IN THIS EPISODE:
- Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has a conversation with Khambrel Marshall about advocating for mental health.
- You can participate in a Pancreatic Cancer Walk to raise hope for patients.
Watch Houston Newsmakers at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2 and KPRC 2+.
Hidalgo talks about receiving treatment for depression
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, took several months off this Summer and into Fall for treatment for depression. She is a guest on this week’s Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall and says she got help in time to save her life.
“I know for a lot of people there’s that stigma just to admit that you have a mental illness or even to take time off whether you have a mental illness or a physical illness,” she said. “So, I feel that I got lucky. The stars sort of aligned for me to do it, and if I hadn’t, I really am afraid I would have ended up killing myself.”
Hidalgo says she feels better than ever right now and ready to take on her life in politics like never before. She will need that renewed vigor after reports this week that a Texas Rangers warrant alleges Hidalgo’s former staffers, now indicted in the Elevate Strategies controversy, or someone from Hidalgo’s office withheld documents that had been subpoenaed for that case. Hidalgo says it’s nonsense.
“Every allegation that’s been brought up that sounds really scandalous turns out to be either patently false or an egregious mis-representation of the facts,” she said. “And so this is a combination of those or one or the other.”
See the full interview on this week’s program where Hidalgo talks about her mental health journey, accusations that Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg is behind the Texas Rangers warrants, and why she is supporting Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Houston) for Houston mayor.
Pancreatic Cancer hope despite 5% survival rate
Getting diagnosed with pancreatic cancer can sound like a death sentence to people. It’s understandable when you hear that the survival rate of pancreatic cancer is just 5%. But, it’s that 5% percent that gives doctors like Dr. George Van Buren II hope. He is an Associate Professor of Surgery in the division of Surgical Oncology at Baylor College of Medicine and says the 5% number is higher than it used to be.
“Every patient’s an individual and as the research and funding improves, the hope for a new therapeutic or a newer drug or a newer technique that’s available to help that patient is right around the corner,” he said.
Van Buren joined Rhonda Williams, the founder of the National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation on this week’s program to talk about the upcoming Pancreatic Cancer Walk on Nov. 19 and to offer hope where ever she goes.
“I wanted to do something that alleviates some of the financial burden, give people hope... crucial early detection is what we strive for, to get the early detection.”
See more of this very interesting interview about this very deadly disease, and how Enterprise Holdings is involved on this week’s Newsmakers EXTRA and get more information about the walk from the organization’s Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/NPCFHouston
For more information on this week’s Houston Newsmakers
· Judge Lina Hidalgo, (D) Harris County
· Website: https://cjo.harriscountytx.gov/about
· Rhonda Williams, Founder, National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation
· Website: https://www.npcf.us/
· Dr. George Van Buren II M.D. DeBakey Dept of Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine
· Website: https://www.bcm.edu/people-search/george-van-buren-ii-32212