Prostate Cancer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer among men in the United States. The good news is that it is treatable in the early stages. This series of experts in the field is designed for patients, families, caregivers, health care providers and all those interested in information and tools to make informed decisions about treatment.

This event was presented by the California Prostate Cancer Coalition and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Topics include:

• Prostate Cancer Basics
• Genetics and Genomics
• Immunology
• Clinical Trials
• ABCs of Androgen Deprivation Therapy
• Low-Risk Disease and Active Surveillance
• Treatment of Metastatic and Non-Metastatic Disease
• Systemic Therapy
• Imaging
• Diet and Exercise
• Managing Side Effects
• Access to Care
• Intimacy and Sexual Function

Browse more programs in Prostate Cancer Patient Conference.

Diabetes and You

According to the National Diabetes Statistics Report of 2017, 9.4% of the U.S. population has diabetes – that’s over 30 million people. It’s likely someone close to you is living with diabetes. Do you have the most current information?

In this series expert UCSF faculty cover diabetes from basics to advanced concepts, providing an overview of the disease, including treatment and new medications, what to eat, emotional aspects, and how language and daily behaviors impact diabetes care.

There is no cure for diabetes, but it can be managed. Get information you need to help you live a long and healthy life.

Browse more programs in Diabetes

Why Diets Don’t Work, and What Does

Diets make bold claims: drop 15 pounds in four weeks! Shed that stubborn belly fat! Get the abs you’ve always wanted! But, for most people, diets just don’t work. In fact, studies show the vast majority of dieters who do lose weight end up right back where they started, or even heavier, after five years. Neuroscientists and science writers Sandra Aamodt and Darya Rose break down the road blocks to sustained weight loss, and how your own brain is sabotaging your success. Rose explains how you can skip the crash diets and create long-lasting changes through the science of forming new habits. Her step-by-step approach makes the daunting task of creating a healthier, happier you seem simple.

Watch The Diet Trap: Why You Should Never Go on a Diet Again, and What To Do Instead.

FoodGate: The Problem with the US Food System

You can’t fix healthcare until you fix health. You can’t fix health until you fix the diet. And you can’t fix the diet until you know what’s wrong. What went wrong? FoodGate.

Endocrinologist Robert Lustig, Dentist Cristen Kearns and Health Policy Expert Laura Schmidt team up to explore how the US food system has led to higher rates in obesity and related metabolic diseases in the last 50 years.

Preventable disease rates keep going up, even while behaviors have improved: smoking rates are down, cholesterol and blood pressure are down, and physical activity is up. We should be reaping a health benefit, but we’re not. The primary reason: we’re eating too many refined carbohydrates and too much sugar.

How did the food system come to encourage this? Pharmaceutical companies benefit from long-term drug treatment of metabolic diseases. Organizations such as the Sugar Association and the Beverage Association fund questionable scientific studies to convince the public that obesity and sugar are not related. These efforts include funding aggressive marketing campaigns to influence public policy. According to Schmidt, they spent 31 million dollars in a single election to convince voters in San Francisco and Oakland not to support a soda tax.

But there is hope. Research into the effects of too much sugar is getting attention, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Lustig and others. There are many parallels between this issue and smoking. According to Schmidt, we’re about where we were in 1970. The tide is slowly shifting, but we have a long way to go. Policy-makers are just now beginning to recognize the negative consequences of an unhealthy populace on healthcare costs and future social security benefits. Lustig advises, “You want social security? Stop drinking soda and tell all your friends to do so, too.”

Watch FoodGate: The Break-in, the Cover-up, and the Aftermath.

The Hacking of the American Mind

8232We first met Dr. Lusting in 2009 when UCTV presented his “Sugar: The Bitter Truth” lecture. That viral video now has over 7 million YouTube views, and more every day.

His latest program, “The Hacking of the American Mind: The Science Behind the Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains,” coincides with the publishing of his new book of the same title.

In this half-hour interview, Lustig, a UCSF endocrinologist, explores the reward system in our brains – serotonin, cortisol, and dopamine – chemicals that drive our pleasure-seeking behaviors including overeating, drug use, and that ever-present cell phone. But he goes beyond just neural pathways and brain chemistry to impute the underlying economic machine that creates industries that profit off processed foods full of sugar.

He recommends a “four Cs” solution — connect, contribute, cope, and cook — urging a slowed-down lifestyle for the sake of our health and happiness.

In addition to the interview “The Hacking of the American Mind”, you may enjoy these short videos:

The Difference Between Happiness and Pleasure
Corporate Responsibility vs. Individual Responsibility
Are All Calories the Same?
Responsibility of the Food Industry
Processed Food and Pleasure

For a deeper dive, watch the video that started it all and other programs with Dr. Robert Lustig:
Sugar: The Bitter Truth
The Skinny on Obesity
Fat Chance: Fructose 2.0