(music).good morning everybody and welcome to the balancing act. we are so glad you joined usthis morning. i'm julie moran. good morning. i'm olga villaverde.alright. are you ready for a girl's getaway? there's that accent. i am. i am.we have got the place for it nestled in the foothills of the smoky mountains in tennessee.this place is called sevierville. but let me tell you, it is not severe. it has greatshopping, restaurants, spas, wine tours, exciting outdoor adventures, and lots more.okay. are you coming?i'm in. i'm in. but first we'll be talking about our dental health. having the rightplan or even a supplemental plan. it's so
important. we've got reasons to make you smile.and switching gears, we're on location for a special behind the mystery segment thatfocuses on a debilitating disease which no one has a cure for.we've got a great show, informative show, and a fun show.that's right. the balancing act starts right now.that's right. (music).this is the official girlfriends getawayin sevierville, tennessee. wooh! shop, sip, spa. okay, do i have your attentionyet? i am so glad because get ready because you're about to pack your bags. we found theperfect spot for your next girlfriends getaway. i am so excited about this, and our next guestwill tell us all about it. i want you to meet
amanda marr, marketing director for the sevierville,tennessee convention and visitors bureau. welcome to the show.hi. this is such a fun show, and i love tennessee,and i love girlfriends getaways. well, this is perfect then because there'sso much to see and do in sevierville between the great smoky mountains, the shopping, thespas, and we're easy to get to. so, it is fantastic.you know we think about that great spa vacation, or that great yoga boot camp, or that adventurevacation. but it looks like sevierville has everything all rolled into one.that's the thing that's so perfect. no matter what you need your girlfriends getaway tobe, you can make it happen in sevierville.
and you know, i always think women need toreconnect. i mean we're balancing family, and work, and carpool, and on and on and on.so, it's so great to look for places to plan this getaway.yes, and it's so important to spend that time and reconnect with your friends because ifyou're anything like me, you see your friends on facebook and that's pretty much it. youdon't really get to spend that time together. so, this is a great way to do that.well, i love tennessee. i was born in georgia, and i love the smoky mountains. but, tellour viewers exactly where you're located. well, sevierville is in the foothills of thegreat smoky mountains national park which is america's most visited national park.and who would know that? that's amazing. i
love to hear that.it's because it's so beautiful there. you know, there are so many things to see anddo. eight-hundred miles of maintained hiking trails including the appalachian trail thatruns through there, so that's a bucket list item for you right there. grab the girls andhit the trail for a little while. hit the trail. i like that.it's absolutely gorgeous there, and there are so many things to see and do.you know, i love tennessee. i love dolly parton. i know she was born in sevierville, and ithink dolly has a little something to share with us. let's take a look.hello, i'm dolly parton. welcome to my hometown, sevierville, tennessee. now there's so muchto do here between shopping attractions and
delicious restaurants that you're gonna wantto come back again and again. and when you are in town, be sure to stop downtown seviervilleto see the dolly parton statue. they tell me i look just like her.(music). love her. okay. tell me specifically, if mygirlfriends and i go, what can we do there? the thing that's so great is that you canshape your girlfriends getaway anyway you want it to be.perfect. so, if you decide that you, maybe you've hada rough time, you need to feel beautiful again. you can come in with your friends and setup a personal shopper experience. get a complete makeover. go to our tanger outlets in seviervilleand shop all the high-end name brands at deep
discount prices, and just really go home witha brand new look and a new feeling about yourself. or, maybe you need to rebuild your confidence.we've got some great adventure activities, everything from hitting a biplane ride withyour friends to crossing america's longest swinging bridge or taking on a zipline adventure.oh my gosh. i love that. that sounds right up my alley.so many things that you can do, and of course if you just want to do some spa visits andsome wine, we've got that, too. okay. that's right up my alley, too.(laughter). see, there's something that's perfect foreveryone. it sounds like there's a lot of things that are perfect for you on this trip.absolutely.
you know, i have so many friends that arespa people, and then so many that are adventure people. but this is something like we couldgo and everybody could have their perfect vacation and girl's getaway. we could allmeet at night. you could, and you could spend a day for eachfriend. do what they need to do that day, and really set up your vacation that way.but it also sounds like your place, sevierville, is just great for the entire family, too.it really is. and you know, we see a lot of that. when women come on a girlfriends getaway,they start looking around and think, "hey, my kids would really like to do this" or "thisis would be perfect for my husband." and so they end up coming back and planning a familyvacation as well.
you know our viewers are always thinking about,is it affordable? yes.is it affordable? very much so. a 3-day trip will cost around$700 per person. it's not that expensive to come there and play. we have a lot of attractionsthat are under $20 per person. a lot of things to do that are free, and of course great smokymountains national park is completely free to enter and enjoy as well. so, you're goingto find a lot of things to do. it's not going to cost a lot of money, and you're going tohave great memories. this sounds perfect. okay. to my girlfriendsout there, you know who you are, pack your bags. we are heading to sevierville for funand adventure. it's official. it's a destination
for our girlfriends getaway. amanda, thankyou so much. i'm serious. i'm coming. please do.and i'll bring some girlfriends, and then i'll bring my family back.alright. so great to have you on the show.thank you so much for having me. alright, and for tips on planning your nextbig getaway, visit officialgirlfriedsgetaway.com or our website, thebalancingact.com. afterall, girls just want to have fun. we'll see you next time.(music). (music).a smile can brighten the day, lift your spirits, it might even help eliminate stress. unless,of course, your smile is stressing you out.
time to turn that frown upside down. billchase, vice president of marketing for dental plans is here with details on how to improveour dental health. good morning. good morning. thanks for having me.thanks for being here. smiles can make a big difference, right?absolutely. you walk into a room, somebody smiles, andyou know what you might be depressed and all of a sudden...yeah, it changes. it does.your mood lifts. and it's not just the smile. because somepeople just have that perfect tom cruise smile, you know?yeah.
but it's our dental health as well. i'm reallyabout flossing, making sure my girls brush their teeth really good every day, and itreally is important, isn't it bill? it is. and it's also not enough, though. right?it's not? getting the dentist every 6 months is veryimportant. it's really the key to oral health. we know that that leads to the overall healthof the body as well. so, getting to the dentist for preventative procedures like cleanings,checkups, and x-rays is super important. and why are we falling short, if you will,on our dental health? i think that there's really three main reasons.one, is that we really do not pay enough attention to dental care. we do not treat it on thesame playing field as healthcare, and we also
tend to wait until something goes wrong. right?maybe one of your daughters falls or eats something she shouldn't...and a cracked tooth occurs. exactly. and a lot of people aren't preparedfor something like that. we really want people to be proactive and really pay more attentionto their dental care needs. accessibility is another big factor. there's over 100 millionamericans who do not have access to dental care for various reasons.part-time? part-time workers, seniors, maybe they'reretired. there's lots of difference factors, but it's a big problem, and we're lookingto find a way to bring that number down. and the last thing is probably the biggest challengethat we see. it's really the affordability
of dental care. many people cannot affordthe preventative procedures they need let alone the restorative procedures they need,and that's a problem that at dental plans we're trying to solve.and you said a lot of people may put it aside and say, "no, my health is more important."but let's be honest. taking care of the mouth is just as important because i believe itleads to diseases. yes, it really does. i mean, heart diseasehas been connected to dental care, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis. there's lots of differentthings that can be impacted by your dental care.so what are some options for people out there who maybe say, "well, i can't afford a dentalplan insurance." or "i don't have access.
i can't pay the out-the-pocket."a dental savings plan is really the best option for those people.and what are those? it's an alternative to traditional dentalinsurance. a member pays one low annual fee, and when they go to the dentist they pay alower rate on the procedures they need whether that's for cleanings and check-ups, fillings,root canals, even braces and cosmetic procedures. there's over 100,000 dentists nationwide,so there's a good chance that your dentist already accepts dental savings plans. it reallyis a great option for a family who doesn't have dental insurance, maybe maxes out theirdental insurance each year, or for those families who cannot really afford to pay full priceat the dentist office.
and when you apply for it, how soon can youeligible for it? if you sign up today, you can go ahead anduse the plan within days. there's no long waiting periods like there is with many traditionaldental insurance plans. and with this dental savings plan, you'reincluding things like x-rays, cleaning... most dental savings plans cover preventativeprocedures, restorative procedures, even things that dental insurance typically doesn't coverlike braces and cosmetic procedures. there's savings on those types of procedures as well.oh goodness, and i'm looking into braces for my kids, and i already got the number in myhead. they're expensive.ouch. thousands, thousands of dollars there.
i wasn't very happy. i was ready here aboutdp's smile index annual survey. what's that? it's a survey we do every year, and we pullboth our member base and a national respondent base to kind of really judge them and surveythem on their dental care and know their overall healthcare as well. one of the big thingswe found was that 62% of the national respondent base reported that they did have dental coverage,while 87% said they had healthcare coverage. so, a pretty big gap.a pretty big one. and again, it goes back to the fact that we'renot treating dental care like a health factor when we know that it really is. also, of therespondents who said they did not have dental coverage, nearly 60% of them said that affordabilitywas the main issue. a dental savings plan
is helping people do this. it's making themgo to the dentist to get their preventative procedures because they can afford it.dental savings plans. where can we go for more information?you can go to dentalplans.com. type in your zip code and find the right plan in your areathat fits your needs. or you can go ahead and call somebody at our dp at your serviceteam, and a consultant can help you find the right plan for what you need. it's reallythat simple. i love it. thank you so much.thank you. and now we have more to smile about this morning.and if you'd like more information on today's segment, you can visit us at thebalancingact.com.you can also logon to facebook/thebalancingactfans.
i don't even have a cavity.(music). (music).(singing) "tell me amy, why do you still insist on coming knocking on my door when you knowhow just..." the amy that 36-year-old dylan duncan writesand sings about is not a love that was lost. amy is short for amyloidosis, as in transthyretin-mediatedamyloidosis, or attr. a rare debilitating disease which he inherited and is now battling.in this behind the mystery rare and genetic segment, we'll examine this metabolic disease.the balancing act's christopher cox travelled to boston for some insight from dr. john berk,associate professor of medicine at boston university and clinical director of its amyloidosiscenter. and that's where we also met dylan
duncan.dylan duncan is a songwriter and musician. he's also one of 50,000 patients impactedby transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis, or attr.i went in for my genetic testing at the age of 26. so, i found out the had the gene forthe disease, and a year later i got a fat pad biopsy, which was then used to determinewhether or not symptoms had started. dylan duncan has been john berk's patientfor nearly eight years. they know each other well.we met first in 2007, and at the time he was i think 27-years-old. he had watched his motherbecome ill and undergo a liver transplant, and subsequently die.disease symptoms may vary dramatically. imagine
having the various symptoms of the disease,yet doctors are unable to find the cause of your specific condition.attr is a hereditary disease that culminates in injury to nerves in particular and secondarilyto heart. dylan was 27 when he was diagnosed. but forhim, it came as no surprise. how old was your mother when she was actuallydiagnosed? i want to say 37, 38. i know she was sickfor about five years, and she passed away when she was 45.the abnormal gene is passed from a parent to the patient, and it's approximately a 50/50proposition every time an affected parent has the child.my grandfather had lost his wife to the disease.
so he knew very well how dangerous it was.as his two daughters became sick, he was just very aware of the need for both my sisterand i to get tested for amyloidosis. so, when i was 26 and i called him up and told himthat i received a positive diagnosis of having the gene, he cried. he was very emotionalabout it. doctor, what are the symptoms of attr?people will typically develop some burning, tingling, or numbness initially of their toes,and there is evolution up the leg until they reach approximately knee involvement. at whichpoint, their fingertips and hands become involved. there can also be remarkable disfunction ofthe gi tract so that diarrhea or profound constipation can be problematic.back when i was like really worried about
symptoms showing up, i would be in the showerand i would put my leg in the hot water to see if i could feel it. so, some days if iwasn't feeling anything in my legs, i didn't know. but that's what sent me off into figuringout whether or not i had it or not. first symptoms that i was experiencing the amyloidosiswere the carpel tunnel, which is what they say one in four patients experience. but itwas very strange. like i would feel complete numbness in my entire arm, and i'd have tohang my arm over the bed just to get the feeling back. and that happened around 26, 27. that'swhy i went in to get tested. things were starting to develop when my gastrointestinal issuesand numbness more in my calves i was experiencing, and i've heard that a lot of the numbnesswill happen kind of starting in the feet and
going upwards.there's some competing diagnoses, ones that have very similar symptom complex, and asa consequence neurologist will turn to those diagnoses without considering amyloid.while currently there are no drugs specifically approved for attr in the united states, thereare limited treatment options. there are clinical trials ongoing right nowthat are focused on not simply stabilizing the abnormal protein but eliminating it completely.new treatment options currently under development may give attr patients and their familieshope for the future. i do have to get ahold of your sister, andi hope things are going okay. we imagine a world where patients with attrare living full, healthy, high-quality lives.
but it's important for patients to get involved.diagnosis is critical, so we ask patients to get heavily involved in their diagnosisand bring others if they, in fact, do get diagnosed with ttr mediated amyloidosis inbecause it is a dominant autosomal inherited disease.dylan duncan continues to perform his favorite hobbies such as painting. he also enjoys hangingwith his group of supporter friends, and of course, he continues to play his guitar.there's one particular song that you wrote called hello amy. tell us about that song.amy is short for amyloidosis, and so what i did was i actually wanted to just personifyit and make it almost sound like it's a girl that you want out of your life, like an ex-girlfriendor something like that. you know?
(singing)."hello amy. i didn't expect you here this soon. you're not due for quite a while."are you still hopeful about your condition and ultimately yourself and your life?yes, very much so. there are moments when i get really really scared, especially sincesymptoms are starting to kind of show themselves. it's hard not to think negatively sometimesjust seeing what happened with our mother. but absolutely, there are so many new advancesthat weren't happening around the time that my mom was, or if they were, at least theyweren't being so widely explored. it's very encouraging and very hopeful.his music takes on new meaning. gone are the hello amy lyrics. today, he sings about...(signing)
"i could offer you my ears. they are openwide for you." a special thank you to dylan for sharing thispersonal story with us this morning, and thanks to everyone for sharing this information onattr. for more information on a free third-partyscreening program, go to ttrscreen.com or call toll free 1-855-338-3721.(music). (music).thanks so much for joining us this morning. i am ready to head to sevierville. tennessee,here we come. me, too.you coming? i'm going with you. are you kidding?and if you want to learn more, head to our
website, thebalancingact.comwe're on faecbook and twitter. until the next time remember...find your balance. so long, everybody. have a good one.(music).