parent would allow a kid to get plastic surgery. what kind of message are they sending? tweet me. we'll have more top stories at the top of the hour when "cnn saturday morning" continues. what happens when p medicine pays for meditation yoga. americans are addicted to drugs, boos rr prescription medication more than ever before in history. it's an epidemic we can no longer ignore. i'm not going to ignore it. you may have seen the signs and you are unsure of what to do. today, we are going to help you. this morning, an in-depth look at addiction, how to get help before it's too late. and the latest medicine and science are have to offer us. first, news i want to share about the shortage of cancer medicatio

medications. you never want to deny patients treatment. doctors had to tell half a million cancer patients the drugs they needed weren't available. we are not talking about the developing world, we are talking right here at home. one of those medicines was doxal. it's used to treat women with ovarian cancer like renee. i met her last november. >> you feel like you are in a fight with one hand tied behind your back. we said let's go with what we have and see what happens. the cancer rapidly recured. >> this week, there's a temporary fix. the fda announced they will allow a replacement drug. it's virtually identical and imported from india. renee will likely be put on this medication. it doesn't solve the larger problem of the shortages. case and point, another trug in short supply is methotrexate. it's used for childhood cancers.

they found an additional supplier and various companies agreed to increase production. a family said this may not solve their problems. this 12 year seen there is takitake ing methotrexate. kelly is a surgeon who treats cancer patients. thanks for joining us. how are you feeling? how are you doing? >> i'm doing fine. >> you are okay? you were diagnosed with leukemia in 2011. the nurses at the hospital said to think about your one wish for the make a wish foundation. what did you wish for? >> for my make a wish, i decided to make my wish that all the children with this could get the methotrexate they need. >> it's powerful. a.l.l. is the form of leukemia

you have as well, right in. >> yes. >> obviously you are making this wish because not enough kids have the medication. kelly, you are a doctor, a cancer doctor. i mean, owen started an intense treatment. his next methotrexate treatment is friday. is it going to happen for him? >> there should be treatment for him this friday. the actions taken by the fda and the pharmaceutical companies will temporarily release the shortage and allow him to start his treatment on march 9th. >> i want to pick up on that. after this friday, after the next few weeks, what about the guarantee of methotrexate for owen and what about other kids that owen is wishing for? kelly? >> there's a band aid that's been put on the problem.

victory has been declared. this problem is far from over. there are over 250 drugs in critical short supply. many cancer drugs for which there are no alternatives. it's effective for kids with leukemia and there's no substitute. this shortage could come up again and again and again. six months ago, it was a different drug essential for leukemia patients. we need to fix the problem. >> the problem, we have been beating the drum on this. what is the alternative? i'm curious. say friday it wasn't available and the next time it's not available, are alternatives being given, kell y? >> there are no alternatives except to wait and delay the treatment until the drug becomes avaluable. >> it's not the right answer because you delay treatment, that's a problem. beth, my wife, would go crazy if

she heard that sort of response. what did you think when you heard that response? >> owen and i were at the clinic when he was getting a full day of a different therapy drug when his oncologist said we may not get to start the treatment. he explained there was a critical shortage and there would be none. i could not imagine that in the united states a doctor could be telling me that the medication that my son must have, he is newly in remission and must have because of recurrences of the risk, he may not have it. that was when the nurses were talking to him about make a wish. on the way home, owen said that needed to be his wish. that he needed to make sure that the drug companies, the government, whoever it was that was in control needed to make sure that all the children would have this medication because he

knows how critical it is. as a mother, i was devastated. >> i can't even imagine. i'm choked up. kelly, or beth, let me ask you first. do you have any confidence right now with the recent announcement by the fda of more supplies coming in. are you satisfied? do you think it's going to solve the shortage problem? >> i would like to think it would solve the shortage problem. i think owen will get this week's medication. i think he will probably get his first high dose on march 9th. now we know, this is a risk each and every time that he needs a dose of this. some of the other drugs that he gets. so far, the reason that they have done this is one of the companies has been able to release drugs they were holding, making me outraged there was some drugs and the fda had not responded to a request for

authorization by that company to make and distribute the drug. i'm not absolutely sure that we are going to be in the clear for this entire three and a half years. now it will be on my mind every month, every time we start something new, every time he needs methotrexate. >> every moment. >> yeah. >> kelly, i don't mean to put you on the spot, but can you explain how this is happening? why are drug being held? why isn't there a guarantee owen can get what he needs? >> this is a uniquely american problem. other countries, i have friends in argentina, ecuador and argentina get the drug for me. it's so inexpensive. the drug companies don't make a profit on these cheap drugs. methotrexate has been around for 50 years. there's no excuse it should not

be available here in the united states. >> we are going to help you with your wish. we are going to continue to do it. thanks for sharing your story. i'll be thinking about you, okay? >> okay. >> thanks for joining us. >> thank you. i want to turn to something else as well that takes a heavy toll on families. it's drug abuse. new understanding of how addiction changes the brain. addiction is still out there. it's different than what we used to think. >> this is your brain. this is heroin. this is what happens to your brain after starting heroin.

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i want you to imagine just how loud it would sound if all the children in the world shouted, just say no, at the same time. that's how loud i want you to say it if someone offers you drugs. >> of course that was nancy reagan nearly 20 years ago. i'll tell you what doctors and researchers didn't know then, it's not just a matter of will

power. 23 million americans fighting addiction right now suffer from a chronic brain disease. this is important. drugs can change the brain that lead to cravings that feel like thirst and hunger. addict or not addict you have a response. you crave something. that involves the feeling of wanting something that feels good. look what happens when some of the substances come into the brain. drugs whatever they may be. the white particles are the feel-good chemical. they make you feel good and the brain lights up. it's the reward system. it's why people take the medications or substances. take a look at an addict versus non-addict. see the bright areas, they stay bright. it's important. they got the reward. in someone who is a drug abuser, look at the changes here.

the reward didn't last long. imagine the solution. that person takes more and more substances to try to feel better. that's sort of the genesis of addiction. that's what it looks like inside the brain. it's simplistic in terms of how you look at addiction overall. it's what occurs in the brain. it explains why it's not easy for an addict to just say no. something else i want to point out as well. that is young people are more resistant to injury and illness, but not necessarily addiction. a substance abuser under the age of 25 is vulnerable in part because the parts of brains that help you fight urges isn't fully developed yet. scott started drinking when he was 10 years old. by 15, using cocaine. it got worse after college. it got so bad after a bender, he

woke up on the bathroom floor and eventually made the choice to fight back. scott joins us from denver. scott, thank you for sharing your story. i'm a dad now. i think i approach the stories from a different perspective. you are clean now. you are running a non-profit in colorado and helping addicts. first, help parents understand, parents like me how kids got access and started using these drugs. >> yeah, i did start my use very young sanjay. i was first introduced to alcohol from seeing it in my own family. there was alcoholism in my family. witnessing it at a young age drew me to it more than other kids. once i was out drinking at a young age, i started to get into a circle of people that led me to, you know, marijuana and

eventually cocaine. >> i have been talking a fair amount this weekend on how addiction is truly a brain disease. i'm preaching to the choir. you work in this area now. like you are describing, you wanted to quit at times. you tried, had relapses. what was the stage for you when you realized maybe it was starting to turn around, it was getting better for you? >> i think it took me about a year or so to actual ly get clean. for a year, i was consciously trying to quit drinking. i did what a lot of some call bargaining. okay, no more liquor. i'm only going to drink beer from now on. what i realized, when i added alcohol to the equation i added harder drugs. once i was intoxicated, i couldn't control the bad decision making and i ended up using. >> i want to pick up at that

pivotal moment. we are trying to help people. i'm shocked by the numbers. we are going to take a quick break. stick with us. when we come back, scott is going to explain how he got through this. how something as simple as exercise helped him with addictions. also a doctor who has been on the show is going to join in the conversation. what's happening in medicine to help people like scott and a lot of other people. stay with us. so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios. ask me. [ male announcer ] if you think even the best bed can only lie there... ask me what it's like when my tempurpedic moves? [ male announcer ] ...talk to someone who owns an adjustable version

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we're back with "sgmd." we are continuing the conversation with scott. as you heard before the break, scott started drinking at age ten. he was addicted to cocaine at 15. he fought like hell against addiction. he won and is helping other addicts stay clean. one of the country's top experts is also with us. i don't know how much you could hear of scott's story before the break, for an addict resisting the urge to use drugs is significant. it's like you or i needed food or water. it's hard, but manageable. let's talk about the newest

forms of medications out there to help people quit. >> medications have done well n technique addiction and opiate addiction. we've have things like nicotine replacement therapies and we do have methadone, the newest medication in our fight against prescription pills and heroine. these medications have done quite well. on the other hand, we haven't done quite as well for cocaine. we've tried several medications. nothing has come out to be truly successful. >> what about alcohol? >> alcohol is somewhere in between. we do have some medications for alcohol. they're safe, they're effective. they do have a few side effects, but they're not quite as strong as we would have hoped originally. i do prescribe them quite often for the treatment of alcohol dependance, but they have to be

in combination with psycho therapy, in combination with some kind of psycho social intervention, meaning that they should go to alcoholics anonymous or doing something more than just taking the medications. medications are simply not strong enough to carry the entire burden of illness on their shoulders. >> when people talk about disassociating their environment from their behavior. if you say in the samt environment, how big a deal was that for you, scott? >> it was probably the biggest part of my recovery finally sticking. as i said, i tried to drink less and go to the bar less often, but if i kept myself surrounded with this group of people who were still actively using, then it made it very difficult to get sober. finally, i had to cut ties with all of those friends. overnight, i felt very alone and isolated. but it really was the only way i thought i could maintain my sobriety. >> we're in three different cities right now, but, doctor,

as you listen to scott and you hear his story, is his a common story? you heard about how down deep he was and how he got out of it, as well. >> i think it is a common story and i think scott did the right thing but cutting off his friends and by going to the gym, by finding his own way of combining the addiction. but for the majority of people, getting the help of a 12-step program, getting the help of psycho therapy, of a counselor, of a doctor is often what is needed. >> well, with i think there's messages in here for so many people and just, you know, from an addiction standpoint, from a behavioral standpoint, scott, thanks so much for sharing your story. dr. levonis, you're the guy that we've been turning to. i really appreciate your insights. thank you. >> thank you. and coming up, what happens when medicare pays for meditation class or they pay for yoga? that's next.

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health issues don't come any bigger than heart december. it's the number one killer in this country and in the developed world. and i have a family history of heart disease and i realize that the old ways of fighting it are just not enough. so we started looking at new tests and new diets and doctors all over the country are doing the same thing. we want to show you something this morning that we found in west virginia, an experiment that seems to be working. the great stoeps on this hill are like a tragic roll call. one family's losing battle with heart disease. bob korona, 1992, heart attack. frank docil, heart disease. here are cathy and frank korona. >> by that large tree, my father and his father are buried. my father died at age 67.

he had aortic stenosis that was so calls pcified at the autopsyy couldn't get the surgery stint through. >> west virginia's rate of heart disease is right up there with the worst in the country. so maybe there wasn't much to lose when the hospitals treating the koronas offered a new approach based on a program offered by sfgz dean monage. >> heart disease kills more people in the world than virtually everything else in the world. what most people don't realize is that it doesn't have to be that way. we don't have to wait for a new break through, a new laser, or something high tech. we simply need to put into practice something we already know. >> it teaches a brand of prevention that might seem forp here. a plant-based diet without meat.

stress management through yoga, medication and regular exercise. and that's not all. he says to reverse heart disease, off to break down emotional barriers that cause isolation and loneliness. study after study has found stronger social ties can help your life. so in small groups, they heart patients open up with each and share their feelings. >> it was energizing this morning for me. >> insurance paid for all of this. >> i've been taken all the medications. >> what about this heart rate here? >> even medicare pays for 12 weeks on the program now along with regular rehab for heart attack patients. that's right. medicare is paying not just for tests and pills but for the same yoga and discussion groups that the koronas say changed their lives and gave them precious years with their new grandchild. here in these appalachian hills, the gray stones of the future

might hell a different story about heart disease in america. it's worth pointing out not everyone agrees with this approach, but for frank and cathy, it worked. you know me, you know i'm not the fashion police, but jeans that are too tight can do a few things. they can compress nerves, even interfere with your digest yop. some doctors blame too tight jeans for back pain. maybe next time, reach for your cookie pants. >> i brought my cookie pants. notice the loose waste to accommodate the expanding stomach. >> "scrubs" i love that show. >> that's going to wrap things up for us this morning. follow me on facebook or on twitter. get a sneak peek there at next week's show, as well.