Petra Smeltzer Starke, Brand Ambassador for Mainz Biomed, was recently interviewed by Benzinga.
Mainz creates clinical laboratory tests that save costs and lives by enabling early detection and prevention of disease. The company reports that patients with cancers and other conditions are living longer and enjoying better health because of medical innovations like the tests Mainz creates.
Petra Smeltzer Starke is the new face of Mainz. As a former senior advisor to President Obama and a rectal cancer survivor, Mainz believes she is uniquely suited to help spread the word about early detection and help save lives.
Mainz creates clinical laboratory tests that save costs and lives by enabling early detection and prevention of disease. The company reports that patients with cancers and other conditions are living longer and enjoying better health because of medical innovations like the tests Mainz creates.
Petra Smeltzer Starke is the new face of Mainz. As a former senior advisor to President Obama and a rectal cancer survivor, Mainz believes she is uniquely suited to help spread the word about early detection and help save lives.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Hey Zingers, it's Dan Leach and it's my pleasure to welcome in the brand ambassador for Minds
00:07Biomed, Petra Smeltzer.
00:08Petra, great to have you today.
00:11Thanks for having me, Dan.
00:12I'm very excited to be here.
00:13Well, we're excited to have you and I wanted you to tell us a little bit about your background
00:17and what attracted you to Minds Biomed.
00:19So I grew up in Europe, not far from Germany in the Czech Republic.
00:24I moved to the United States.
00:26I graduated first in my class from Georgetown Law School.
00:30I worked for a big law firm, then I worked for President Obama as his senior advisor.
00:38And then I left the White House.
00:40I became CEO of Vikram Yoga, probably the biggest international fitness brand at the
00:46time.
00:48But unfortunately, at some point in my life, I got hit with rectal cancer.
00:53And so I got so excited to be able to work with Minds Biomed because they are really
01:02changing the possibilities for people like me who are faced with this horrible disease.
01:11So that's what attracted me to Minds Biomed the most.
01:14Well, obviously, very sorry about your condition, but to be able to, you know, connect into
01:18a company that's really helping is awesome.
01:21And congrats on the new position.
01:22What will your partnership with Minds look like?
01:25Well, I think what's amazing is that, you know, throughout my life journey, I have amassed
01:32quite a nice following on social media.
01:35I think I have in excess of a million followers on just on Instagram alone, and I'm on different
01:42social media platforms.
01:43And I really want to sort of become the face and the advocate of people to get these tests
01:50early because myself, you know, when I got diagnosed with cancer, I was 45.
01:57I was on top of my game.
01:59I was doing two yoga classes a day, Tracy Anderson, swimming.
02:04I had a six pack.
02:05I was as healthy as anybody can be.
02:08And no one in my family has ever had cancer.
02:10I didn't know a person who had cancer.
02:13So for me to be diagnosed with such a disease and lead that stereotypical, you know, healthy
02:20fit life, it was tragedy.
02:22And I couldn't understand it.
02:24And none of my friends understand it.
02:26So my mission is to make sure that young people, as many people as possible, get tested with
02:34this revolutionary test because, you know, catching it early or or just when it's
02:41starting, that's a game changer in the quality of life people will have and the length of
02:46life. So that's kind of my personal mission.
02:49No, that's beautifully said.
02:50And, you know, as you mentioned, you were a senior White House advisor for President
02:54Obama. How does your experience in that role help you as a brand ambassador?
02:59Well, you know, as a senior advisor to President Obama or any American president, every
03:07day you are faced with unforeseen circumstances.
03:12Every day you come to work and you make a list of what you want to accomplish.
03:17But something happens like, you know, the day that we killed bin Laden happened and
03:24everything changed in a minute.
03:26You know, some country starts a war, things change.
03:30And so I think that having that experience from the White House at the top level, I am
03:38very good at reacting to any kind of situation, making the most of it and and helping
03:47people see the positive light and get out of it.
03:50Now, it's a very special thing.
03:52Listen, you mentioned how Minds Biomed, you know, is doing incredible stuff.
03:56Why is early detection so critical?
03:59Well, early detection is so critical because my understanding and I'm not an MD, I'm a
04:06JD, I'm not an MD, I'm doctor of law, not doctor of medicine, unfortunately.
04:11The early detection is critical because my understanding is that this cancer moves very
04:17fast, but it's possible that you can catch it in the very, very early stages, which
04:26means that you might be able to just have like a polyp removed or or the first sort
04:37of iteration of the cancer cells, because basically my understanding is that the cancer
04:42multiplies and basically doubles.
04:45So it goes 2 to 4, 4 to 8, 8 to 16, 16 to 32.
04:50And so it's like multiplying so fast.
04:53So if you catch it in the beginning, your treatment will look very, very different than
04:59someone who caught it much later in the cancer.
05:02And unfortunately, a lot of people, they wait, they have symptoms, they ignore them.
05:08We all lead busy lives.
05:10And by the time they they catch the cancer, a lot of times it has metastasized to other
05:15organs in their body.
05:16And then their prognosis isn't that great.
05:18You know, so the earlier you catch it, the better chances you have and the less painful
05:24chances to get better.
05:26Yeah, and as you said, too, it's you know, it's a shock to the system.
05:29When anyone gets cancer, I've had a lot of friends and family that have gotten it, you
05:33know, obviously we're expecting it.
05:34Like you mentioned, you weren't either.
05:35No one ever is.
05:37But then when you look at a company like Mines Biomed and all the great things they're
05:39doing, what is it that Mines is doing that others aren't, though?
05:43Well, I think it's the ease of the test, because, you know, in my case, when I was
05:49diagnosed with colorectal cancer, I was 45.
05:52And because I, you know, I was at most a pescatarian, I have never eaten a red meat in
05:59my life. I've never eaten chicken in my life.
06:02I don't drink even though I come from the Czech Republic.
06:05I actually don't like beer and I don't like any I don't drink any hard liquor.
06:09Like at most I would have like a mimosa or red wine.
06:12Two only things that I ever drink in very limited quantities.
06:17So when I was in feeling myself, really, I went to my primary care physician.
06:25I went to my OBGYN and both of them were like, oh, it's in your head.
06:30You're too stressed. You work too hard.
06:32You work for the president.
06:34Just go on vacation, unplug from your phone.
06:37And I was like, no, something is not right.
06:39So then they said, OK, if you think something is not right somewhere in your stomach,
06:43let's do a colonoscopy.
06:45I was 45 at the time and back then colonoscopy was only approved for people who are 50.
06:52Colonoscopy is much more difficult test.
06:56You have to do the prep.
06:58You have to drink the nasty drinks.
07:00Then you have to go to a doctor's office.
07:01You have to have somebody who brings you, takes you out.
07:05You know, it's a lot involved.
07:07And in my case, even though I ended up being diagnosed with rectal cancer, my insurance
07:12company refused to pay for the colonoscopy because I was only 45, not 50 at the time.
07:18And I had no risks.
07:20So they didn't feel like I should have that expensive test.
07:25Whereas with Mines Biomed, you know, it's a simple kit.
07:29You order the kit, you do it at home, you send it in and you know if you have an issue
07:35or if you don't have an issue.
07:36So that's where the revolution really is.
07:38It's going to help so many people.
07:40Petra Smeltzer, the brand ambassador for Mines Biomed.
07:43It's been truly a pleasure and honor to talk with you today.
07:46Keep fighting the good fight and to nothing but great times ahead.
07:49Thanks a lot.
07:50Thank you, Dan.
07:50I really appreciate you having me here.
07:53Have a nice day and thanks for watching.