammogram. Is thereanything in particular that women should know or
(23:18):
be aware of. I think thereally important thing is for women to have
a sense of their own risk ofbreast cancer. You know, your history
of dense breasts or strong family historyor other mutations. I think that really
information is crucial because that really maychange your screening paradigm. The other thing
is thatmography actually has the ability tofind cancers when they're very small and very
(23:42):
early, when they're treatable, andwhere theoretically the treatment is not nearly as
invasive. So I think women canbe afraid of it. The bad news
does come and there's a cancer diagnosis, there's a very good chance that can
be treated and one can have alifespan the same as someone that without breast
cancer. I'm Ryan Gorman joined rightnow by the chief Scientific Officer at the
(24:06):
American Cancer Society, doctor William Deahutt, is with us for Breast Cancer Awareness
Month. You can learn a wholelot more. Again, lots of great
resources and information at cancer dot orgslash breast cancer. So, doctor day
Hutt, what are some of thetreatment options, especially for cases of breast
(24:26):
cancer that are caught early through thescreenings that we've been talking about well early
on. Oftentimes what's needed is theresection of the abnormal of actually the cancer
itself, and oftentimes that we've donewith a lumpectomy, so just to remove
up the cancer. Love radiation issometimes needed, you know, as part
(24:48):
of that treatment, and then somewomen need to go on treatment then to
actually decrease the cancer cancer recurrens,and that's author hormoral treatment, although sometimes
it could be a target treat percumatherapy. Some women because of the size
of the tumor or the aggressiveness ofit, would actually start with drugs first.
They could even be immunotherapy or chemotherapyor hormoral therapy, and then answer
(25:12):
the drugs are given, then alocal treatment such as surgery would be you
know. Over the years, we'veseen a number of public figures and celebrities
who have come out and let itbe known that they got a masectomy or
a double misseectomy due to some ofthe risk factors that they faced when it
(25:33):
comes to breast cancer. Can youexplain why that could potentially be a smart
option for some women and some ofthose risk factors that women should look for
as they're trying to make a decisionlike that. Yes, that's a great
question. So I think that's whyit's really important for women to actually understand
(25:53):
their own cancer risk. And thereare some cancer mutications inherited cancer mutations such
as the breast cancer gene, thebracketgene that puts patients at risk for breast
cancer, ovarian cancer, pancreatic cancer, and actually in their male relatives,
prostate cancer. And so having youknow, a surgery of propoglactic surgery may
(26:17):
make sense for women, particularly thosethat are carriers of rare mutations. For
those who have gotten some kind ofa breast enhancement surgery or breast reduction surgery,
are there certain things that they needto be aware of as they're getting
a mamm or gram and getting checkedfor breast cancer each year, are there
certain things specifically for them that theyshould know about. Yeah, it's a
(26:42):
great question. I think you know, talking to your healthcare team because obviously,
you know, having a breast operation, you know, whether it's enhancement
or reduction, could have an impacton the imaging and determining whether additional tests
beyond the monophy makes sense. Again, that would likely be an ultracent or
potentially an MRI. But those arequestions that definitely should be brought up before
(27:04):
you undergard you're screening. One thingI do want to point out for Breast
Cancer Awareness Month, while this isprimarily an issue that impacts women, it
does also impact some men. Canyou talk a little bit about breast cancer
in men? Well, I thinkagain it's a very good point that men
can get breast cancer, and there'snot routine screen for breast cancer for men,
(27:27):
and breast cancer rates have not fallen. Retatealities have not fallen in men
the same way they have fallen inthe women the last in the thirty or
forty years. So men should reallybe sensitive to, you know, any
changes they noticed in their breast tissue. If men have again have a family
history of cancer, even breast cancer, that's important. They received radiation to
(27:47):
the chest area another risk factor forbreast cancer. So an awareness I think
in the community that men can getbreast cancer. It can be treated very
often in similar ways women are treated, but it's getting the word out,
particularly when there's no Richie screening stunevent. It's very forward. Final question
for you, what are some ofthe advancements that you're looking towards that you're
(28:11):
working on at the American Cancer Societyor that could be on the horizon.
As breast cancer has become such abig focus the month of October and the
raising of awareness of it has becomesuch a big moment here in this country,
are there things moving forward that weshould be keeping an eye off for.
Yeah, I think there really are. You know, we're proud how
long the American Cancers that I hasbeen involved with with cancer research. You
(28:33):
know, we currently have over onehundred and twenty seven million dollars out of
grant studying it. So it's it'sthe core of who we are in many
ways. So I think one areawould be, you know, sort of
therapeutic prevention strategy, the ways thatif you had a sort of a known
mutation, could a a vaccine bedeveloped it could actually decrease the likelihood of
breast cancer. And the second thingI think is looking at AI technology to
(28:56):
help with the diagnosis of breast canceras well as improving screening techniques. So
I think improved technologies, whether it'svaccine based or whether it's AI based for
imaging, I think are in thenear future and can have potentially real impact
on patients. Chief Scientific Officer atthe American Cancer Society, doctor William de
(29:18):
Hut, with us for Breast CancerAwareness Month. You can learn more lots
of really great resources and information availableat cancer dot org slash breast cancer.
That's cancer dot org slash breast cancer. Doctor day Hut thank you so much
for tickets some time to come onthe show and break all of that down
for us. We really appreciate it. Yeah, thanks all Ryan for having
me take it all right, Andthat'll do it for this edition of iHeartRadio
(29:41):
Communities. I want to thank youall so much for listening. I'm your
host, Ryan Gorman. We'll talkto you again real soon.
Host
Manny Munoz
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!