my new must-have for soft, beautiful feet. amopé pedi perfect. find it in the foot care aisle or at the registers in these stores. i'm arthel neville. >> professor of medicine and author of "the inner pulse" on unlocking the code of health. and. >> and chief of robotic surgery. doctors, always nice to see you. >> the end of the year pretty soon and we look back at some of the big stories this past year this moment that gripped our nation. >> africa's biggest ebola outbreak ever has health officials scrambling.

as one american infected with the virus arrives in the u.s. for treatment. >> the key is, identifying, quarantining, isolating those who contract it and making sure that practices are in place that avoid transmission. >> the plain fact is we can stop it. we can stop it from spreading in hospitals and stop it in africa where it's really the source of the epidemic. >> as you remember, the ebola crisis did reach u.s. soil and dr. kent brantley arriving for treatment for that potentially deadly disease. a disease that would keep u.s. health officials and the rest of the country for months to come. but, thankfully, it's kind of been quiet on that front and at least as it relates to the united states. >> i think there's a lot of lessons here for people to learn. first of all, a huge problem an. liberia coordination of services with the help of the u.s. military, with the help of doctors without borders and the

volunteer organizations we've talked about. they're stamping it out decreasing dramatically. sierra sierra 7,000 deaths. it's affecting other diseases there like malaria and heart disease, cancer, people are not getting their childhood vaccines. pregnant women are not getting taken care of. over here, i think the big problem was that we couldn't believe what our public officials were telling us. we saw one case and the next thing we knew two more nurses had it and people naturally, as they always do with emerging diseases, especially infectious ones said, i could be next. how do i know i won't be next? we went on tv and tried to talk about that and there was a lot of fear with that and what finally calmed the fears was what happened at bellevue hospital where dr. spencer was succe successfully taken care of and did not spread it to anyone. since then we had no more cases. the fear factor diminished.

>> the fear, i think, a result of the confusion, quite frankly, coming out of the cdc at the beginning and the leaders, they weren't sure to tell the folks what we were to do, yet alone the actual emergency workers taking care of those people. have we learned something here? >> i think what a year it was, right? we started off being completely confused and not getting all the good information that we needed to know. i think a lot of people lost some trust with the cdc and the mixed messages coming down and i think this speaks about when, how vulnerable we are when you get a virus like this that is 70% lethal and can affect us and how health care has become a real global problem. something happens in africa can affect us and vice versa. and, so, the power of media, i thought, was extremely strong and it really stopped these patients from coming here. the good news is that in liberia, where half of these patients have died out of the 7,000, things are improving and it's getting better. the good news is, also, that the election, that they were supposed to have in october

finally happened and football star players like george way was one of the candidates and the son of liberia participated and the crowd came together. the bad news is we still have a long way to go. and, unfortunately, we lost a 12th doctor over there, victor weatherby died just this week and the medication was on the way to get to him, but he never made it. so, the u.n. ambassador was there, he visited the area. we're sending a lot of troops and medications and drugs and this is not the end of it. but i'm hopeful that in 2015, the vaccine is going to kick in. we have learned a lot. health care system in this country has gone into this and it has panned out and we haven't seen any cases. so, that's the good news. >> when you talk about the vaccine kicking in, do you mean vaccine being developed and ready to administer to the patients? >> in the next few months we'll

see some vaccines that have been in the pipeline and come in and hopefully we'll get it to go there. i don't think this is the end of the epidemic of this disease in africa. we may see this again in the future. we have learned a lot and better ways to fight this disease. >> you have to put your hat's off and commend the health workers who have basically sacrificed their lives for such a high percentage of health workers, doctors and others who have succumbed to ebola going there and trying to help those poor people. >> i want to give a nod to the doctor i interviewed this week who literally got ebola, stayed in there, recovered now with the help of early intervention, mainly hydration and now back out on the front lines because he figures he had ebola already and he can go around and talk to patients with ebola and he doesn't have any risk. the man has tremendous courage. as far as the vaccine issue, i agree with david, the vaccines a big story in 2015. the one at the nih so far looks really good. it's going into stage 2 trials,

which means it will be given to patients over in west africa. >> the biggest news out of this whole thing is how one patient was able to save someone else's life. how some of these doctors and nurses who actually got the disease truly committed to the future of other patients, gave their blood, gave their immune cell t cells to be able to save someone's life. this is the beauty of medicine we live for. and gratitude to our u.s. army, these guys don't get credit. the fact they put their life at risk whether it's taking bullets and examples of some of the things we're seeing recently and also being there taking this chance. th that. >> the story of the nurses and the doctors in texas, amazing. >> and the soldiers, their families on the home front. >> thank you. >> and another, by the way, one final story was of the children. because there have been 10,000 orphan children in west africa and the nurse we showed on the show here last week talked about how hard it is not to be able to hold a sick child because of fear that they're going to break

into your protective equipment. >> next year will be better news for ebola. >> thank you, doctors. they are marketed as a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes, but does that mean ecigarettes are necessarily risk free? coming up, the growing demand for them and the real toll they could be taking on your health. i didn't think i'd have a heart attack. but i did. i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

♪ (holiday mhey! is playing) i guess we're going to need a new santa ♪(the music builds to a climax.) more people are coming to audi than ever before. see why now is the best time. audi will cover your first month's payment on select models at the season of audi sales event. visit audioffers.com today.

hard it can be...how ...to breathe with copd? it can feel like this. copd includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema. spiriva is a once-daily inhaled... ...copd maintenance treatment... ...that helps open my airways for a full 24 hours. you know, spiriva helps me breathe easier. spiriva handihaler tiotropium bromide inhalation powder does not replace rescue inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate.

these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells,... you can get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. sfx: blowing sound. does breathing with copd... ...weigh you down? don't wait ask your doctor about spiriva handihaler. sbl i felt the freedom to have a cigarette without the guilt. that is just one of the many commercials advertising the benefits of switching to electronic cigarettes. are they necessarily safer than the real thing? dr. smotty, you see jenny

mccarthy saying there is nicotine in it, you may not know the level of it. >> it is very cool, as you said, commercial. she makes it like a fun thing to have. we see that one out of ten high school students have it. it's a big business. over $2 billion this year, by 2017, it is going to be about $10 billion industry. now, the premise for this was that we'll take all the smokers that are smoking cigarettes. we're going to go to ecigarettes as a way to transition out of smoking. but what we're seeing is that the oral fixation is a huge problem for these teenagers. they're getting hood hooked on this. the amounts are different depending on the different brands. also, we don't know when you heat it up, what is the effect of proep oglycol and what it

does and we learned about going from smoking to vapors which is exactly what this is. taking the liquid nicotine and turning it into vapors. what the long-term data is, we have no idea. that is why american cancer society and all of us have been against this for a long time. the only good thing about this is the fact that you don't smell the real cigarettes and it tastes good. but i think a lot of these teenagers are going to get hooked up on this and switch back to smoking. >> something that really struck me, looking at the jenny mccarthy commercial. you can't advertise cigarettes on television, so they actually have nicotine in them, so how come they allow television commercials, if that is, indeed, a tv commercial. >> it's not fda regulated. it's not fda regulated. they can put any amount of nicotine they want. but this year finally fda came and said minors should be banned from getting them. that is the only move they made so far. >> when we talk about this,

e-cigarettes, people out there, heavy smokers and they say, listen, these things do help with smoking sensation. there is something good to righ? >> i want to emphasize my point of this is my issue is the nicotine. there are some that can't quit and i'm out of all options. they can't quit cold turkey, which is the most likely way. a study just recently showed in the journal of cancer, you're more likely to quit without the use of e-cigarettes. if you are smoking cigarettes, you're more likely to quit without using e-cigarettes. but a group of people who have smoked for a long time and they'll tell me a year or two later, you know, it was the e-cigarettes that got me off. but what i'm most worried about is our youth. now, e-cigarettes are banned in 40 states. under the age of 18 in 40 states, you're not allowed to use e-cigarettes.

but you know what, kids aren't paying any attention to that. they're finding ways to get it and getting it from their parents and the biggest problem is according to cdc and a couple of other studies, they're gateway. you start off with e-cigarettes and then you end up using tobacco. the kind of purse nersonality w is impulsive. has to get a fix. that's not essential with e-cigarettes. do it for more social reasons. next thing you know, they have a nicotine addiction. they go to a regular cigarette. that's the problem. cigarette smoking in our youth has been diminishing. we've made great gains over the past ten years. this is a step backwards and i think e-cigarettes are problematic and should be regulated by fda. >> 42 million americans that are smoking cigarettes and we have made a huge progress in this field. about 18% where a few years ago 2009 was about 27%. i think this is not, there's no

data to show that this is safer than cigarette number one. it also hasn't been shown that by going to this, you then, then the next phase is that you will be smoke free. that's the problem. the alternatives, unfortunately, are not so good. the medications that the doctors are writing have a lot of side effects from hallucgen to suicidal and as the that's why people are using this. big social event like e-cigarette cafes. >> the gum. >> but the flavors are related to that. bubble gum flavor and cherry flavor. nicotine gum or nicotine lozenge. as the that's a first line of defense. if cold turkey doesn't work, i go to innicotine projects. chantax which is effective in some people are not for people who are very anxious or people who have problems with paranoia or get very, very upset.

you got to pick carefully who you give chantax to. >> don't smoke. >> if you haven't started, don't touch it. >> don't start. one of the biggest medical advances of the year. a simple at-home test can help you determine whether you're at risk for colon cancer. you're going to want to know the details on this, stop colon cancer, we'll tell you how when we come back. moderate to severe crohn's disease is tough, but i've managed. except that managing my symptoms was all i was doing. and when i finally told my doctor, he said humira is for adults like me who have tried other medications but still experience the symptoms of moderate to severe crohn's disease. and that in clinical studies, the majority of patients on humira saw significant symptom relief. and many achieved remission. humira can lower your ability to fight infections, including tuberculosis. serious, sometimes fatal infections and cancers, including lymphoma, have happened; as have blood, liver, and nervous system problems,

serious allergic reactions, and new or worsening heart failure. before treatment, get tested for tb. tell your doctor if you've been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if you've had tb, hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flu-like symptoms or sores. don't start humira if you have an infection. ask your gastroenterologist about humira. with humira, remission is possible.

now back now to "sunday house call" a simple test it do at home to prevent one of the most common forms of cancer. the first and only noninvasive screening test for colon cancer.

this is so important because colon cancer is so easily preventable. >> not only that, eric, it's the number two killer of cancer in the united states and if you don't get it early, there's only if you don't get it early, there's only a 12%, five-year survival rate. if you do get it early, it is a 90% five-year survival rate. we need everyone over the age of 50 to gscreened with a colonoscopy. 23 million people that are supposed to get it don't. there is a big study in the "new england journal of medicine" on colon guard which i am about to tell you about that shows it is over90% effective at detecting colon cancer and 69% effective at detecting polyps. >> it's as easy as going to the drugstore to pick it up? >> it is prescription only. you check your own stool sample. we send it away for you. you get the results in two weeks. it is a dna test. we'll talk about this next week. what's fascinating, we're

getting to the point where we're seeing the abnormal dna that tumors make. colon cancer makes a specific signature of abnormal dna. we can find it on this stool test. >> can i go now, ask my doctor, get colo guard? >> if he has access to it, knows a pharmacy that has it, it is absolutely on the market. >> but i get it from you, you take it home and use it at home? >> yes. but let me just make a comment. this is not to replace standard of care which is colonoscopy and you are encouraged to go for colonoscopy first. the reason why this works wrel well is it is less invasive, 92% sensitive based on this "new england journal of medicine" and in advances cases can detect 69%. you basically take the kit home after you buy it. it is about $600. but put some stool sample there. it goes to the lab and they look at some of the dna cells that are in the bowel. the same exact thing exists for

patients with prostate cancer where we massage the prostate, you get some of the cells to go in the urine. it is called pca3. very similar concept. the new way of finding this disease instead of doing co colonoscopie colonoscopies, biopsies, look at the cells being shipped from the cancer. more than 50,000 americans die from this cancer. that's why screening is important. when you catch it early, it is 9 0e% effective. >> how do you know if you have it? what about the symptoms. >> number one symptom, i say to everyone, clang in bowel habits. are you certainly constipated, suddenly having diarrhea, do you have some sense of bloating, are you losing weight. if you feeling like something's wrong down there. does a doctor find you are anemic. i have to skreent stools for blood also in addition to a colonoscopy but i agree with david's point which is everyone over the age of 50 should have colonoscopy first. you get used to that prep.

even some people under the age of 50. >> men and women? >> men and women. >> change in the caliber of your stool is very important because whether you have cancer, pushes the stool and it becomes a narrow caliber. that's important. also if you see blood in the stool. it's most likely a problem because fresh blood most likely is hemorrhoids but if you see any of that, make sure you go and talk to your doctor. >> colonoscopies, please. >> i know you are doing it which is really smart thing to do with family history. >> very good. a leink to a longer life. new reasons why you should switch to a mediterranean diet and how you can start today, guys. ♪

they are a glowing example of what it means to be the best. and at this special time of year, they shine even brighter. come to the winter event and get the mercedes-benz you've always wished for, now for an exceptional price. [ho, ho, ho, ho] lease the 2014 cla 250 for $329 a month at your local mercedes-benz dealer.

out for a bike ride. i didn't think i'd have a heart attack. but i did.

i'm mike, and i'm very much alive. now my doctor recommends a bayer aspirin regimen to help prevent another heart attack. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. well, we always knew it was one of the healthiest diets out there. but now doctors say that switching to a mediterranean diet is actually linked to a longer life. before we go on and on about it, fis first of all, what is a mediterranean diet. >> this is my favorite segment and i want everyone to listen very carefully. i'm going to put the list about everything on mediterranean diet on my facebook. think ever it as a pyramid where the bottom floor is the most important one. that's where you would have your

extra-virgin olive oil, nuts, you would have fruits and vegetables, you would have legumes, beans, all the good stuff. on the second floor of the pyramid, fish, omega-3 fatty acid, healthy heart. as we get higher and higher in the pyramid, that's less and less, that's where dairy come in. i've said so many times dairy leads to infla population, can cause cancer. stay away from dairies and yogurts. on top you have the red meat which is not so good for you. now have you have once in a while a little red meat, it is okay. but what i love about it, it is a fun diet. have you your red wine at the same time. have you a little chocolate. but fruits, vegetables, nuts, all of that is fantastic. now in this particular study they are looking at gene for the first time, the genetic study and diet. they are saying that they really helps with longevity, with reducing heart disease. looking at the chromosomes, it

is complicated but take my word for it. >> what about chicken? >> that's interesting you say that. the reason that i suggested it for this week, end of the year, big stories, is because what david just said about the thing it does, it lengthens your life. dairy, poultry, not on the diet. fruit and vegetables, a big-ticket item has led to 40% decreased weight in people that have it regularly. get it from fish. tree nuts. unsaturated fats. >> shrimp, scallops -- >> sure. >> we're talking about salmon. >> one other thing about mediterranean diet, it is also like very favorable of spice. and spice is actually great because it increases your metabolism, increases your heart rate and you request lose weight as a result of this.

overall, go for mediterranean, the most favorite diet of "sunday house call." >> sardines? >> sardines and oily fishes are really good for you. absolutely. >> thanks, docs! >> bwe begin with a fox news alert. hello, many's shannon bream. welcome to america's news he headquarters in washington. new york city still reel being from what the police commissioner calls the assassination of two nypd officers. shot to death for simply wearing the uniform by a gunman who officials say traveled from baltimore with one aim -- to kill police officers in retaliation for the deaths of michael brown and arab garner. >> hi, shannon. nypd commissioner bill bratton saying this is a time of great emotion for a department and a city grieving, trying to make sense of the madness following the