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'The Doctors' Welcome Back Aaron Carter And His Mother Jane Who 'Silently Struggled With Alcohol For So Long'

The Doctors are back this week with a familiar face as Aaron Carter returns to the show. This time, Aaron is seeking help for his mother Jane who is facing her own struggles which have lead to a destructive drinking habit that threatens to tear their family apart. In addition to speaking with Jane, the docs also catch up with Aaron to hear how his road to recovery is going while touching on some timely medical issues facing today's youth.

CBS Local's Matt Weiss spoke with Dr. Travis Stork and Dr. Andrew Ordon to discuss the Carter family's road to recovery as well as the vaping epidemic.

MW: So another great episode of the doctor's coming up and you have a return guest, Aaron Carter coming back on the show, but this time you're trying to help out his mom. What can we expect, how is that dynamic going to play out with someone you helped before and now bringing in another family member to try to set their life straight?

TS: Well anytime you're trying to help one family member with addiction, Aaron came on our show two years ago for help with his addiction, you know that it can run in families, so this is really a chance for Aaron to come back to our show and say look, 'the doctors helped me, can you help my mom?' The dynamic between Aaron and his mom is so unique because of his fame and his fame at a young age and his mom silently struggled with alcohol for so long now for decades basically numbing the pain she has experienced in her life.

It's a story that I think people will relate to, you don't need to be famous to have alcohol and drug addiction problems and the good news is that I think that our show blur the lines between we're a daytime TV entertainment show, but we're also a show that deals with real issues and I think that Aaron bringing his mom on the show is a really good thing.

AO: Yeah and that's exactly right, Travis. I mean yes it's Aaron Carter a childhood star, but it's a very relatable story that the components there, the mental illness, alcoholism, family issues, all of those intertwine.  I think our viewers are really going to gleam some good stuff, absolutely.

MW: Since you guys have worked with him in the past two years ago, how is he different today vs the Aaron you met then?

AO: I have to hand it to him, he did give us our props, he claimed that we in fact saved his life with the intervention that we did two years ago and I would like to think that it helped. He has gained weight.

TS: I mean you don't even have to talk to Aaron to see the difference, if you compare a picture of him two years ago when he first came on The Doctors, he was emaciated, he was in a really dark, dark place and he admits on the show actually two episodes airing today and tomorrow that all his demons aren't gone, but he just looks better. He's put on weight, he recently bought his first home, you can see him transitioning from young pop star into a much more mature adult and that's cool to see; but he's not problem free. I think what has changed is that he is more aware of and in touch with his multiple problems at different levels then he was two years ago.

MW: Mental health is obviously such a big issue, really coming to the forefront today. Another issue that's really trending today is vaping. A lot of illnesses are popping up now, what can you guys say about vaping and how it's effected young people and some of the things we're starting to see now as a result?

TS: I think what I've learned especially in the last 12 years hosting The Doctors is that anytime a new device or anytime anything new comes on the market, the initial reaction is "Cool, this awesome." I think with vaping, we all got trapped in this false sense of 'this is safe' and kids, particularly teenagers with the flavored vaping devices it became the trendy cool thing to do. Young people are going into the bathrooms and everyone's in there vaping and we didn't realize until now how damaging it can be. The biggest thing I think, Drew and I were talking about this is we don't why all these pulmonary issues are coming about. Why right now? We're talking about people dying from these severe lung illnesses. Is it a chemical in the pods? We don't know and that to me is the scariest part.

AO: And that's a problem when you're vaping you don't know what has been added to that formula. In each case it's a little bit different, but it's those micro-particles that are getting into the lungs and causing some sort of inflammatory reaction and you know the manufactures of these things are really enticing the kids. Travis eluded to that, they make it look like it's so cool, they create devices that don't look like vaping devices. Parents may not even pick up what they're kids are really getting into. I think it's a real wake up call, it is not safe, and parents really need to be vigilant and watch their kids.

MW: Absolutely, and thank you both so much for your time today. All the best with the rest of the season moving forward

AO: Thank you!

TS: Thanks Matt, take care!

Tune in to all new episodes of The Doctors weekdays on your local carrier. Check your local listings for more information.

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