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Hi, and thank you for joining us at EmpowHer where together we guide women to better health all over the world. Did you know that 7 out of 10 US adults, age 65 and older, have diabetes or pre-diabetes, and less than ten percent of older adults in Medicare are taking advantage of the free diabetes screening benefits available to them? It’s just amazing, isn’t it?
Well, on the other end of the definition for amazing, Academy Award-winning actress Olympia Dukakis is with us right now talking about her husband, actor Louis Zorich, and Louis was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
We are going to talk to both of them. Louis, if you don’t know, he played one of my favorite characters of all time, the Greek restaurateur Pete in the Muppets Take Manhattan, an instant classic. So Olympia, welcome to EmpowHer.
http://askscreenknow.com/index.htm
Olympia Dukakis:
Well, thank you. Thank you very much, and thank you so much for your interest for this campaign.
Todd:
Oh, that’s a real honor to us. Yeah, you guys have started something rather remarkable. It’s the “Ask. Screen. Know.” campaign to educate others.
Olympia Dukakis:
Yes, that’s a website that has been setup. This whole campaign is a partnering between Novo Nordisk and Louis and myself to raise awareness about screening for the diabetes, and Medicare has identified several risk factors. And if the people qualify with these risk factors, they can have this free screening. And for women, interestingly enough, one of them is overweight, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, history of diabetes during pregnancy, and then of course family members with diabetes.
Todd:
You know, Olympia, it seems strange to me that when people go to the doctor, they don’t go out of their way to make sure the doctor does as diligent a job as they hope their mechanic does when they drop their car off. When I was doing my introduction, less than ten percent of adults in Medicare are really taking advantage of these free diabetes screenings.
Olympia Dukakis:
Yeah, isn’t that interesting? You know, part of the problem is that especially in this aging group, it becomes all another thing that has to do with aging. And not everybody wants to really look at how they are aging. Not everybody really wants to live with these, this knowledge and understanding of what’s going on with them.
Todd:
Yeah, maybe it’s easier to sweep it under the rug for a lot of people.
Olympia Dukakis:
Yeah, I think it is, and so what they don’t understand is that it’s very manageable and if you can find out what the truth of the situation is for yourself, you can really manage it with diet, with exercise, proper medication. And it’s a question of talking to your doctor, but also I think it is the way to begin is to get a hold, is to get into the website www.askscreenknow.com and find out what the issues are and what the possible actions are that you might take.
Todd:
Well, I think people should know right off the bat, the website that you guys launched is www.askscreenknow.com; it is one word. Now you and Louis have been married for 47 years; that’s a feat in itself.
Olympia Dukakis:
Yeah, that’s something we should askscreenknow about.
Todd:
Congratulations!
Olympia Dukakis:
Thank you very much.
Todd:
That’s so remarkable. I have a lot of love for people that have that much love in their life, you know, a lot of appreciation. My grandparents had 62 years, and they advocated for each other on a daily basis. What was it like when Louis found out that he had type 2 diabetes? What did the two of you go through?
Olympia Dukakis:
Well, do you want to talk to him about that? It’s really interesting; hold on.
Louis Zorich:
Hello!
Todd:
Hi Louis, I am curious to find out what was it like when you were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes?
Louis Zorich:
I would be lying if I said it wasn’t like a punch in the stomach because like I am sure a lot of people my age who have--even though they have a family history of diabetes--when you get to that stage of your life when it hasn’t kicked in or hasn’t happened, you say, “No, that’s not true,” because in my instance or my background, my mother had it, my sisters had it, and I have had three brothers who didn’t have it.
So when my doctor told me that I have diabetes 2, I said, “Well, wait, no, that’s not possible because only the female members of our family get it.” So it was kind of like a shock, but the interesting thing is that I felt that Thank god, my doctor who kind of gets after me, was responsible. I would get blood work, blood sugar work and other facts like PSA count and all that, but he said to me after going in for a blood sugar test and a blood count, that I had diabetes. I was a little surprised because I don’t want to tell you my entire medical history, but compared to other things that I have been through, like colon cancer, I have a defibrillator, and I have had three hip operations, a total knee replacement, I said diabetes is like having an itch and you scratch it.
Todd:
But you got to know about it. You got to ask; you got to get screened, and then you got to know.
Louis Zorich:
Yeah exactly, exactly, and not only that but you got to take care of it. So I says well, I have been pretty good at it, like diet. I have always been careful about what I eat, and I have always been careful about my diet and I usually am very disciplined. And I said, “Well, it’s manageable.” And that’s the one big thing that I think that has to be relayed to people who have diabetes 2, that it is manageable. It’s not a life or death sentence.
So I was very fortunate in that I was told at my age. But the wonderful thing is that I talk to other actors, other people, and I am astonished that other people have it. Now maybe it’s because other people don’t talk about it. In fact, when I was doing ‘Mad about You,’ the TV series, we were just about to tape an episode and the woman Cynthia Harris who plays my wife, I knew that she was a diabetic but I had never, I didn’t think it was that serious. But just before the AD was off on the side going “5, 4, 3 . . . ” and we are going to shoot the episode, all of a sudden I turn and there was the woman playing my wife, slumped over. I said, “Stop! Stop!”
Luckily, the guy who was the cameraman was a diabetic. He said, “Wait, wait, I know what’s wrong. Get her some orange juice.” Somebody ran and got some orange juice; they gave it to her; she drank it. In about four or five minutes she was okay. I couldn’t believe it. There she was, almost passed out, and she is doing the scene with us--Paul Reiser, Helen Hunt--and that’s when it really kind of hit me that hey, this is pretty damn serious. So ever since then, I have been very, very careful.
Todd:
It seems like…
Louis Zorich:
I am very careful with my diet, exercise, and everything.
Todd:
It seems like you and Olympia have really turned this into something that you can create for the better to help improve people’s health. And at the same time, you have devoted a portion of your life to making sure that the two of you are caring for each other; it’s beautiful.
Louis Zorich:
That’s true. That is true, especially in Olympia’s case where she is like a watchdog and whenever she sees something that is amiss with me, she says, “Well your doctor…” I remember once, not too long ago, I said, “I don’t want to go to the doctor,” and she says, “Why not?” “I’ll get yet another medication and I don’t want to.” And I talk with people, in fact, a good friend of mine and actor, and I am talking to him about my diabetes and he says, “Louis, I have 13 medications I take for many things–this and that.” So I am very fortunate and since I have gotten diabetes, I will go around telling people about it. “Get screened if you are on Medicare and if you have a risk thing, a risk factor. It’s free – go get a screening.” And since I have had it, I have become like I am on a mission.
Todd:
Yeah, I totally get it. I am the same way. I am on a mission to help educate people, and it sounds like your wife Olympia Dukakis is the, what we would call the CMO, the Chief Medical Officer of your home, and she is reporting for duty.
Louis Zorich:
I will tell her that. She is the CMO–Chief Medical Officer reporting for duty–that’s Olympia Dukakis.
Todd:
Olympia, we are interested in knowing why people who are 65 and older, why they should ask their doctors to get screened when they are in there for diabetes, and why they should know their blood sugar levels?
Olympia Dukakis:
Right, well there’s a kind of an appalling statistic that there are 7 out of 10 people over 65 have diabetes or are pre-diabetic. So there’s something in the aging process. It doesn’t have to be a genetic factor. There’s something in the aging process that we have to understand and alert us to the fact of diabetes.
So that I think is reason enough to go to our website askscreenknow.com or to ask your doctor. I mean, there are lots of ways in which to get information, but I think that’s for me, that statistic stands out.
Todd:
Have the two of you always been on the look-out for diabetes in, especially in Louis because of the family history?
Olympia Dukakis:
Yeah, that is true and also for me it has to do with our children. And I for a long time believed that well, Louis and his brothers didn’t have it so somehow it would be carried through the women, all of whom had it. And then the moment this happened, of course, I went, I let my children know that they now have to be alert on this matter.
Todd:
On a daily basis, what do the two of you do to make sure that you are on top of it and being proactive instead of reactive?
Olympia Dukakis:
Well, I think it has to do with diet and that, as I say, I don’t have to do anything about Louis. He is very aware of what he needs to do and is independent about it and responsible about it. That I think is… I kind of “watchdog” kind of like his behavior or any disabilities he might have, like he had this kind of sore on his foot that wouldn’t heal and I right away said that, “Is that possible that diabetes--it’s because lack of circulation is one of the things that…” and “No, no, it’s not this and not that,” and he said, “It’s getting better.” And months went by and I kept saying that you’ve got to go to the doctor about that, and finally he really did go and that they were able to take care of it.
So that’s the kind of thing I would like if I notice if something is hanging around, I just keep alerting him to it.
Todd:
Yeah, what kind of advice do you and Louis provide to friends or family on diabetes? And if you find out that a friend or a family member is maybe a pre-diabetic or somebody that just is too scared to get screened and to know their numbers, how do you kind of poke them a little bit, to make sure that they are proactive?
Olympia Dukakis:
Well, one of the things that happens is as you get older is that your conversation with your peers does begin to include health issues. It’s a natural conversation piece. When you are having children, you talk about the kids; when you’re having this and that… so when you are getting older and your body is going through all these changes, you tend to ask your friends, “Well, does this happen to you? Does that happen to you?”
And so I think practically all our friends know that Louis has second stage diabetes and what are the symptoms and “How did you know?” and “What did you do?” Stuff like that, that all comes up as part of the conversation. It’s not like we have set out on a campaign to do anything. It just seems to be part of the kind of ongoing friendship that happens as you exchange information when you get older or exchange what things are happening to you in life.
Todd:
And one of the things we have discovered at EmpowHer that women naturally do it. Women naturally share health symptoms and solutions and concerns with each other. Is it hard to get Louis to discuss his symptoms that he might be feeling? No?
Olympia Dukakis:
No. No, didn’t you hear how he just talked about it? It’s not hard to get him to talk about it. Louis is a natural raconteur, and he loves to tell stories. And he will tell you the story of that diabetes and/or of the defibrillator and/or the knee, and/or the…
Todd:
Is he just yelling out other things in the background to you?
Olympia Dukakis:
No, he just groaned. What Louis never does is complain. He never complains, and it’s amazing to me with all the things that have happened to him. If I had had the things happen to me that’s happened to Louis, I’d have been a bitch on wheels. I can’t believe that I would have taken it the way he does; it’s just amazing to me the way he carries on.
Todd:
Well, who you are listening to right now is Olympia Dukakis. We are talking with her and her husband Louis Zorich and from “Mad about You.” Olympia Dukakis, as you know, an Academy Award-winning actress, Olympia, when I told people over the weekend that I was going to be speaking with you, all the women just absolutely love you.
Olympia Dukakis:
Oh, well, isn’t that nice?
Todd:
It just felt so good to tell people. After I got the first couple of reactions, I just wanted to tell everybody that I was going to be talking with the two of you.
Olympia Dukakis:
Oh thank you, thank you for telling me that. Yeah, that’s great.
Todd:
While we are here, could I speak to Louis again? I have got a couple of questions about his family.
Olympia Dukakis:
Right, hold on.
Todd:
Thank you.
Louis Zorich:
Yeah.
Todd:
Louis, I am wondering, you said that diabetes was prevalent with the women in your family. What type of symptoms or warning signs did you see over the years with the women in your family?
Louis Zorich:
Well, the one thing, my first, let’s say meeting or awareness of diabetes in my family was I think I was still going to school. I think it was college; junior college, and I was still living at home, and I would give my mother insulin shots in her thigh, and that’s all I was aware of. At that stage of my life and where I was, I never asked why she got it; when she got it; what was she… none of these things.
But then as I got older, I got involved with acting and all that, I found out that my sisters had it, which was rather unusual and that my brothers–my three other brothers did not have it. I didn’t have it. So when my doctor after a screening told me that I had diabetes, I was a little surprised because like I would say, “Isn’t it a little late in the game to have it? Why me?” or you know, the usual thing. So that’s when I became aware of it, but now it’s like I am not saying it takes over my life, but I talk about, I talk about it really freely to other people that I know and I discovered, it’s a little unusual, but I discovered that quite a few people that I know have diabetes too.
They are usually older people, and the other thing that I kind of question was how come other people didn’t talk about it? I never talked about it, but now that I have it, I do talk about it to people, and usually when I talk to people around my age, I am not going to tell you how old I am, I would ask, “Well, how is your health?” I don’t talk to other actors or other people and say, “What are you doing?”
I just say, “How is your health? Is your heart okay?” And usually we exchange information about the doctors and medications, and it gets to be boring after a while.
Todd:
So you became an advocate, I mean, just by telling your story…right?
Louis Zorich:
No, it’s true. You are very true. I almost, I don’t know if that’s the right word, but an activist. I began to talk about it a lot, and I think it’s because Olympia has a history of being an activist, advocate, and getting information, knowing about what diabetes is like www.askscreenknow.com. You get on the computer and you begin to find out these things, and in fact, when I got involved with this I said to myself, “What the hell is insulin?”
I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t know whether it was a magic potion or whatever it was, so I went on the computer and I began to realize what is insulin and what does it do to your body. I knew nothing about it–nothing.
Todd:
Only an actor would think that it’s a magic potion.
Louis Zorich:
Oh, yes, that’s true.
Todd:
Oh, that is so great, well, the two of you have really been, a real treat to spend some time with; their website is www.askscreenknow.com. Make sure you go to www.askscreenknow.com and that you find out what you need to know so you can advocate for yourself when you get into the doctor’s office.
Louis Zorich:
Absolutely.
Todd:
Louis, best of health to you, continued success, and I’d like to say good bye to your lovely wife at the same time and keep up the great work, my friend.
Louis Zorich:
Well, thank you. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Todd:
It’s really our honor.
Olympia Dukakis:
Hi.
Todd:
Olympia, thank you so much for your time today.
Olympia Dukakis:
Oh, no, it’s really our pleasure.
Todd:
On behalf of EmpowHer and all the women in our community, we want to congratulate the two of you on taking the public step to help advocate and educate people. And we encourage those listening right now to go to their website www.askscreenknow.com and to make sure that they spread awareness so when you get inside of the doctor’s office, you know exactly how to advocate for yourself so you get the right testing care.
Olympia, last question–if you are on Medicare, are these screenings, they are free, right?
Olympia Dukakis:
They are free if you qualify under the risk factors, and the risk factors, as we said, were the high cholesterol, blood pressure, obesity, family history, and diabetes during pregnancy.
Todd:
Well, that does cover a lot of people I would imagine, right?
Olympia Dukakis:
It does; it does.
Todd:
Well, that’s just wonderful. Thank you for helping to get the word out, and thank you for empowHering women all over the world.
Olympia Dukakis:
Oh, that’s a wonderful thought, thank you.