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Rep. John Lewis (D-GA) Diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer; Interview with Rep. Mark Green (R-TN); Dr. Sanjay Gupta Outlines Top Health Stories of 2019. Aired 10:30-11a ET
Aired December 30, 2019 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR, NEWSROOM: Lewis says he will continue his work on Capitol Hill even as he fights this deadly disease. CNN's senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has more.
So, two things are worrisome -- and I imagine for families at home who have suffered through cancer themselves, pancreatic cancer, one of the worst; stage four, a final stage here. Tell us what this diagnosis means.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Jim, I wouldn't call it a final stage. It is certainly --
SCIUTTO: Not final, but of the four stages, right?
COHEN: -- the most advanced stage.
SCIUTTO: It's the most advanced stage, yeah.
COHEN: Right. Right, right, it's the most advanced stage. And what it means is that the cancer has spread distantly, beyond the pancreas. So it might be in the lungs, it might be in the liver, it might be in the bones.
And so definitely, this is quite a challenge for exactly the reasons that you said. Pancreatic cancer is very challenging to battle, and it's in stage four. When you look at folks who are diagnosed with stage four cancer and you follow them out five years, five years after their diagnosis, only three percent of them are still alive.
So that is definitely a fight for his life, and the congressman has recognized this and said he is clear-eyed about the prognosis, but that he said, by the grace of God, he will be here, returning to work soon to continue fighting on the front lines.
SCIUTTO: So what is the treatment typical for this? And I know you can't diagnose from afar, but what is the typical treatment for pancreatic cancer? And are there new treatments? Because he referenced them, saying new treatments that give some measure of hope.
COHEN: Right. Typically at this stage, it's chemotherapy. And they have come up with some new chemotherapy cocktails, different combinations that seem to be working well. Immunotherapy, which is you get the immune system to start fighting, and that also helps. But these improvements, unfortunately, are measured in months but not years of increased survival.
SCIUTTO: Right. Well, listen, we wish him the best. Thanks for helping us keep on top of it, Elizabeth Cohen.
in other news --
COHEN: Thanks.
SCIUTTO: -- Iran is warning the U.S. of, quote, "consequences." This after an Iranian government-backed militia was hit by U.S. airstrikes. We're going to discuss the growing tension in the region, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:36:41]
SCIUTTO: Today, Iran is warning the U.S. of consequences after U.S. airstrikes targeted Iranian-backed militia in both Iraq and Syria. The militia claims at least 25 people were killed, dozens more injured -- this is the aftermath you're seeing there -- following a series of overnight strikes in Iraq and Syria. Now, the group is calling for its forces to, quote, "drive the brutal American enemy" out of Iraq.
I'm joined now by Republican Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee. He serves on the Oversight and Homeland Security committees, he's also a U.S. Army veteran. Congressman, we appreciate you taking the time this morning.
REP. MARK GREEN (R-TN): Thanks, Jim, for having me on the show.
SCIUTTO: So you of course served in Iraq. You famously interviewed, met Saddam Hussein after his capture there.
GREEN: Right.
SCIUTTO: I'm curious how concerned you are about what seems to be brewing as a low-level conflict between the U.S. and Iran there. You have these strikes, you have the U.S. blaming Iran for attacks by this militia on U.S. soldiers based there, you had the attack, shoot-down of the U.S. drone, the attack on Saudi --
GREEN: Yes.
SCIUTTO: -- oil facilities. I mean, what's your degree of concern right now?
GREEN: Well, I'm very concerned, obviously. It's a huge issue. Iran's probably been America's clearest enemy since at least 1979. If you look at their constitution, the Iranian constitution actually says that the country exists -- the purpose of the nation is global domination. These actions are expected.
I know when we first got in and secured Iraq, immediately, Iranian proxies were waging war against American soldiers, and we know that at least 500-plus were killed by these armor-piercing IEDs that they invented to fight coalition forces. So, I mean, they're an enemy and they've been an enemy since they seized the embassy in Tehran.
SCIUTTO: Yes. And I remember U.S. forces there specifically blamed Iran for the deaths of U.S. soldiers on the ground, due to those --
GREEN: Yes.
SCIUTTO: -- IEDs.
I wonder, as you see the Iraqi government there, which of course is a U.S. ally, the U.S. has troops deployed there --
GREEN: Sure, sure.
SCIUTTO: -- to protect the government. When they say, hey, you violated our sovereignty, where do you see the Iraqi government's loyalty today? Because of course, the concern is that they're getting very close to Iran.
GREEN: Absolutely. You know, that was a big concern from the very beginning, when we went into Iraq, is that the theocracy in Iran would sort of work its way --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
GREEN: -- through insurgency COIN-type operations, into the Iraqi government. And that -- that may be the case. I mean, we need to -- to be very careful as we move forward with that.
SCIUTTO: Another topic, if I can. This --
GREEN: Sure.
SCIUTTO: -- the Ukraine scandal, particularly as we're preparing, likely, for a Senate trial here, "The New York Times" reporting today of an interesting Oval Office meeting, where you had the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, then-National Security Advisor John Bolton, and the defense secretary, Mark Vesper -- Esper, rather --
GREEN: Sure.
SCIUTTO: -- all lobby the president directly to release the hold on military aid to Ukraine. As you know, the principal Republican defense in the impeachment inquiry in the House was, well, there's no direct line to the president here, insufficient evidence.
If the president didn't order the aid hold, why were his senior advisors going directly to him to try to get that aid hold lifted?
GREEN: Sure. I would expect those guys to share their opinions with the president; I'd also expect them to walk out and, you know, either execute the president's wishes or, you know, just maybe even leave if they disagreed with the president.
[10:35:03]
But, you know, the point here -- at least from Tennessee's perspective -- is, if the president of the United States asked Ukraine to investigate -- and I think you and I have actually had this conversation before -- if the president asked Ukraine to investigate the former vice president and whether or not he used his position to get his son millions of dollars in lucrative contracts, down here in Tennessee, the vast majority of people are completely fine with that. So it's a non-issue from the beginning, at least for us.
SCIUTTO: But you know the law. As a sitting member of Congress, you know the Constitution. Congress appropriates funds. And his own advisors -- Mick Mulvaney was being told it would be illegal for the White House to stop aid that Congress, in a bipartisan vote, had passed.
I know the people at home might not consider it a big political issue, but the law, the law --
GREEN: Sure.
SCIUTTO: -- says otherwise, doesn't it?
GREEN: But the aid -- the aid happened. I mean, the aid happened. It was --
SCIUTTO: After it was discovered.
GREEN: -- turned back on and -- absolutely. It was turned back on, and Ukraine did nothing to get it turned back on. So I'm not sure there's really an issue here, I don't see it.
SCIUTTO: Well, I get the political argument. And I know --
GREEN: Sure.
SCIUTTO: -- that a lot of Americans have tuned out on this. But you're a sitting member of Congress, you're a veteran, you respect the role of Congress here.
GREEN: Sure.
SCIUTTO: I wonder if you're concerned about the precedent, that a future president, whether Republican or Democrat, could say, "I don't care what both houses of Congress passed through a bipartisan vote, I think otherwise." I mean, that's not the way the Constitution is written, is it?
GREEN: No, absolutely not. And the president should do -- if we pass, you know, that aid should be spent, it should be spent. I totally agree. If he holds it to make sure that the money is going to be spent as we need it to be spent, I don't have a problem. Communicate back with us, you know, make sure that we're informed and I don't have a problem with that.
SCIUTTO: Understood.
I just -- some news here, because you're probably aware that the president, President Trump, and Putin spoke by phone yesterday. And the Kremlin had its own readout of the call. We didn't get this just until now, 24 hours later.
It says that Putin called Trump to thank him for information regarding a terrorist attack in Russia. Both presidents continue to support counterterrorism. And the president also discussed the state of relations between the U.S. and Russia.
I just wonder, from your perspective, do you consider Russia an adversary of the U.S., a dangerous adversary?
GREEN: Absolutely. They're an enemy. I mean, I agree with, you know, many people who have said that. You look at what's happening in Crimea, you know, I mean, they are still there --
SCIUTTO: Yes.
GREEN: -- they're -- but I will say this. The lethal aid that the president authorized with Zelensky has put Zelensky and Putin at the ceasefire negotiation table. So, I mean, I do see them as an enemy, but I think what -- the way our president's handling them is the right way to do it.
It's like with North Korea. I mean, he sat down and talked to those guys, but they're still technically an enemy.
SCIUTTO: Congressman Mark Green, we wish you and your family a happy holidays --
GREEN: Thanks, Jim.
SCIUTTO: -- and a happy 2020.
GREEN: Happy New Year to you as well. Thank you.
[10:43:12]
SCIUTTO: Very (ph) much (ph). And we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SCIUTTO: From measles to vaping to a shocking decline in the life expectancy of all Americans, 2019 saw a lot of medical stories making headlines. CNN chief medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta has the top health stories of the year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Beyond some of the hottest temperatures on record and month after month of natural disasters, 2019 also showed us how climate change is directly impacting our health.
It also makes it so these plants have less of the good stuff like zinc, iron and protein. It's turning some of the best foods we humans have into junkier food.
The cannabis craze is here to stay. And as we reported in our documentary, "Weed 5," this year was all about CBD. While there have been some remarkable stories of success, as we've shown you, no medicine works for everyone, not even CBD.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It wasn't the benefit that they were necessarily seeking --
GUPTA: All of it, though, underlining how much we still have to learn when it comes to cannabis.
We also saw some major recalls, including several popular heart medications, including one known as Losartan. Also pharmaceutical giant Allergan issued a worldwide recall of BIOCELL Textured Breast Implants and Tissue Expanders. They were found to have been linked to a rare cancer.
Some of the best news of 2019 came in our fight against HIV/AIDS. At January's State of the Union, President Trump announced his commitment to ending the AIDS epidemic.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My budget will ask Democrats and Republicans to make the needed commitment to eliminate the HIV epidemic in the United States within 10 years --
[10:50:08]
GUPTA: Scientists also discovered a new strain of HIV for the first time in nearly two decades. It doesn't pose a new threat, but it did prove that the current testing for HIV continues to be effective.
Also, good news in New York City: They hit their HIV AIDS target two years early, meaning now, more than 90 percent of people who have HIV are on treatment.
I still can't believe this one. U.S. life expectancy continues to be on the decline, despite the fact that the United States spends more on health care per capita than any other country in the world. Suicides, alcohol-related illnesses and drug overdoses are largely to blame.
Which brings us to the opioid epidemic. The odds of dying from an opioid overdose in the United States are greater than those of dying in a vehicle crash. In October, two Ohio counties received a landmark settlement of $260 million from a top drug-maker and three major drug distributors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need resources from the parties that caused this problem. They need to make it right, and that's the benchmark that this sets.
GUPTA: The spotlight on the importance of vaccines continued to shine as the United States saw the largest measles outbreak since it was declared eliminated back in 2000. There have been more than 1,200 individual cases that have been confirmed across 30 states, and still there are people out there that are not getting vaccinated.
I've said it before and I'll say it again, antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest health concerns of our time because it's creating these superbugs that have the ability to outsmart even our most sophisticated medications.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can pick something up just about anywhere. It literally has the potential to affect every person on the planet.
GUPTA: And now, a landmark CDC report shows that a person dies from one of these superbugs every 15 minutes in the United States. It's about 35,000 deaths every year from superbugs.
In 2019, a story that started out as a cause for concern turned into a full-on outbreak.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The CDC Has narrowed its investigation into the vaping-linked lung disease --
GUPTA: Since the first report of a vaping-related death in August, all 50 states have now been hit by this illness. That includes more than 2,000 that have been hospitalized, and more than 50 deaths.
ANNE SCHUCHAT, PRINCIPAL DEPUTY DIRECTOR, CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION: The outbreak of pulmonary injury associated with vaping or e-cigarettes is an emergency. We're seeing young people become critically ill and die.
GUPTA: The CDC has zeroed in on THC-containing products, and a more specific culprit. It's a common cutting agent known as vitamin E acetate. I think the larger issue, though, is the staggering rise in vaping among young people.
How would you describe the vaping situation in your school?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It got kind of bad last year. Some people did it too much, like a lot-too much, and it escalated, I think.
GUPTA: The CDC says that more than 6 million middle and high school students used a tobacco product this year. That's up from about 4.9 million last year, and e-cigarettes were found to be the most common.
While many organizations are pushing for a full-on ban now of flavored e-cigarettes, there's others that worry that a ban would hurt those who do use e-cigarettes successfully as a smoking cessation tool.
There have been some big issues in 2019, as you can see, but a lot of possible solutions here as well. Here's to 2020.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SCIUTTO: Thanks, there, to Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
[10:53:57]
In other news, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo tells CNN that, quote, "Hate is the new currency in this country." This after five people were stabbed during a Hanukkah party. Other attacks, we're going to get the latest on this and other tragedies, ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) RYAN NOBLES, CNN ANCHOR, AT THIS HOUR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ryan Nobles, in today for Kate Bolduan. Thanks so much for joining me.
[11:00:00]
People on -- of faith on edge this morning, following two horrific attacks over the weekend, the most recent one happening in Texas, where a gunman began shooting inside a church during Sunday.
END
