Breast Cancer At 23 With Justine
Meet Justine. She is a 10-year breast cancer survivor, a psychology professor, and a certified yoga teacher. She runs the Instagram account @yogawithjus, where she shares about her survivorship, flattie fashion and holds weekly meditation for the breast cancer community. In this episode, Justine shares with us what it was like being diagnosed at just 23 years old such as navigating college full-time while undergoing treatment and the lack of resources for young women with breast cancer. Now in her early 30s, she shares the difficult decision to remove her breast implants and opt to go flat (aesthetic flat closure surgery).

Meet Rosalina and Shauna, two young millennials living on separate coasts who share real stories about their breast cancer diagnosis. We created this podcast to bring awareness of this disease to young women and create a supportive space where no one is alone on this journey. We dive deep into our treatment plans, journeys, struggles, and mental health while navigating life in this “new” normal. With every episode, our mission is to educate, empower, connect, and bring laughter. We are open and honest about our experiences and committed to learning and growing right alongside you. Welcome to our community! Join us for new episodes every Thursday! Any questions or thoughts, contact us through tyftspodcast@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram, @tyftspodcast. Visit our website at http://www.tyftspodcast.com Special thanks to Brooke Chislock @Soul_Designco for our cover art.
Meet Justine. She is a 10-year breast cancer survivor, a psychology professor, and a certified yoga teacher. She runs the Instagram account @yogawithjus, where she shares about her survivorship, flattie fashion and holds weekly meditation for the breast cancer community. In this episode, Justine shares with us what it was like being diagnosed at just 23 years old such as navigating college full-time while undergoing treatment and the lack of resources for young women with breast cancer. Now in her early 30s, she shares the difficult decision to remove her breast implants and opt to go flat.
Justine’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yogawithjus/
Email List for Breast Cancer Meditation Group/Other Yoga Offerings: http://eepurl.com/hVRzar
Resources mentioned:
Pride Retreat: https://www.instagram.com/pride_retreat/?hl=en
Not Putting on a Shirt: https://notputtingonashirt.org/
If you enjoy this episode, please share it with your friends. Help us reach more women by subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and YouTube.
You can follow us on Instagram @TYFTSpodcast and email us at tyftspodcast@gmail.com.
Visit our website, and check out our resources: https://tyftspodcast.com/

Resources
Pride Retreat: https://www.instagram.com/pride_retreat/?hl=en
Not Putting on a Shirt: https://notputtingonashirt.org/
Transcript
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I remember thinking, well, if I make it to 30, I’m going to be stoked.
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I made it to 30.
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Now I’m looking to 40 and I’m like, all right, let’s go to 40.
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Hi everyone.
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Welcome to season two.
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This is Shauna.
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And this is Rosalina.
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And we’re your hosts for Too Young for This Shit podcast.
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This podcast is not just about boobs, but a journey with cancer.
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We are young millennials open about giving you our raw and unfiltered look into our lives.
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We are in no way medical professionals, nor are we offering medical advice.
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Any medical references are cited directly from public websites or form our personal
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diagnosis.
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Some topics and stories may be triggering to those who are fighting, have fought, or
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have loved someone with cancer.
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Hi everyone.
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This is Rosalina.
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And this is Shauna.
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Welcome back to the Too Young for This Show podcast.
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Our guest today is Justine, a social psychologist, college professor, and a certified yoga teacher.
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She runs an Instagram account called Yoga with Just where she shares about her survivorship
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and holds weekly meditation for the breast cancer community.
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Hi Justine.
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Thank you so much for joining us.
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Thank you so much for having me.
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I’m really excited to be here.
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Yes.
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I am so excited to just like dive into your journey.
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But before we do that, can you tell the listeners just a little bit about yourself, just not
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cancer related, you know, like your age, career, interests, hobbies?
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Yeah.
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So I’m originally from Connecticut, but I’m currently living in Rhode Island.
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I’ve been in Rhode Island for over a decade now.
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And I’m 33 and a psychology professor, as you noted.
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And so I’ve been doing that for over five years now after I got my PhD in psychology.
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And interests and hobbies, you know, we’ll talk a little bit about the yoga meditation
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stuff later.
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But I also love to cook.
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So I like trying different recipes, especially after cancer.
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Like I really got into just trying new and different ways of enjoying like nutrition.
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So like different vegan dishes and that to be said, I don’t solely eat vegan.
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I’m a person that feels really strongly about moderation is key for me.
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And so, yeah, hiking.
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We love to hike with our dog.
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We have a dog named Maddie and we have two ferrets.
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Their names are May and Watts and they’re really curious and silly.
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When I, sorry, short story.
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When I was a kid, I had a friend who had a ferret and I thought it was the coolest thing
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ever.
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They’re really sweet.
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Yeah, they are.
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They really are.
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My sister wanted one so bad, but I think like in New York, they’re illegal.
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You can’t have them as pets in New York.
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Yeah.
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In certain states, they’re illegal or they’re like really regulated because they’re exotics.
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So it’s really weird.
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So Justine, let’s just get into your cancer diagnosis.
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At 23 years old, you were diagnosed with breast cancer and that was 10 years ago.
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But before we get into your cancer story, at that age, what did you know about breast
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cancer?
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Oh God, nothing.
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Literally, I mean, when I say nothing, I had no family history.
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I didn’t know anyone.
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I heard a friend’s aunt or grandma passed away or something right from cancer, but it
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was women in their 60s and 70s, not people my age and nothing like that.
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So I had no idea about really any of it.
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The only stories I knew were people who had passed and those were people who were very
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tangentially associated.
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I was associated with.
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So really no nothing.
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And that’s so important to say because this is just like a judgment free zone.
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I did not, I didn’t know much about breast cancer either.
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It wasn’t talked about in school and just people around me.
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And like you mentioned, the only time you heard about breast cancer is that it happens
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to women over 40.
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Unfortunately, it can happen to anyone.
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Now jumping into your cancer journey, take us through the beginning, starting with how
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you found your lump.
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Yeah.
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So I was, like I said, 23, I just finished my first year of grad school.
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So I was like trying to use the summer to like get ahead on my master’s thesis proposal
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and try to even graduate early.
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I was, you know, I was ahead of the game and I kind of found my lump by chance in the shower.
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So just to be very clear and open, you know, I wasn’t doing self exams because I wasn’t
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normalized.
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That wasn’t a thing that was like, Hey, you should be doing this and you know, feel it
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on the first.
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Those things were just not conversations had in any sort of space.
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Right.
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To do it monthly.
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Yeah.
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My breast exam happened when I went to my like annual gynecology appointment.
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And like that was when you had your breast exam done.
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Exactly.
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And that was it.
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And so, you know, I wasn’t super concerned.
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You know, the first thing I did, 23, called my mom.
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Hey mom, I felt this lump.
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What do I do?
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And she’s like, well, call your gynecologist.
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And she was really, she’s the one who encouraged me to do that.
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And she wasn’t worried either.
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I mean, but she’s like, you know, you don’t know, let’s just check it out.
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And we actually had a family trip to Vegas scheduled the next week.
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And so I ended up scheduling that appointment for like two weeks after that trip or something,
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because that was just the way the timing was going to work out.
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And I wasn’t really stressing about it.
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I went on that trip.
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There’s pictures of me, like I look back at those pictures.
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I’m smiling.
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Little did I know I had cancer in me, which is wild to think about.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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And so I got back.
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I had the appointment with my gynecologist and he wasn’t really concerned either.
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He said, you know, I think this is like a benign fibroedema.
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You’re young.
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You don’t have a family history.
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You shouldn’t really be concerned.
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And I went back, you know, after I was diagnosed and I actually thanked him because I went
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and he’s like, you know what, let’s send you for an ultrasound just in case.
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Doesn’t hurt to get it looked at and got the ultrasound.
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I remember sitting there and, you know, laying there, my mom went with me because this was
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pre-COVID time, so she was able to do that and because I was really nervous, of course.
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And I remember I think it was either Shauna or Rosalina.
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I can’t remember which one of you had talked about this in your episode, but the silence
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of the technician.
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I remember.
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Yeah, that was me.
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Yeah.
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So silent.
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OK.
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And just the clicking.
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There was so many clicks that they were doing to measure.
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And I remember that.
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That was freaking me out hard.
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Yeah.
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So it was complete silence and, you know, for me, it was like, you know, there was the
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spot where my lump was.
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But then there was the lit up with the calcification.
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So I had all these calcifications in my breast, which is also associated with the breast cancer.
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And she was silent.
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She walked up there and said, I’m going to go get the doctor.
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I said, OK.
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I didn’t like that.
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But I just sat there.
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Yes, that happened to me, too.
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I started crying.
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Yes.
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The radiologist comes back.
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He, you know, my BIRAD score was super high.
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I mean, they were like, yeah, this is probably cancer.
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You were going to obviously send you for a biopsy.
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And I was like, great.
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But we still have to do a mammogram because of insurance purposes, even though it’s very
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likely that it’s cancer.
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So I had to go through the whole mammogram process.
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Glad I never have to do that again, because my gosh, mammograms are terrible.
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And I like so painful.
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I was just talking about this with somebody yesterday.
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Like I’m so glad I was a one and done mammogram participant.
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For real.
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I’m so glad.
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Yeah, I have PTSD thinking about it.
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Oh, yeah.
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And so I had the biopsy like a day or two after that.
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It was on a Friday.
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I remember that because I had to wait the weekend to get my results.
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And they were like, oh, we’re going to see you on Tuesday.
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And I get a call on a Monday and they’re like, hey, we’d really like to see you today.
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Whenever you can come in.
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Yeah.
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You’re the VIP.
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Like literally this language where I’m like, fuck, I have cancer.
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And the moment they called and my parents had gone to work that day because they thought,
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oh, you’re it was summer.
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So I was at my parents’ house and, you know, we’ll be fine and we’ll go tomorrow to the
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doctor.
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And I call them and I say, you need to come home.
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We need to go to the doctor.
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And the moment I got that call, I actually got a call from my gynecologist office and
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they called me about support groups, which nothing had been official.
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Yeah, I don’t think there was anything like they didn’t know.
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They just wanted to make sure I had support, I think.
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But that was the moment I somehow knew.
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And I dropped.
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I think in a movie, I tell people this all the time, like it was in a like I dropped
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the phone and I started screaming like I and I when I say I screamed like it was a visceral
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reaction of what is happening.
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Like I literally went into some sort of fused state of screaming and my sister was home.
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She’s 19 and she literally was like, are you okay?
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Like she didn’t know what to do.
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She’s like, are you like what’s happening?
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And you know, then I calmed down.
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I explained what was happening.
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And by the time we got to the breast surgeon’s office and she told me, she’s like, okay,
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you know, you have DCIS, which is what they I was initially diagnosed as.
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And I was really stoic.
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My mom’s crying.
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And I’m like, all right, so we’re going to take them both.
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Let’s do it.
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And she was like, oh, okay.
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But I think I had like had the the visceral reaction prior.
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So I was very like, okay, put on the game face kind of thing.
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Yeah, like survival mode kicked in.
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Like, now what?
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What’s next?
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Yeah, yep.
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Exactly.
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And so yeah, so I chose to have a bilateral mastectomy since I was small chested to begin
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with after surgery.
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They got clear margins, but my lymph nodes came back as partially positive.
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And so I had to do chemotherapy.
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So I didn’t have to do radiation, but I did have to do chemotherapy.
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And I did go for a second opinion at Dana-Farber to see if like I qualified for any clinical
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trials, all that kind of jazz.
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At the time there was none because I was pretty like, I don’t want to say a standard case
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because of my age, I wasn’t but because of the profile, right?
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I was ER positive, PR positive, HER2 negative.
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And highly of the other two, like really high of PR and PR positive.
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So they were kind of like, well, we’re really just going to recommend ACT, so Adromycin
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Cytoxin and the Taxol.
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And so because it was pretty standard and there was no clinical trials for me at the
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time, I said, you know what?
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I would rather just go to my local cancer center where, because my parents were going
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to help care for me through treatment.
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And I said, you know, this will just make things really easier for me.
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So I’m not worrying about like commuting to Boston by myself and just being by alone really
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was the deal.
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So I did that and I again, didn’t have radiation.
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So treatment wise, that was my main kind of deal in terms of initial diagnosis and active
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treatment.
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And then I was on Tamoxifen for seven years.
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How many rounds of chemo did you do?
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So I did Adromycin Cytoxin for four rounds bi-weekly and then I did Taxol for 12 weeks
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weekly.
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Okay.
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So you did 16 rounds like I did, yeah?
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Yep.
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Yep.
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Which is again, pretty standard for like that kind of profiles.
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But at the same time going into it, I had no one who had done chemotherapy.
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So I’m like, okay, I’m going to lose my hair and then what else?
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And no one tells you about all the other things you have to deal with when you’re going through
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chemotherapy.
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Like the new LASTA shots.
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My gosh, I still remember the pain from those new LASTA shots.
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I hate those so much.
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It’s terrible.
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Yeah.
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I have a clear memory of like laying in bed and my legs just throbbing because of the
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bone pain.
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It was terrible.
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I feel like I lived in an Epsom salt bath, at least 12 rounds.
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Oh yeah.
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So what stage were you?
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Oh yeah.
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Gosh, I didn’t even say that.
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So it was originally DCI, yeah.
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So stage zero, but then surgery with the involvement of my lymph nodes, it was stage 1B.
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Just because of the size of my tumor plus the lymph node involvement.
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Yeah.
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I think it’s incredible that you found it early and your doctor just said, hey, let’s
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just get it checked.
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Because if he dismissed that, then your stage could have been worse.
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Oh gosh, yeah.
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Well, and that’s not funny.
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It’s actually a sad story, but I distinctly remember.
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So my breast surgeon, after I had gotten my diagnosis, and she literally said, I’m really
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glad your doctor sent you for that ultrasound because other doctors would say, wait six
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months and come back.
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And she had literally had another patient who was 26, only a couple of years older than
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myself at the time, who had just been diagnosed stage four because the doctor had told her
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to wait.
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And that happens scarily more often than we like to believe.
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So that just gave me chills.
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Which is why I went back and thanked my doctor because I was literally like, thank you.
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Because if it wasn’t for you, I don’t think looking back now, it’s like, I wouldn’t have
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been Aaron.
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And again, he was someone who I wouldn’t necessarily classify someone who was like, oh, I’m going
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to do this and be an advocate for young women or anything.
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He was just kind of a chill older male gynecologist who was really sweet.
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And so yeah, really good doctor.
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I was really lucky in that regard.
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After you were diagnosed, I know that you were feeling very distraught and probably
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angry even.
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But did you do any further research or did you just slowly get your information from
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your doctors?
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Yeah.
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So I definitely did a lot of my own research, different forums, different research articles.
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Because as I said, I was in grad school.
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So I was that nerd who was literally reading medical journals and coming in and being like,
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oh, well, this is what the research said.
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And they were like, wait, you read that?
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And I was like, yes, I did.
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And so especially early on, I think as time has gone on, done less of that.
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I still keep up on things, but it’s to a lesser degree.
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But early on, I really dived in deep because it was the way I coped, really.
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That’s how I coped to.
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I need to know a lot of things.
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And I would ask more deeper questions just so I can kind of get a sense of like, is the
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oncologist or is the surgeon saying this because that’s just the protocol?
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Or did they really believe that in my case that this should be what it needs to be?
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Exactly.
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You just need to know everything too.
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I need to expect everything and I need to be fully informed before I go into a situation.
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In anything, whether it’s like cancer or anything.
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So I’m like that as well.
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But it’s also just like taking charge, right?
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Taking charge of your health.
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It’s a control piece.
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Yeah.
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And I think too, where so much feels out of control.
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So I talked about feeling overwhelmed and all of that and angry.
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And I think that was my way of taking control.
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Well, one of the ways is, okay, you know what?
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I can’t change what’s happening, but I can change the fact that I have knowledge about
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it and better inform myself.
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And to me, that was helpful.
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Yeah.
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And I mean, when I was 23, I felt like a naive person at that age.
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And I’m sure there’s just a lot of women who probably felt that way too.
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But I’m so glad that you’ve just mentioned that you just took action because there should
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be more young women to say like, no, I don’t agree with this.
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Or no, I want to get it checked out.
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Something is unusual and I disagree that we should wait six months.
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I think we should advocate more for sure.
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And also normalize the fact too really quickly that if my doctor had told me that day, go
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home, I’ll see you in six months.
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Or if it gets worse, I would have went home, peace of mind.
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So I want to normalize that too because I think I had a lot of more implicit faith and
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trust in my doctors because you don’t know better until you know.
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And if you know, you know kind of thing.
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And so I didn’t know.
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And I think I would have left that day feeling okay about that.
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And again, now I wouldn’t be that person.
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But also normalizing if someone ends up being that person and then they find out something
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later on, that’s also like that happens.
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And you can’t blame yourself either.
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What we can do is also teach doctors to be more informed that this happens in young women.
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And so just kind of normalizing that from the patient end of things, because I think
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sometimes it’s like we can advocate for ourselves and that we should 100% advocate for ourselves.
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And then also if we don’t have the tools to do so, our doctors should be the ones advocating
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for us.
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Yeah, like you said, like you went in, like that’s a medical professional.
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Somebody who like went to school had got the education to kind of tell me what’s going
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on in my body.
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So yeah, I would have left their peace of mind trusting that, you know, like I did what
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I was supposed to do.
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I went, I got this checked out and for somebody to tell me, yeah, like see you in six months,
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I’d be like, yeah, see you in six months.
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And I also wanting to believe that this isn’t like something so serious.
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So I know that you mentioned that, you know, at 23, you were starting graduate school.
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At that time in the financial aspect of things, were you still financially dependent on your
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parents or were you able to find like a job and get health insurance to your employment?
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Just walk us through that.
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Yeah.
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So I want to say, I always tell them like, I want to say I was lucky, but I’m thankful
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that I was in graduate school at the time because of the fact that since I was still
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a student under Obamacare, I was able to be insured under my parents, even though, because
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I was a student.
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I had a part-time position, like I was like all my bills and things, like I paid myself.
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But in terms of health insurance, that was still through my parents because I was able
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to have that till I was 26.
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It was amazing because my mom worked at the time.
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Since I was a kid, she’s worked in admin assistant roles in education.
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And so she worked at that time for a middle school and her health insurance was amazing
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through the state of Connecticut.
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And so I didn’t have the medical bills that other people were having.
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So I didn’t have to go through the GoFundMe or those kind of things because I felt like
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I was in a place where I didn’t have that.
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I did and I do have student loans, but I didn’t have that plus medical bills.
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And so I’m really thankful that I was in that place because of it.
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00:18:31,780 –> 00:18:33,360
But then there’s that, where’s that weird transition?
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When I turned 26 and I said, okay, now I’m on not so good graduate student insurance.
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I hope I don’t get sick again over these next whatever the time period until I get
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employed and finish my degree.
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I was lucky that wasn’t the case, but that was a concern I had for quite some time during
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that, any time I had health concerns.
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Yeah, of course.
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I mean, after a cancer diagnosis, you’re like, anything can happen.
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Yeah.
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Well, that and making decisions based off health insurance.
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Having to do things like get a domestic partnership like what I did in order to get my partner’s
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really good health insurance and things like that.
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You start making those decisions.
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And just to kind of relate to that.
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So when I turned, when I finished my PhD, I was going on the job market.
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And at the time I was like not sure if I was going to have a job.
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And so I wasn’t going to have health insurance.
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And so my partner and I had gotten engaged.
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Him and I had gotten engaged like six months prior and we actually moved, like we got married
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sooner because we wanted to make sure I had health insurance.
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Everyone was like, oh, are you pregnant?
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I’m like, no, I need health insurance.
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And he understands that and wants to make sure I’m cared for.
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And so we got married a little bit earlier to ensure that I was insured.
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Although I worked out, I ended up getting a position where I got better health insurance
400
00:19:50,320 –> 00:19:52,600
shortly after that, but we didn’t know that.
401
00:19:52,600 –> 00:19:58,080
And so we made sure I was in a place where I was always insured because that was a concern.
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00:19:58,080 –> 00:20:00,960
Your husband, was he with you when you were, when you were you guys together, when you
403
00:20:00,960 –> 00:20:01,960
were diagnosed?
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00:20:01,960 –> 00:20:02,960
No.
405
00:20:02,960 –> 00:20:08,040
So I was, I was in a relationship, but you know, that part and I just didn’t work out.
406
00:20:08,040 –> 00:20:11,960
And so I had met him actually shortly after I had finished chemotherapy.
407
00:20:11,960 –> 00:20:14,320
So he had actually met me with like my hair wrap and everything.
408
00:20:14,320 –> 00:20:18,680
He was on an interview for our PhD program and that’s where we met.
409
00:20:18,680 –> 00:20:22,280
And then we became acquainted shortly after and probably dated like a year after that.
410
00:20:22,280 –> 00:20:26,080
But yeah, so I, he’s known me only with my scars only.
411
00:20:26,080 –> 00:20:31,440
I had the note about that at some point through this, but I’ll maybe bring it up later.
412
00:20:31,440 –> 00:20:38,400
You know, we had a conversation, a Zoom meeting together prior to recording this episode.
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And you mentioned that while you were going through chemotherapy, you still continued
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your graduate program.
415
00:20:45,920 –> 00:20:52,520
Can you tell the listeners like, how did you have the strength to continue that?
416
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For me, I really needed something to focus on.
417
00:20:54,660 –> 00:20:58,680
So the month between, so I was diagnosed July 30th, 2012.
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I had surgery August 8th, and then I was recovering from surgery.
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And I will tell you, during that time, I just, I was like ruminating a lot, like right of
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everything I was dealing with.
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And I just felt like, and I didn’t have an outlet because I didn’t know anyone my age.
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So I really didn’t have an outlet of like support in that way.
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And so I felt like continuing my education gave me something to focus on.
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It’s also just very on brand for me as a person.
425
00:21:26,120 –> 00:21:29,400
I’m very much a person who kind of goes, goes, goes.
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I’ve slowed down in more recent years as I’ve reflected on the importance of rest.
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But when I was 23, that was not a thing I prioritize, which most 23 year olds don’t.
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It was helpful.
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00:21:41,040 –> 00:21:43,240
It was a focus point for me.
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And so I think the downtime was harder.
431
00:21:46,040 –> 00:21:51,440
And so school really gave me an outlet to focus because besides my family, I was really,
432
00:21:51,440 –> 00:21:53,960
felt really alone through the experience.
433
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Did you get any like assistance from your university or college professors?
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I’m just wondering if like they, I don’t know, like understood what you’re going through
435
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or if you mentioned to them that you’re going through chemotherapy.
436
00:22:08,000 –> 00:22:09,000
Yeah.
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00:22:09,000 –> 00:22:14,560
So it was really interesting because my department specifically, there was actually several cancer
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survivor like breast cancer survivors in that department.
439
00:22:17,400 –> 00:22:21,080
It was just, it was actually this like whole thing, but either way they, there were several
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00:22:21,080 –> 00:22:22,080
of them.
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00:22:22,080 –> 00:22:23,080
So they were really supportive.
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00:22:23,080 –> 00:22:27,240
And my specifically, my mentor, my, what we call my major professor, the person who like
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guided me through grad school was really supportive.
444
00:22:30,720 –> 00:22:34,080
You know, he actually encouraged me to take a year off and I said, no, that’s not going
445
00:22:34,080 –> 00:22:35,080
to work for me.
446
00:22:35,080 –> 00:22:39,920
And he wasn’t too surprised knowing who I am, but instead I scaled back.
447
00:22:39,920 –> 00:22:46,260
As I said, I took two classes instead of like three or four and I scaled back my teaching.
448
00:22:46,260 –> 00:22:49,340
So I made my schedule Tuesdays, the Thursdays.
449
00:22:49,340 –> 00:22:52,440
So I kept my schedule really constrained where I had to be on campus.
450
00:22:52,440 –> 00:22:54,380
Cause again, this was pre COVID time.
451
00:22:54,380 –> 00:22:58,240
So you weren’t like the working from home thing was just not a normalized thing you
452
00:22:58,240 –> 00:22:59,440
were doing.
453
00:22:59,440 –> 00:23:04,640
And so Tuesdays and Thursdays I would be on campus taking classes at my like grad school
454
00:23:04,640 –> 00:23:05,640
apartment.
455
00:23:05,640 –> 00:23:10,080
I would actually, cause I wanted to be able to take, be cared for during like after a
456
00:23:10,080 –> 00:23:11,080
post chemo.
457
00:23:11,080 –> 00:23:17,560
So I would go home to Connecticut on Friday mornings, get treatment that like afternoon.
458
00:23:17,560 –> 00:23:20,640
And then I would spend the weekend with my family and go back to school, up to school
459
00:23:20,640 –> 00:23:25,680
on Mondays in Rhode Island and then continue that process again and again for the 20 weeks
460
00:23:25,680 –> 00:23:27,040
or whatever.
461
00:23:27,040 –> 00:23:32,120
And so yeah, it was a lot, but you know.
462
00:23:32,120 –> 00:23:36,040
Like at first it sounded like you gave yourself grace, but then at the end it did sound like
463
00:23:36,040 –> 00:23:37,040
it was a lot.
464
00:23:37,040 –> 00:23:40,440
So did you feel like it was in between or did you have to adjust?
465
00:23:40,440 –> 00:23:42,680
Yeah, I think there, it was hard.
466
00:23:42,680 –> 00:23:45,640
Like there were days where I should have been kinder to myself.
467
00:23:45,640 –> 00:23:47,000
Like I think in hindsight, right?
468
00:23:47,000 –> 00:23:48,000
Hindsight is 2020.
469
00:23:48,000 –> 00:23:52,480
So looking back, I’m like, wow, I know I should have been kinder to my 23 year old self, but
470
00:23:52,480 –> 00:23:54,360
I didn’t really know better.
471
00:23:54,360 –> 00:23:58,260
And there was a time where I kind of lauded myself for saying, I never missed a class.
472
00:23:58,260 –> 00:24:02,240
And I looked back and I’m like, that’s, you probably should have missed it.
473
00:24:02,240 –> 00:24:03,240
Okay.
474
00:24:03,240 –> 00:24:05,000
Everyone would have been fine if you missed the class.
475
00:24:05,000 –> 00:24:10,760
But I remember because there was one day where I, I tried to stay away from caffeine during
476
00:24:10,760 –> 00:24:16,200
treatment and you know, my nurse practitioner was like, you know, if you need a coffee once
477
00:24:16,200 –> 00:24:19,480
in a while, it’s fine, but you really should try to like minimize your caffeine intake.
478
00:24:19,480 –> 00:24:20,920
And I said, cool.
479
00:24:20,920 –> 00:24:24,280
And I remember this one day and I kind of like, was like, oh, I need a latte.
480
00:24:24,280 –> 00:24:27,400
I’m not going to make it through this three hour class if I don’t have this latte.
481
00:24:27,400 –> 00:24:30,080
And it was like, it tasted like liquid gold that day.
482
00:24:30,080 –> 00:24:31,080
Yeah.
483
00:24:31,080 –> 00:24:34,640
I just like really needed it.
484
00:24:34,640 –> 00:24:38,200
But I think a lot of it was like, I brought just like a lot of snacks and I, you know,
485
00:24:38,200 –> 00:24:39,200
again, we weren’t massed.
486
00:24:39,200 –> 00:24:43,120
So I was just sitting there with like grapes or something, just trying to like stay awake.
487
00:24:43,120 –> 00:24:44,120
Right.
488
00:24:44,120 –> 00:24:47,200
And people were understanding and I think people were actually more understanding than
489
00:24:47,200 –> 00:24:49,480
I think I was to myself during a lot of that.
490
00:24:49,480 –> 00:24:53,160
Because again, when you’re young, you expect yourself to be doing a lot and kind of going
491
00:24:53,160 –> 00:24:57,320
and, and I was, I don’t, I think I could have just been kinder to myself.
492
00:24:57,320 –> 00:25:00,400
But again, I, you know better now as time goes by.
493
00:25:00,400 –> 00:25:01,400
Yeah.
494
00:25:01,400 –> 00:25:02,400
Yeah, exactly.
495
00:25:02,400 –> 00:25:07,600
Did you keep your breast cancer journey private or were you open about your story with your
496
00:25:07,600 –> 00:25:11,520
family and friends or like people in college?
497
00:25:11,520 –> 00:25:16,360
When I was diagnosed, like I tried wigs and I looked ridiculous in them friends.
498
00:25:16,360 –> 00:25:21,960
Like I looked like, I think it’s just because I had like, I especially pre chemo, like I
499
00:25:21,960 –> 00:25:24,680
had a really petite face, like, you know, and all of that.
500
00:25:24,680 –> 00:25:26,640
And I just, it did not work.
501
00:25:26,640 –> 00:25:29,680
And so I did the caps and I did the wraps and I did all those things because it was
502
00:25:29,680 –> 00:25:32,280
winter when I was going through a majority of my treatment.
503
00:25:32,280 –> 00:25:36,920
So I needed that, but there was no way I was hiding this pretty much.
504
00:25:36,920 –> 00:25:38,560
Like people were going to know something was up.
505
00:25:38,560 –> 00:25:44,400
And so I was pretty open about it and I said to myself, it was kind of a self conversation
506
00:25:44,400 –> 00:25:45,400
at the start.
507
00:25:45,400 –> 00:25:50,880
And I said, you’re not going to be ashamed of this because you shouldn’t be, and you’re
508
00:25:50,880 –> 00:25:54,920
going to be open about it to the extent that you feel comfortable being open about it.
509
00:25:54,920 –> 00:25:57,600
And so, you know, I did tell people, Hey, I’m going through treatment.
510
00:25:57,600 –> 00:25:58,600
This is what’s happening.
511
00:25:58,600 –> 00:26:02,560
And it’s really funny because, and I know this will tie into the next piece we want
512
00:26:02,560 –> 00:26:06,760
to talk about, but you know, Instagram was like, just became a thing in 2012.
513
00:26:06,760 –> 00:26:09,000
And so a lot of my sharing was really on Facebook.
514
00:26:09,000 –> 00:26:11,940
And so of course now Facebook has those Facebook memories.
515
00:26:11,940 –> 00:26:17,240
And so those things will pop up where, and it’s just like me like venting about how like
516
00:26:17,240 –> 00:26:21,360
chemo sucks and the new last of pain and that I’m tired.
517
00:26:21,360 –> 00:26:26,440
And so I did share those things because I wanted to normalize it, especially during
518
00:26:26,440 –> 00:26:27,440
treatment.
519
00:26:27,440 –> 00:26:31,760
And it was partly because I didn’t also want to have to call family or friends to like
520
00:26:31,760 –> 00:26:33,400
keep everyone in the loop.
521
00:26:33,400 –> 00:26:38,120
And you know, I was, I didn’t have the capacity for like a caring bridge or whatever, you
522
00:26:38,120 –> 00:26:40,760
know, sort of site thing to like update people.
523
00:26:40,760 –> 00:26:43,200
And so I was kind of like, you can check my Facebook.
524
00:26:43,200 –> 00:26:46,860
This is where I think about my life and the venting and things.
525
00:26:46,860 –> 00:26:51,560
And so I did, I was pretty open about it, but I also, I think during treatment, I was
526
00:26:51,560 –> 00:26:56,760
more open than post-treatment about how difficult it was.
527
00:26:56,760 –> 00:27:00,800
Just because I think it’s easy because people see you and they, they’re, you’re bald and
528
00:27:00,800 –> 00:27:02,040
you’re like, yeah, this is hard.
529
00:27:02,040 –> 00:27:05,400
And they’re like, oh yeah, it must be hard because they see you as bald.
530
00:27:05,400 –> 00:27:09,240
But once your hair starts to grow back and everyone’s like, you’re fine.
531
00:27:09,240 –> 00:27:10,240
Must be great now.
532
00:27:10,240 –> 00:27:11,240
Yay.
533
00:27:11,240 –> 00:27:14,480
And you’re like, no, that’s not how this works.
534
00:27:14,480 –> 00:27:15,480
But okay.
535
00:27:15,480 –> 00:27:18,800
And so you stop telling people because you feel like you’re, especially early on, I felt
536
00:27:18,800 –> 00:27:23,240
like I was burdening people by bringing it up when again, I was struggling for quite
537
00:27:23,240 –> 00:27:24,240
some time.
538
00:27:24,240 –> 00:27:30,800
So there was like a couple of things that you mentioned, like one, not being ashamed
539
00:27:30,800 –> 00:27:33,160
of what you’re going through.
540
00:27:33,160 –> 00:27:36,520
And I love that.
541
00:27:36,520 –> 00:27:41,480
Honestly, love that because like, if you don’t tell that to yourself, it’s just going to
542
00:27:41,480 –> 00:27:44,840
get even worse when you go through the process.
543
00:27:44,840 –> 00:27:48,680
Secondly, I mean about post-treatment, it’s so true.
544
00:27:48,680 –> 00:27:50,920
Like I’m currently going through that process.
545
00:27:50,920 –> 00:27:57,840
Shana is going through that process where we may look fine, but honestly, like with
546
00:27:57,840 –> 00:28:03,120
the medication and just the post-treatment fatigue and all that, you went through this
547
00:28:03,120 –> 00:28:06,400
like sprint of surgery, chemotherapy.
548
00:28:06,400 –> 00:28:14,400
I know you didn’t do radiation, but just like going through all of that and then your
549
00:28:14,400 –> 00:28:16,560
doctors say, okay, bye.
550
00:28:16,560 –> 00:28:17,560
See ya.
551
00:28:17,560 –> 00:28:19,080
And you’re like, oh shit.
552
00:28:19,080 –> 00:28:21,000
I don’t even know how to…
553
00:28:21,000 –> 00:28:22,000
Yeah.
554
00:28:22,000 –> 00:28:25,040
You feel like you’re dropped in the ocean and they’re like, okay, you’re going to drown
555
00:28:25,040 –> 00:28:26,040
now.
556
00:28:26,040 –> 00:28:27,040
Have fun.
557
00:28:27,040 –> 00:28:28,040
I love that.
558
00:28:28,040 –> 00:28:30,920
Like you’re literally on this beautiful like cruise ship through treatment where you’re
559
00:28:30,920 –> 00:28:33,120
held and supported.
560
00:28:33,120 –> 00:28:36,680
I literally had this like written down somewhere because I was like, that’s what it feels like
561
00:28:36,680 –> 00:28:40,040
like you’re on this like beautiful cruise ship of what do you need?
562
00:28:40,040 –> 00:28:41,280
How are you doing?
563
00:28:41,280 –> 00:28:42,280
What do you like?
564
00:28:42,280 –> 00:28:43,280
All of those things.
565
00:28:43,280 –> 00:28:47,720
And then the moment, I mean, it’s literally the moment they, they huck you overboard and
566
00:28:47,720 –> 00:28:49,520
they so say, figure it out.
567
00:28:49,520 –> 00:28:52,520
And you’re like, what do I figure out?
568
00:28:52,520 –> 00:28:53,800
How do I live my life?
569
00:28:53,800 –> 00:28:58,560
They’re not even giving me any sort of guidance of how do I live the rest?
570
00:28:58,560 –> 00:29:05,320
And that’s the hard part is it’s not, how do I live the next 20 years of my life?
571
00:29:05,320 –> 00:29:08,640
How do I live the next 40, 50, 60 years of my life?
572
00:29:08,640 –> 00:29:13,040
Because I’m 20 something when I’m diagnosed that I hope to live.
573
00:29:13,040 –> 00:29:15,760
And then it’s like, here’s this hormone blocking med.
574
00:29:15,760 –> 00:29:16,760
Take it.
575
00:29:16,760 –> 00:29:17,760
These are the symptoms.
576
00:29:17,760 –> 00:29:20,000
There’s not really much else we could do.
577
00:29:20,000 –> 00:29:21,000
Bye.
578
00:29:21,000 –> 00:29:26,160
And then you’re like, oh my God, now I have to like manage all of the symptoms and things
579
00:29:26,160 –> 00:29:28,020
that come with this.
580
00:29:28,020 –> 00:29:30,560
And there’s really like not a ton of support.
581
00:29:30,560 –> 00:29:33,760
And then there’s not enough to have conversation about what those symptoms look like.
582
00:29:33,760 –> 00:29:35,440
Like, yeah, they talk about the hot flashes.
583
00:29:35,440 –> 00:29:36,440
Sure.
584
00:29:36,440 –> 00:29:41,600
Hot flashes, some of the like sexual dysfunction stuff or whatever, you know, like I had nausea,
585
00:29:41,600 –> 00:29:47,560
I had joint pain, like all these things that were not really actively discussed with me.
586
00:29:47,560 –> 00:29:50,000
Like, Hey, this is going to happen, maybe.
587
00:29:50,000 –> 00:29:52,720
And are these the things that could happen to you?
588
00:29:52,720 –> 00:29:56,640
And so I was having these pains thinking, oh my gosh, is cancer back?
589
00:29:56,640 –> 00:29:57,640
Was this this?
590
00:29:57,640 –> 00:30:01,880
And it’s like a lot of that stuff ended up being symptoms because of tamoxifen.
591
00:30:01,880 –> 00:30:05,600
It’s the year of 2012 and you were told you had breast cancer.
592
00:30:05,600 –> 00:30:12,900
As an AYA, how were you able to find resources and support groups of young adult women with
593
00:30:12,900 –> 00:30:14,420
breast cancer?
594
00:30:14,420 –> 00:30:15,920
If there was any?
595
00:30:15,920 –> 00:30:16,920
Yeah.
596
00:30:16,920 –> 00:30:22,800
So a lot of the resources for me at the time largely consisted of people who didn’t really
597
00:30:22,800 –> 00:30:25,160
look like me, whether it was in person or online.
598
00:30:25,160 –> 00:30:30,280
So like I think about my cancer center, youngest one there didn’t see anyone remotely my age,
599
00:30:30,280 –> 00:30:31,880
even if it was a different cancer.
600
00:30:31,880 –> 00:30:35,840
I remember specifically going to like a feel good, look better, like event where, you know,
601
00:30:35,840 –> 00:30:39,400
they give you the makeup and you do the hair and like, or the hair, but the makeup stuff.
602
00:30:39,400 –> 00:30:42,320
And you’re like, oh, that’s going to be nice.
603
00:30:42,320 –> 00:30:48,760
And again, youngest, like by a little Hong shot there, even online, you know, I joined
604
00:30:48,760 –> 00:30:53,480
different breast cancer forums because that’s really where a lot of even Facebook groups
605
00:30:53,480 –> 00:30:55,720
weren’t as active as they are today.
606
00:30:55,720 –> 00:31:00,200
Like it’s, you know, it was really like breast cancer.org.
607
00:31:00,200 –> 00:31:03,440
Like there was different forums on there where you found yourself just like chatting with
608
00:31:03,440 –> 00:31:05,360
people late at night in these forums.
609
00:31:05,360 –> 00:31:07,520
And a lot of these women were much older than me.
610
00:31:07,520 –> 00:31:11,560
No one was really my age, but they, so they, a lot of them viewed me and they tell me that,
611
00:31:11,560 –> 00:31:14,360
you know, I’ve connected with, I’ve stayed connected with a lot of them over the years
612
00:31:14,360 –> 00:31:18,840
where, you know, I’m kind of their like cancer daughter, but I’m not, it’s not, it’s not
613
00:31:18,840 –> 00:31:23,800
a peer, you know, it’s, it’s someone who I look to in a different way.
614
00:31:23,800 –> 00:31:27,480
My mom did have a friend who worked for the American Cancer Society in Connecticut.
615
00:31:27,480 –> 00:31:31,520
And so she connected me with another young woman who was my age when I was diagnosed.
616
00:31:31,520 –> 00:31:37,040
And so we did stay connected through treatment and it was nice to have that person, but you
617
00:31:37,040 –> 00:31:41,000
know, she was, we were young, so we were both working and like, so I was a full time student
618
00:31:41,000 –> 00:31:45,520
and she was a full time like working because she hadn’t needed health insurance and trying,
619
00:31:45,520 –> 00:31:49,520
she was, she needed to do the GoFundMe’s and stuff because she needed money to pay for
620
00:31:49,520 –> 00:31:50,520
her bills.
621
00:31:50,520 –> 00:31:54,460
And so it was hard to stay connected because she was in Connecticut and I was in Rhode
622
00:31:54,460 –> 00:31:55,460
Island.
623
00:31:55,460 –> 00:32:01,160
So we had some connection, but it was, it was difficult to bond because, and also we
624
00:32:01,160 –> 00:32:02,560
are at different points in our treatment.
625
00:32:02,560 –> 00:32:07,160
So like today, I feel like you can find someone who is going through the exact same treatment
626
00:32:07,160 –> 00:32:11,360
plan at the exact time and doing pretty much the same things you’re doing and you can be
627
00:32:11,360 –> 00:32:15,360
like step, step by step together a lot of the time.
628
00:32:15,360 –> 00:32:16,920
And that just wasn’t the case.
629
00:32:16,920 –> 00:32:20,320
It was, but it was a good friendship to have at the time.
630
00:32:20,320 –> 00:32:22,560
But again, distance made it difficult.
631
00:32:22,560 –> 00:32:27,640
And so that was really before, you know, for many years, that was like my, the one person
632
00:32:27,640 –> 00:32:28,640
I had known.
633
00:32:28,640 –> 00:32:31,480
And then I went like many years, you know, a couple of years after that.
634
00:32:31,480 –> 00:32:34,760
And then, you know, I slowly started to connect to people.
635
00:32:34,760 –> 00:32:40,120
But at the time when I was going in active treatment, I was in it as we like to say in
636
00:32:40,120 –> 00:32:43,200
the cancer community, I really didn’t have like anyone.
637
00:32:43,200 –> 00:32:45,080
I was pretty, I was somewhat alone.
638
00:32:45,080 –> 00:32:49,360
I mean, for the most part, especially during the day to day, you know, it wasn’t someone
639
00:32:49,360 –> 00:32:54,280
I could text at like maybe three in the morning and say, I can’t sleep.
640
00:32:54,280 –> 00:32:56,280
It was just me.
641
00:32:56,280 –> 00:32:58,240
And I can’t even imagine.
642
00:32:58,240 –> 00:33:04,720
Like in the beginning, I felt like super alone, but then gradually with Instagram and then
643
00:33:04,720 –> 00:33:10,360
meeting Shana, I feel like I was able to connect more.
644
00:33:10,360 –> 00:33:16,960
And like, you know, back in 2012, it’s just, I feel like it’s probably super like difficult
645
00:33:16,960 –> 00:33:23,840
for you to go through this journey, technically like alone, essentially, because you were
646
00:33:23,840 –> 00:33:29,880
the only one in your age group, even though you like you met this other person.
647
00:33:29,880 –> 00:33:35,480
But, you know, you guys were just only connecting for like a short period of time.
648
00:33:35,480 –> 00:33:39,040
But what about the long term, you know?
649
00:33:39,040 –> 00:33:40,040
Exactly.
650
00:33:40,040 –> 00:33:46,720
We had got off our initial call and I just remember like texting Rosalina and being like,
651
00:33:46,720 –> 00:33:52,840
I cannot even imagine a being 23 because you and I are the same age.
652
00:33:52,840 –> 00:33:54,820
You know, like I was going to Rhode Island all the time.
653
00:33:54,820 –> 00:33:56,880
My best friend went to college, the same college you went to.
654
00:33:56,880 –> 00:34:01,640
And like, I remember like going there and just like, I don’t want to say reckless, but
655
00:34:01,640 –> 00:34:02,640
like just careless.
656
00:34:02,640 –> 00:34:04,600
Like I can just, you know, you feel you’re almost like invincible.
657
00:34:04,600 –> 00:34:07,880
Like you’re just going out and you have a good time and everyone’s like, you know, you’re
658
00:34:07,880 –> 00:34:11,040
dating and you’re like, just like, it’s just like a different life.
659
00:34:11,040 –> 00:34:17,000
I had a different life at 23 than I do, obviously now at 33, just like the carefreeness.
660
00:34:17,000 –> 00:34:21,080
And then, you know, like I remember being diagnosed and the first thing I did was hit
661
00:34:21,080 –> 00:34:28,040
Facebook groups and did a deep dive on Instagram trying to find like anything, like anything,
662
00:34:28,040 –> 00:34:34,480
you know, any type of support and like to have like none of those resources 10 years
663
00:34:34,480 –> 00:34:35,680
ago.
664
00:34:35,680 –> 00:34:39,680
Like I don’t know if I would have been able, I would have been able to even have gotten
665
00:34:39,680 –> 00:34:40,680
through that.
666
00:34:40,680 –> 00:34:44,340
Like I just, I literally, I thought about you actually after that call for like probably
667
00:34:44,340 –> 00:34:46,200
two hours after we had spoke.
668
00:34:46,200 –> 00:34:50,120
Like I just like couldn’t even, I think I texted, I texted Rosalina.
669
00:34:50,120 –> 00:34:55,400
I just, I can’t, I cannot even fathom at 23 and not, and not having the resources, especially
670
00:34:55,400 –> 00:34:56,400
we do now.
671
00:34:56,400 –> 00:34:59,840
I think too, it’s like, it was just, it’s not even, I think the resources are important.
672
00:34:59,840 –> 00:35:02,320
And then I also just think the models, right?
673
00:35:02,320 –> 00:35:06,520
Like in the sense that like there are now people, whether they’re influencers or not,
674
00:35:06,520 –> 00:35:12,680
like people that are now so vocal about the, the post treatment things.
675
00:35:12,680 –> 00:35:17,160
Like, I mean, when I’m, again, when I was in it, my head was down, your head is down
676
00:35:17,160 –> 00:35:18,160
through it, right?
677
00:35:18,160 –> 00:35:20,120
Like you’re just, you’re just going day to day.
678
00:35:20,120 –> 00:35:25,400
You’re just doing the thing because you don’t really have an option, but it’s when treatment
679
00:35:25,400 –> 00:35:32,040
ends and that moment like hits and you’re like, okay, well, I don’t look like any other
680
00:35:32,040 –> 00:35:33,960
23 year old.
681
00:35:33,960 –> 00:35:36,080
What is my life like now?
682
00:35:36,080 –> 00:35:37,840
And that was harder.
683
00:35:37,840 –> 00:35:43,680
I think that was when not having those types of like normalization of what it was like
684
00:35:43,680 –> 00:35:46,200
was what made it so hard for me.
685
00:35:46,200 –> 00:35:50,720
I think in it was, I don’t want to say it was easier, but I, you know, people say this
686
00:35:50,720 –> 00:35:52,720
all the time, right?
687
00:35:52,720 –> 00:35:55,040
During treatment is always going to be easier than post-treatment.
688
00:35:55,040 –> 00:35:56,720
And it’s true.
689
00:35:56,720 –> 00:36:01,880
Because when you’re in it, not only are you more held by your doctors, but you are also
690
00:36:01,880 –> 00:36:05,920
in a space where you are consistently doing something.
691
00:36:05,920 –> 00:36:10,160
You’re scheduling doctor’s appointments, you’re recovering from surgery, you’re recovering
692
00:36:10,160 –> 00:36:13,600
from chemo, radiation, et cetera, whatever you’re dealing with.
693
00:36:13,600 –> 00:36:19,680
But when you’re not in that, you just, you have time to kind of sit and reflect and say,
694
00:36:19,680 –> 00:36:21,800
what is my life going to look like?
695
00:36:21,800 –> 00:36:23,440
What does that mean for me?
696
00:36:23,440 –> 00:36:25,920
How has this changed everything?
697
00:36:25,920 –> 00:36:27,240
Like you said, you were so careless.
698
00:36:27,240 –> 00:36:31,400
You were so, I was, I think about myself two years prior to that, you know, when I was
699
00:36:31,400 –> 00:36:32,880
in my senior year of college.
700
00:36:32,880 –> 00:36:37,760
I mean, you know, you’re an idiot when you’re just doing stupid things and you’re having
701
00:36:37,760 –> 00:36:38,760
a good time.
702
00:36:38,760 –> 00:36:39,760
And exactly that’s, yeah.
703
00:36:39,760 –> 00:36:45,600
But the moment that like that, everything changed for me.
704
00:36:45,600 –> 00:36:50,680
I mean, I literally, my worldview stopped and said, well, how you saw the world and
705
00:36:50,680 –> 00:36:52,560
how you thought your life was going to look?
706
00:36:52,560 –> 00:36:53,560
Absolutely.
707
00:36:53,560 –> 00:36:54,560
100%.
708
00:36:54,560 –> 00:36:55,560
Yes.
709
00:36:55,560 –> 00:36:58,040
Now, now process that.
710
00:36:58,040 –> 00:37:05,160
Now like 10 years later, let’s just say, how has the breast cancer community changed over
711
00:37:05,160 –> 00:37:06,960
time?
712
00:37:06,960 –> 00:37:12,080
Did you think social media like hugely influenced women sharing their stories online, you know,
713
00:37:12,080 –> 00:37:13,720
especially in young women?
714
00:37:13,720 –> 00:37:17,760
Yeah, I have loved seeing the transformation of that.
715
00:37:17,760 –> 00:37:22,680
Like I, it’s beautiful watching people share their stories, myself included, like it just
716
00:37:22,680 –> 00:37:24,120
sharing the real truth of that.
717
00:37:24,120 –> 00:37:31,040
The hard truths of that is like you said, that cancer, particularly for us that are
718
00:37:31,040 –> 00:37:33,920
in the AYA space is fucking traumatic.
719
00:37:33,920 –> 00:37:34,920
It is a trauma.
720
00:37:34,920 –> 00:37:39,400
Like, let’s just like, and I tell people that all the time I’m like, this is not, oh, you
721
00:37:39,400 –> 00:37:41,400
went through something health wise and you’re over it.
722
00:37:41,400 –> 00:37:46,760
No, this is a trauma that you continue to have to sit and process and deal with forever.
723
00:37:46,760 –> 00:37:48,160
Like it’s just what it is.
724
00:37:48,160 –> 00:37:51,240
And it takes years of your life to process that.
725
00:37:51,240 –> 00:37:54,000
And it’s something that will always be with you in some sort of way.
726
00:37:54,000 –> 00:37:55,000
Yeah.
727
00:37:55,000 –> 00:37:58,120
I have loved seeing that because I love the normalization of that cult.
728
00:37:58,120 –> 00:38:02,380
Like I’m going to say culturally, because I don’t think culturally that has fully shifted,
729
00:38:02,380 –> 00:38:07,960
but I think the more we share our stories as AYA’s, the more we will see a shift in
730
00:38:07,960 –> 00:38:10,440
knowledge that people have about it.
731
00:38:10,440 –> 00:38:14,320
Because even I’ve had conversations with my own family members who were like, I thought
732
00:38:14,320 –> 00:38:16,520
you talked about cancer a lot for like too long.
733
00:38:16,520 –> 00:38:18,560
I thought that was only your only identity.
734
00:38:18,560 –> 00:38:24,960
And I’m like, no, I just want to bring awareness to the fact that this is hard and people need
735
00:38:24,960 –> 00:38:29,520
to understand that this is difficult and that we need to be supportive of the people in
736
00:38:29,520 –> 00:38:31,720
our life.
737
00:38:31,720 –> 00:38:37,640
So we have like our podcast page, but then I have my personal page where like I want
738
00:38:37,640 –> 00:38:45,680
it to be more about me and not about cancer because truthfully and honestly, I felt that
739
00:38:45,680 –> 00:38:50,880
if I talked about cancer too much, that people were just going to be, oh, here we go again,
740
00:38:50,880 –> 00:38:52,640
Rosalina talking about cancer.
741
00:38:52,640 –> 00:38:55,400
And so I just didn’t want that.
742
00:38:55,400 –> 00:38:58,120
Or I guess I didn’t want people to think that.
743
00:38:58,120 –> 00:39:00,080
And social media is one lens, right?
744
00:39:00,080 –> 00:39:03,440
So this was literally the reason I bring it up is because it was a recent conversation
745
00:39:03,440 –> 00:39:08,000
with a close family member of mine who, you know, and that we had a conversation and it
746
00:39:08,000 –> 00:39:12,240
wasn’t like my immediate family, but it was someone who had like tangentially kind of
747
00:39:12,240 –> 00:39:15,320
kept up with me through mostly social media through and stuff.
748
00:39:15,320 –> 00:39:18,800
And so they were like, you know, I shared so much about that and we thought that was
749
00:39:18,800 –> 00:39:19,840
only you.
750
00:39:19,840 –> 00:39:24,080
And I was like, but no, I’m like, that’s one piece of me.
751
00:39:24,080 –> 00:39:27,440
And that’s what I choose to share because I think it’s an important messaging to share.
752
00:39:27,440 –> 00:39:31,040
And I think it’s an important thing to normalize and share.
753
00:39:31,040 –> 00:39:36,800
So, you know, but I, and when I didn’t, there was a time where I did very much kind of what
754
00:39:36,800 –> 00:39:41,400
you did, where I had a page that I just shared about my life and I didn’t share really about
755
00:39:41,400 –> 00:39:42,400
cancer.
756
00:39:42,400 –> 00:39:46,160
And, but then I realized I wasn’t feeling authentic in that for me.
757
00:39:46,160 –> 00:39:49,160
And again, everyone has to make their choice around that, what they want to do with that.
758
00:39:49,160 –> 00:39:55,680
But for me, that didn’t feel authentic because my world was shaken when this happened to
759
00:39:55,680 –> 00:39:57,880
me at 23.
760
00:39:57,880 –> 00:40:02,720
Again it’s changed my whole trajectory of how I view things in my day to day in my life.
761
00:40:02,720 –> 00:40:05,720
I’m okay with that being a part of me.
762
00:40:05,720 –> 00:40:09,640
There was a time where I really resisted that and I kind of denied that piece of cancer
763
00:40:09,640 –> 00:40:12,880
because it was, you know, other people must wanted that for me.
764
00:40:12,880 –> 00:40:14,960
And I said, you know, no.
765
00:40:14,960 –> 00:40:19,200
And that was part of my, my processing of the trauma of saying, this is a part of me
766
00:40:19,200 –> 00:40:20,920
and that is okay.
767
00:40:20,920 –> 00:40:21,960
And that is okay.
768
00:40:21,960 –> 00:40:26,760
And so I have to normalize that, Hey, it’s okay that I have this and that I can talk
769
00:40:26,760 –> 00:40:27,760
about it.
770
00:40:27,760 –> 00:40:32,180
And then also there are all these other things about me as a person that make me wonderful,
771
00:40:32,180 –> 00:40:35,320
but this is also a part of me and that’s okay too.
772
00:40:35,320 –> 00:40:36,320
Yeah.
773
00:40:36,320 –> 00:40:42,560
Like I know that there is like a lot of women who are still very much afraid of sharing
774
00:40:42,560 –> 00:40:45,040
their story online.
775
00:40:45,040 –> 00:40:51,360
And if there is someone out there that knows what you’re going through and then went to
776
00:40:51,360 –> 00:40:57,120
see a doctor or like felt something unusual, they can come to you.
777
00:40:57,120 –> 00:41:02,920
And if they do, like, I think you just accomplished what you were trying to do in the first place
778
00:41:02,920 –> 00:41:04,240
of just raising awareness.
779
00:41:04,240 –> 00:41:05,240
Yep.
780
00:41:05,240 –> 00:41:06,720
I 100% agree.
781
00:41:06,720 –> 00:41:07,760
That ends up being the case.
782
00:41:07,760 –> 00:41:10,800
I don’t know how much that’s happened to both of you because you know, you’re finished the
783
00:41:10,800 –> 00:41:16,760
post-treatment phase and stuff, but over the years, I mean, the number of people, young
784
00:41:16,760 –> 00:41:21,800
people, people that are just cancer, you know, cancer survive, early cancer survivors.
785
00:41:21,800 –> 00:41:26,280
I’ve talked to over the years because I’m the only person that other people know as
786
00:41:26,280 –> 00:41:27,840
a cancer survivor in their life.
787
00:41:27,840 –> 00:41:31,000
So they’re like, Justine, please talk to this person.
788
00:41:31,000 –> 00:41:35,080
And I’m like, you know, of course I’m happy to do that, but it’s nice to be a resource
789
00:41:35,080 –> 00:41:36,180
in that way.
790
00:41:36,180 –> 00:41:42,000
And I think that this whole process, it sucks, but at least I feel like in that way I’m giving
791
00:41:42,000 –> 00:41:43,440
support to other people.
792
00:41:43,440 –> 00:41:47,120
And even, like you said, there’s ways to be supportive without necessarily sharing your
793
00:41:47,120 –> 00:41:48,120
story.
794
00:41:48,120 –> 00:41:49,840
And I think that’s okay too.
795
00:41:49,840 –> 00:41:53,680
And everyone has, again, I said this before, but everyone has to do what fits best for
796
00:41:53,680 –> 00:41:57,920
them because there were many years I didn’t share about my story publicly in any sort
797
00:41:57,920 –> 00:42:00,560
of forum because I didn’t feel safe.
798
00:42:00,560 –> 00:42:02,240
I didn’t feel like that made sense.
799
00:42:02,240 –> 00:42:04,200
There was a lot of reasons for me to do that.
800
00:42:04,200 –> 00:42:05,840
And I now feel in a different place.
801
00:42:05,840 –> 00:42:09,480
So you know, everyone, you know, you make those changes as time goes on too.
802
00:42:09,480 –> 00:42:10,480
Absolutely.
803
00:42:10,480 –> 00:42:14,000
I think even a simple, like, feel it on the first post every month, like it just, if that
804
00:42:14,000 –> 00:42:16,360
reminds one person to do a breast exam.
805
00:42:16,360 –> 00:42:20,480
You know, it doesn’t even have to be like where you’re sharing every aspect of your
806
00:42:20,480 –> 00:42:22,360
life and everything.
807
00:42:22,360 –> 00:42:25,400
It could just, like you said, like figuring out what it is that works for you, that one
808
00:42:25,400 –> 00:42:29,800
small post every month or anything that reminds somebody like, oh, check yourself.
809
00:42:29,800 –> 00:42:33,480
Like I’ve gotten so many messages, like random people too that follow me, like girls I went
810
00:42:33,480 –> 00:42:34,480
to college with.
811
00:42:34,480 –> 00:42:38,880
Like I had something going on and like you made me go want to go get it checked out and
812
00:42:38,880 –> 00:42:41,400
ended up being nothing but like, thank you.
813
00:42:41,400 –> 00:42:47,040
I would never have done it had I not seen that, A, this had happened to you and B, like
814
00:42:47,040 –> 00:42:49,880
posting about it, posting about doing breast exams, doing this, doing that.
815
00:42:49,880 –> 00:42:53,480
So it’s yeah, like just finding what it is, whatever it is that you’re comfortable enough
816
00:42:53,480 –> 00:42:57,040
to share about it, to bring awareness is important.
817
00:42:57,040 –> 00:42:58,600
And sometimes it’s just being yourself too.
818
00:42:58,600 –> 00:43:02,360
So you know, I just, I always want to normalize the sharing of in a way that makes sense for
819
00:43:02,360 –> 00:43:03,360
the person.
820
00:43:03,360 –> 00:43:05,640
And you know, it’s the same idea of when, you know, some people share their scars on
821
00:43:05,640 –> 00:43:10,520
their page and I don’t and I, you know, that that’s my like mind too, and that’s where
822
00:43:10,520 –> 00:43:12,040
I feel comfortable and that’s fine.
823
00:43:12,040 –> 00:43:13,040
Like, right.
824
00:43:13,040 –> 00:43:16,980
And so you do what feels comfortable and but that there’s ways to find that through the
825
00:43:16,980 –> 00:43:19,940
experience too for folks listening, you know.
826
00:43:19,940 –> 00:43:23,900
Let’s move on to your explant surgery that you had recently.
827
00:43:23,900 –> 00:43:29,200
You’ve had a double mastectomy and you had silicone implants for years.
828
00:43:29,200 –> 00:43:34,600
Most recently you shared a vulnerable post on Instagram, letting your followers know
829
00:43:34,600 –> 00:43:41,360
that you didn’t necessarily have a choice whether to go flat or continue to be in pain
830
00:43:41,360 –> 00:43:43,720
by keeping your silicone implants.
831
00:43:43,720 –> 00:43:49,560
What were the factors that helped you make that choice to go flat?
832
00:43:49,560 –> 00:43:51,080
It was something I thought about for a long time.
833
00:43:51,080 –> 00:43:56,720
I mean, Instagram was a big influence for me following people that were younger, not
834
00:43:56,720 –> 00:44:01,600
necessarily my age, but not much older than me sharing about like living flat, living
835
00:44:01,600 –> 00:44:06,280
flat out loud and that you can be beautiful while flat.
836
00:44:06,280 –> 00:44:10,760
It gave me a lot of confidence to do that because I was really, I hemmed and hawed about
837
00:44:10,760 –> 00:44:14,760
it for a long time, like over, you know, a couple of years of time.
838
00:44:14,760 –> 00:44:20,680
I had a revision in 2019 and when I had my implant, I had a capsular contracture, my
839
00:44:20,680 –> 00:44:21,680
implant flipped.
840
00:44:21,680 –> 00:44:26,080
Basically that was the moment where I said I was kind of a realization for me and I said,
841
00:44:26,080 –> 00:44:29,720
you know, if I have another issue with my implants, I’m going to take them out and I’m
842
00:44:29,720 –> 00:44:31,280
probably going to go flat.
843
00:44:31,280 –> 00:44:36,000
But then I developed shortly after I developed lymphedema and there was just all these different
844
00:44:36,000 –> 00:44:39,360
reasons for me that I said, you know, it was the lymphedema.
845
00:44:39,360 –> 00:44:43,280
It was the not wanting to be cut into more for me.
846
00:44:43,280 –> 00:44:47,720
I had, I’ve had a lot of surgeries, like different smaller procedures because of side effects
847
00:44:47,720 –> 00:44:51,480
and different things related to treatment, which, you know, we’ll go into the full details
848
00:44:51,480 –> 00:44:52,480
here.
849
00:44:52,480 –> 00:44:55,440
But that being said, I really just didn’t want to be cut into more.
850
00:44:55,440 –> 00:44:59,160
I’m tired is the best way for me to say it after 10 years, tired.
851
00:44:59,160 –> 00:45:00,680
And that’s kind of what it was for me.
852
00:45:00,680 –> 00:45:05,080
And so I didn’t want to go under the knife again and again and again.
853
00:45:05,080 –> 00:45:08,200
And to be honest, in the back of my mind, I always kind of think I knew this was something
854
00:45:08,200 –> 00:45:10,000
I would eventually do.
855
00:45:10,000 –> 00:45:11,280
I never tattooed my chest.
856
00:45:11,280 –> 00:45:13,240
I never got the nipple tattoos or anything like that.
857
00:45:13,240 –> 00:45:16,800
And doctors would ask me, I’d go for my, you know, see my oncologist, see my breast surgeon
858
00:45:16,800 –> 00:45:18,840
and they’d say, oh, are you going to do this?
859
00:45:18,840 –> 00:45:20,400
And I’m like, I don’t know.
860
00:45:20,400 –> 00:45:21,400
I don’t think so.
861
00:45:21,400 –> 00:45:22,400
I’m fine with them right.
862
00:45:22,400 –> 00:45:23,400
You know, the way it is right now.
863
00:45:23,400 –> 00:45:27,840
And I think because I knew at some point I would get rid of these implants and call it
864
00:45:27,840 –> 00:45:29,520
a day and call it quit.
865
00:45:29,520 –> 00:45:35,640
That wasn’t an option given to me when I was initially diagnosed, but it was still a difficult
866
00:45:35,640 –> 00:45:37,640
decision even when I made it.
867
00:45:37,640 –> 00:45:39,360
I thought about it for a long time.
868
00:45:39,360 –> 00:45:43,240
So this wasn’t something where, you know, I talk about it sometimes like, you know,
869
00:45:43,240 –> 00:45:47,360
my fashion post on Instagram now where I’m like excited about living flat.
870
00:45:47,360 –> 00:45:50,080
And I am, but at the same time, it wasn’t easy.
871
00:45:50,080 –> 00:45:53,960
You know, I met my husband after cancer, as I said, so he only knew me with scars and
872
00:45:53,960 –> 00:45:56,720
his support also was a really big factor in that.
873
00:45:56,720 –> 00:46:00,640
And at the same time, it’s also saying like, F you to the whole patriarchal idea that I
874
00:46:00,640 –> 00:46:04,040
need to have breasts, because to me that’s also like, if you want to, and it’s supportive
875
00:46:04,040 –> 00:46:05,040
for you.
876
00:46:05,040 –> 00:46:07,080
And for me, it was supportive for many years.
877
00:46:07,080 –> 00:46:11,360
So like normalizing that and then also saying this isn’t serving me anymore.
878
00:46:11,360 –> 00:46:12,360
This is where I’m at.
879
00:46:12,360 –> 00:46:14,160
And that’s okay too.
880
00:46:14,160 –> 00:46:15,160
Love it.
881
00:46:15,160 –> 00:46:16,160
Love it.
882
00:46:16,160 –> 00:46:23,520
Can you tell the listeners, what does it mean to have an explant surgery and what that entails?
883
00:46:23,520 –> 00:46:25,840
Cause there’s just so many like terminologies.
884
00:46:25,840 –> 00:46:26,840
Yeah, sure.
885
00:46:26,840 –> 00:46:31,680
So an explant surgery is where it really does depend.
886
00:46:31,680 –> 00:46:36,560
So either a plastic surgeon or a breast surgeon, it depends on who you end up getting for the
887
00:46:36,560 –> 00:46:41,240
surgery and whether they are willing to do the surgery, which is a whole different other
888
00:46:41,240 –> 00:46:43,000
thing, but they’ll remove the breast implant.
889
00:46:43,000 –> 00:46:46,160
They’ll remove the capsule that’s around the breast implant.
890
00:46:46,160 –> 00:46:50,600
So that’s a capsulectomy and any surrounding like scar tissue to kind of clean up that
891
00:46:50,600 –> 00:46:51,600
area.
892
00:46:51,600 –> 00:46:54,020
Now there’s different types of flat closure.
893
00:46:54,020 –> 00:46:57,480
So there’s flat closure where folks are left with dog ears.
894
00:46:57,480 –> 00:47:01,640
So basically there’s extra skin, like what we call the mastectomy flaps.
895
00:47:01,640 –> 00:47:04,400
And so sometimes folks are left with this for a couple of reasons.
896
00:47:04,400 –> 00:47:07,480
Sometimes they want the option to reconstruct in the future.
897
00:47:07,480 –> 00:47:08,480
Great.
898
00:47:08,480 –> 00:47:12,040
And then sometimes their doctor didn’t listen to them when they asked for a flat closure
899
00:47:12,040 –> 00:47:13,560
and left it.
900
00:47:13,560 –> 00:47:17,200
And that’s really devastating because then they have to go back for another surgery to
901
00:47:17,200 –> 00:47:18,600
revise that.
902
00:47:18,600 –> 00:47:23,960
Now what I had and what I pushed for from my doctor was an aesthetic flat closure.
903
00:47:23,960 –> 00:47:28,920
So this is where you remove that extra skin, the mastectomy flaps, so that extra piece,
904
00:47:28,920 –> 00:47:34,020
and then you create a smooth or at least as smooth as possible chest surface that is flat
905
00:47:34,020 –> 00:47:35,400
all the way around.
906
00:47:35,400 –> 00:47:39,240
I originally had two scars that were here and now I have one long scar that goes all
907
00:47:39,240 –> 00:47:43,480
the way underneath my armpits on both sides because to remove that extra skin, but it’s
908
00:47:43,480 –> 00:47:44,760
one big scar.
909
00:47:44,760 –> 00:47:49,240
I don’t have any additional kind of scars at this point, besides the drain, you know,
910
00:47:49,240 –> 00:47:51,280
scars and stuff like this, but those will heal.
911
00:47:51,280 –> 00:47:56,520
Thank you for saying that because I want the listeners to know the difference because there
912
00:47:56,520 –> 00:47:58,160
is a difference.
913
00:47:58,160 –> 00:48:05,040
If you decide to go flat and not have like any revision of like going back to implants
914
00:48:05,040 –> 00:48:10,040
or getting a tissue flap or any of that, just making sure that you tell your plastic surgeon,
915
00:48:10,040 –> 00:48:12,240
no, I want to be flat forever.
916
00:48:12,240 –> 00:48:13,240
Essentially.
917
00:48:13,240 –> 00:48:14,240
I don’t want to go back.
918
00:48:14,240 –> 00:48:18,280
One thing I will recommend for listeners who are even thinking that, you know, one, always
919
00:48:18,280 –> 00:48:21,800
happy to talk to anyone that wants to have that conversation about that and then also
920
00:48:21,800 –> 00:48:23,960
a good resource is not putting on a shirt.
921
00:48:23,960 –> 00:48:27,560
They have a lot of resources for different surgeons that are like cleared, like they
922
00:48:27,560 –> 00:48:32,160
are known for doing aesthetic flat closure, are willing to do it, are open to it because
923
00:48:32,160 –> 00:48:35,900
sometimes doctors near you are not necessarily open.
924
00:48:35,900 –> 00:48:37,000
My doctor was supportive.
925
00:48:37,000 –> 00:48:40,440
I was lucky for that and I think part of it was because I had been a survivor so long,
926
00:48:40,440 –> 00:48:42,640
so I was able to advocate for myself in that way.
927
00:48:42,640 –> 00:48:46,420
But if you’re someone who wants to do this directly, right, as your bilateral mastectomy
928
00:48:46,420 –> 00:48:51,100
too flat, sometimes that isn’t as supportive, especially for us younger folks.
929
00:48:51,100 –> 00:48:57,080
And so just knowing that there’s doctors out there who would be supportive is also another,
930
00:48:57,080 –> 00:49:00,520
you know, or at least there’s language and pictures and all these things that you can
931
00:49:00,520 –> 00:49:01,520
show your doctors.
932
00:49:01,520 –> 00:49:03,000
So that’s a really good resource.
933
00:49:03,000 –> 00:49:08,320
They’re not putting on a shirt because aesthetic flat closure is actually a new term in 2020.
934
00:49:08,320 –> 00:49:10,200
That term was official.
935
00:49:10,200 –> 00:49:15,160
And so that’s a new terminology that’s being used in the cancer community, particularly
936
00:49:15,160 –> 00:49:16,160
by doctors.
937
00:49:16,160 –> 00:49:17,160
But you mentioned that resource.
938
00:49:17,160 –> 00:49:22,080
We’ll put it in our show notes for anyone that wants to take a look.
939
00:49:22,080 –> 00:49:29,680
I want to touch on the topic and the symbolism of breast, which in our society means a symbol
940
00:49:29,680 –> 00:49:37,080
of beauty, femininity, motherhood, and just being desirable to our partners.
941
00:49:37,080 –> 00:49:44,560
Without breast, some women feel self-conscious, unlovable, undesirable, and could play a factor
942
00:49:44,560 –> 00:49:47,560
in why women get breast reconstruction.
943
00:49:47,560 –> 00:49:53,720
But that being said, in your opinion and like what you’re currently going through, how else
944
00:49:53,720 –> 00:49:57,080
can a woman find her beauty and femininity?
945
00:49:57,080 –> 00:49:58,080
Yeah.
946
00:49:58,080 –> 00:50:02,400
So for me, because again, this is going to be on a spectrum depending on how feminine
947
00:50:02,400 –> 00:50:03,400
someone identifies.
948
00:50:03,400 –> 00:50:05,600
But for me, I’m quite feminine identifying.
949
00:50:05,600 –> 00:50:09,720
And so for me, it’s been finding outfits that work for my new flat body, which is why I’ve
950
00:50:09,720 –> 00:50:12,720
been like sharing those posts and things because that’s exciting for me.
951
00:50:12,720 –> 00:50:16,800
Just like I feel pretty in this and those have been the enjoyable things to find.
952
00:50:16,800 –> 00:50:20,360
And it’s been wearing things I couldn’t wear with my foods because I didn’t have the beautiful
953
00:50:20,360 –> 00:50:22,120
cleavage that some women achieve.
954
00:50:22,120 –> 00:50:26,520
I had very much a pretty decent space between mine, which some women get depending on your
955
00:50:26,520 –> 00:50:29,360
reconstruction and how that falls with your anatomy.
956
00:50:29,360 –> 00:50:32,960
There were times where there are certain halter tops and things I can wear now that I would
957
00:50:32,960 –> 00:50:37,640
never have worn without a bra, even with no nipples, because my food would just pop out.
958
00:50:37,640 –> 00:50:38,640
There was no way.
959
00:50:38,640 –> 00:50:40,520
And so it’s been nice finding those things.
960
00:50:40,520 –> 00:50:46,140
But even with boobs, too, it was finding things that I felt like sexy in and I felt pretty
961
00:50:46,140 –> 00:50:47,400
and beautiful.
962
00:50:47,400 –> 00:50:49,660
For me, a lot of it was finding new clothes.
963
00:50:49,660 –> 00:50:53,840
It was also just it’s accentuating the other parts or noticing the other parts of your
964
00:50:53,840 –> 00:50:56,200
body that you love.
965
00:50:56,200 –> 00:50:58,000
Maybe that is your smile.
966
00:50:58,000 –> 00:50:59,700
Maybe that is your legs.
967
00:50:59,700 –> 00:51:01,160
Maybe that are, you know, that’s your butt.
968
00:51:01,160 –> 00:51:02,160
I don’t know.
969
00:51:02,160 –> 00:51:06,940
Whatever you feel like, what other parts of your body do you feel confident about?
970
00:51:06,940 –> 00:51:10,640
And really thinking about how can I accentuate this, whether that’s in clothing, whether
971
00:51:10,640 –> 00:51:14,840
that is just you paying more attention to that and bringing awareness to it.
972
00:51:14,840 –> 00:51:18,000
For me, that is how I went about finding it.
973
00:51:18,000 –> 00:51:19,420
It’s really those moments.
974
00:51:19,420 –> 00:51:22,380
It was really not about other people.
975
00:51:22,380 –> 00:51:26,440
Even my husband, it was about myself and how am I feeling beautiful?
976
00:51:26,440 –> 00:51:29,060
How am I viewing myself and my body?
977
00:51:29,060 –> 00:51:34,400
And so whenever I found something I felt confident in, it was definitely either buying multiple
978
00:51:34,400 –> 00:51:41,000
of that outfit or just, you know, noticing the parts of me that I really like about my
979
00:51:41,000 –> 00:51:42,000
body.
980
00:51:42,000 –> 00:51:45,800
And that can be hard because your body changes through treatment too.
981
00:51:45,800 –> 00:51:50,120
If you, you know, chemo with steroids, I gained weight.
982
00:51:50,120 –> 00:51:52,080
It was hard to lose weight with tamoxifen.
983
00:51:52,080 –> 00:51:58,720
And so it was finding love for a new and very different body, not just because of the reconstruction.
984
00:51:58,720 –> 00:52:03,080
And then now with my ex-plank, it’s my body has changed in 10 years and I’m finding every
985
00:52:03,080 –> 00:52:08,360
day it’s finding new love for this body that has been changed again and again and again.
986
00:52:08,360 –> 00:52:13,440
And it’s different than I think someone who hasn’t gone through something like this, but
987
00:52:13,440 –> 00:52:17,440
you know, we often talk about this with women when they go through like menopause or something.
988
00:52:17,440 –> 00:52:22,640
Well, for us AYA specifically breast cancer folk, you’re really dealing with this earlier
989
00:52:22,640 –> 00:52:26,380
and you’re just processing it earlier, but it’s really where can you find that love for
990
00:52:26,380 –> 00:52:27,380
yourself?
991
00:52:27,380 –> 00:52:29,200
And also maybe it is the cancer parts too.
992
00:52:29,200 –> 00:52:34,240
So for me, it’s touching my scars, really looking at them and seeing them.
993
00:52:34,240 –> 00:52:35,640
For some women that isn’t the case.
994
00:52:35,640 –> 00:52:37,440
So I again, normalizing that too.
995
00:52:37,440 –> 00:52:39,560
Like if looking at your scars is hard, that’s okay.
996
00:52:39,560 –> 00:52:41,360
That was hard for me for a long time.
997
00:52:41,360 –> 00:52:46,400
So wherever that fits for you, it’s the finding that is important.
998
00:52:46,400 –> 00:52:48,360
Thank you so much for your honesty.
999
00:52:48,360 –> 00:52:51,960
Rosalina and I had spoken about this a couple of weeks ago, just trying to figure out how
1000
00:52:51,960 –> 00:52:56,880
to live in your new body, not only like love it, but like live it.
1001
00:52:56,880 –> 00:52:58,840
And that’s, that’s difficult.
1002
00:52:58,840 –> 00:53:03,640
It’s hard, especially I think like being new to post-treatment and then our first year
1003
00:53:03,640 –> 00:53:06,080
of post-treatment, it’s a really difficult thing.
1004
00:53:06,080 –> 00:53:09,480
So, you know, and especially like you said, after 10 years, your body’s already changed.
1005
00:53:09,480 –> 00:53:11,680
So you have to keep doing it.
1006
00:53:11,680 –> 00:53:15,760
And it’s time, I think too, just giving yourself time and being patient with it too.
1007
00:53:15,760 –> 00:53:17,520
I think that’s a big factor.
1008
00:53:17,520 –> 00:53:21,540
Because I think we want to rush to get back to whatever we thought we were.
1009
00:53:21,540 –> 00:53:22,800
And I definitely had those moments.
1010
00:53:22,800 –> 00:53:23,800
Instant gratification.
1011
00:53:23,800 –> 00:53:24,800
Yeah.
1012
00:53:24,800 –> 00:53:26,680
And I had those moments and I won’t act like I didn’t.
1013
00:53:26,680 –> 00:53:30,000
Like I’m not sitting here like, oh no, no, I definitely had those moments where I hated
1014
00:53:30,000 –> 00:53:31,000
it.
1015
00:53:31,000 –> 00:53:33,200
And there’s still days I’m like, I don’t like this part of my body or I don’t like my body
1016
00:53:33,200 –> 00:53:34,200
right now.
1017
00:53:34,200 –> 00:53:37,360
And for me, it’s a constant conversation with myself and like, you know, this kind of thought
1018
00:53:37,360 –> 00:53:43,220
process of reflection of how am I looking at myself and how can I do this from a place
1019
00:53:43,220 –> 00:53:44,840
of self-compassion.
1020
00:53:44,840 –> 00:53:50,700
So I know that we’re recording this in June, but your canterversary is coming up next month.
1021
00:53:50,700 –> 00:53:53,680
You’re going to hit the 10 year mark.
1022
00:53:53,680 –> 00:53:58,480
So Justine, just so you know, I’ve only been diagnosed for a year.
1023
00:53:58,480 –> 00:54:02,280
So I’m really new into this community.
1024
00:54:02,280 –> 00:54:07,480
But you are the first AYA cancer survivor who I met that’s going to be reaching their
1025
00:54:07,480 –> 00:54:08,760
10 year mark.
1026
00:54:08,760 –> 00:54:12,600
And I think that’s just an unbelievable, like huge milestone.
1027
00:54:12,600 –> 00:54:15,600
You know, I feel like both Shana and I like look up to you.
1028
00:54:15,600 –> 00:54:20,880
Can you tell us, you know, how you feel and will you be celebrating?
1029
00:54:20,880 –> 00:54:21,880
Yeah.
1030
00:54:21,880 –> 00:54:25,240
So first, I’m feeling a ton of emotions, like it’s a lot.
1031
00:54:25,240 –> 00:54:28,560
I don’t know if either of you have seen the Disney movie Inside Out, but there’s a whole
1032
00:54:28,560 –> 00:54:32,040
like, and that whole ending of that film, there’s like a swirling of emotions.
1033
00:54:32,040 –> 00:54:33,760
And like, that’s the whole point is you develop.
1034
00:54:33,760 –> 00:54:35,800
I love that movie so much.
1035
00:54:35,800 –> 00:54:37,480
I thought it was like the per I’m not kidding.
1036
00:54:37,480 –> 00:54:40,840
I thought it was the perfect way to explain like, especially emotions to kids when we
1037
00:54:40,840 –> 00:54:44,320
don’t understand how big feelings and how fast things can change.
1038
00:54:44,320 –> 00:54:47,520
I thought that movie was incredible and so underrated.
1039
00:54:47,520 –> 00:54:50,880
And what I like about it just and it’s not giving away anything too big.
1040
00:54:50,880 –> 00:54:54,120
But as we age, emotions become really complex and they become intermingled.
1041
00:54:54,120 –> 00:54:55,120
Right.
1042
00:54:55,120 –> 00:54:57,480
You’re not just experiencing one and then the other, like you’re actually experiencing
1043
00:54:57,480 –> 00:54:59,880
anger and happiness or anger and sadness.
1044
00:54:59,880 –> 00:55:03,880
Like these things all commingle because that’s how we really experience emotions.
1045
00:55:03,880 –> 00:55:08,400
My point that I was trying to make here was that I’m feeling a lot of everything.
1046
00:55:08,400 –> 00:55:09,400
I’m excited.
1047
00:55:09,400 –> 00:55:11,760
Of course I’m excited, but I’m really nervous.
1048
00:55:11,760 –> 00:55:14,840
Like every day that goes by, I’m like, oh my God, okay, how am I feeling?
1049
00:55:14,840 –> 00:55:15,840
How am I feeling?
1050
00:55:15,840 –> 00:55:16,840
Do I feel okay?
1051
00:55:16,840 –> 00:55:17,840
Okay.
1052
00:55:17,840 –> 00:55:20,840
And like that, those type of questions, I’m overwhelmed a little bit because I, when I
1053
00:55:20,840 –> 00:55:24,240
was diagnosed, if you were, you know, I’m sure you were given these, but you get those
1054
00:55:24,240 –> 00:55:25,240
statistics, right?
1055
00:55:25,240 –> 00:55:29,520
Of like what your recurrence rate looks like if you do certain X, Y treatments, you, what,
1056
00:55:29,520 –> 00:55:32,480
how likely are you, is it that you’re going to be here in 10 years?
1057
00:55:32,480 –> 00:55:34,000
Like they give you the mortality rate stuff.
1058
00:55:34,000 –> 00:55:35,800
At least I was given that.
1059
00:55:35,800 –> 00:55:38,400
And I remember that stuck out to me.
1060
00:55:38,400 –> 00:55:43,520
Like when I was diagnosed, like so strongly, I remember thinking, well, if I make it to
1061
00:55:43,520 –> 00:55:45,480
30, I’m going to be stoked.
1062
00:55:45,480 –> 00:55:47,000
I made it to 30.
1063
00:55:47,000 –> 00:55:50,960
Now I’m looking to 40 and I’m like, all right, let’s go to 40.
1064
00:55:50,960 –> 00:55:55,280
And that’s all I can really do is like, I’m kind of going every 10 years, like, all right,
1065
00:55:55,280 –> 00:55:56,280
let’s make it 10 more.
1066
00:55:56,280 –> 00:55:57,280
I hope I do.
1067
00:55:57,280 –> 00:56:01,240
Like I’m really hopeful about that, but I also like, it’s a, it’s a really, it’s a lot
1068
00:56:01,240 –> 00:56:02,240
of existentialism.
1069
00:56:02,240 –> 00:56:06,480
Like a lot of my therapy was like processing that where it’s like, well, we’ll see.
1070
00:56:06,480 –> 00:56:07,720
And you know, that’s okay.
1071
00:56:07,720 –> 00:56:08,720
I will be celebrating.
1072
00:56:08,720 –> 00:56:12,840
Like my plan is I’m going to celebrate with my husband and with family and even next this
1073
00:56:12,840 –> 00:56:15,380
coming week, I’m going on a retreat.
1074
00:56:15,380 –> 00:56:16,380
So pride retreat.
1075
00:56:16,380 –> 00:56:17,380
Yes, I saw.
1076
00:56:17,380 –> 00:56:18,380
Yeah.
1077
00:56:18,380 –> 00:56:19,380
Yeah.
1078
00:56:19,380 –> 00:56:20,380
That’s exciting.
1079
00:56:20,380 –> 00:56:21,380
Yeah.
1080
00:56:21,380 –> 00:56:24,520
And so just for context with the listeners, it’s a retreat for breast cancer affected
1081
00:56:24,520 –> 00:56:26,440
folks, pre-biover survivors and divers.
1082
00:56:26,440 –> 00:56:30,280
And we’re all getting together as a small group of us, like 18 of us getting together
1083
00:56:30,280 –> 00:56:32,240
and just connecting in Florida.
1084
00:56:32,240 –> 00:56:34,160
And it’s going to be really awesome.
1085
00:56:34,160 –> 00:56:36,640
We’ve already kind of connected virtually over the past year.
1086
00:56:36,640 –> 00:56:41,840
And so it’s going to be really exciting to be in space together and just, and I think
1087
00:56:41,840 –> 00:56:46,520
it’s a really nice way to like lead into my 10 year cancerversary because I, you know,
1088
00:56:46,520 –> 00:56:49,720
I haven’t been to a retreat in like three years because of COVID.
1089
00:56:49,720 –> 00:56:53,760
And so I’m really excited just to be in space with people and to who get it.
1090
00:56:53,760 –> 00:56:54,760
Yeah.
1091
00:56:54,760 –> 00:57:00,200
I’m going to mention the pride retreat is run by Yara and we support her so much.
1092
00:57:00,200 –> 00:57:04,200
So I’ll link her Instagram in the show notes as well.
1093
00:57:04,200 –> 00:57:06,240
So everyone knows about that.
1094
00:57:06,240 –> 00:57:11,560
And they also run this program where like, if you sign up, you can get free coffee.
1095
00:57:11,560 –> 00:57:12,560
Yeah.
1096
00:57:12,560 –> 00:57:15,680
So yeah, you can sign up and get free coffee if you’re a breast cancer survivor, cancer
1097
00:57:15,680 –> 00:57:16,680
survivor.
1098
00:57:16,680 –> 00:57:17,680
So yeah, definitely do that.
1099
00:57:17,680 –> 00:57:18,680
It’s really cool.
1100
00:57:18,680 –> 00:57:22,560
And the work she’s doing, I mean, she’s also in like a little bit past you both in terms
1101
00:57:22,560 –> 00:57:26,520
of like post-treatment, but also like in a space where very much newer to this.
1102
00:57:26,520 –> 00:57:29,640
And it’s just like go hit in the ground running and like doing things in the community.
1103
00:57:29,640 –> 00:57:30,640
And I love it.
1104
00:57:30,640 –> 00:57:31,640
I love it so much.
1105
00:57:31,640 –> 00:57:32,640
So it’s wonderful.
1106
00:57:32,640 –> 00:57:33,640
It was a nice pick me up.
1107
00:57:33,640 –> 00:57:34,640
I got a free cup of coffee.
1108
00:57:34,640 –> 00:57:35,640
I think it was a nice pick me up.
1109
00:57:35,640 –> 00:57:38,640
And it was just like, it was such a nice like, it made my day actually.
1110
00:57:38,640 –> 00:57:41,720
You don’t even realize it made my day too.
1111
00:57:41,720 –> 00:57:43,720
Honestly, such a great feeling.
1112
00:57:43,720 –> 00:57:44,720
Yeah.
1113
00:57:44,720 –> 00:57:45,720
Yeah.
1114
00:57:45,720 –> 00:57:49,200
Lastly, let’s just get into your meditation practice.
1115
00:57:49,200 –> 00:57:54,600
As I mentioned in the beginning to the listeners, you know, you host a weekly meditation for
1116
00:57:54,600 –> 00:57:56,520
the breast cancer community.
1117
00:57:56,520 –> 00:57:57,600
Why did you start this?
1118
00:57:57,600 –> 00:58:03,840
I had practiced yoga sporadically throughout my like survivorship throughout college.
1119
00:58:03,840 –> 00:58:08,480
And after my revision surgery, I just realized I really needed to heal from like a place
1120
00:58:08,480 –> 00:58:10,700
of like self compassion and kindness.
1121
00:58:10,700 –> 00:58:15,240
And so I really began a yoga practice and meditation practice.
1122
00:58:15,240 –> 00:58:19,440
And I did that for a couple of years and then realized I really wanted to share this with
1123
00:58:19,440 –> 00:58:22,920
the community because I, you know, as I shared earlier, I’m a college professor.
1124
00:58:22,920 –> 00:58:25,640
So teaching is kind of part of me as a person.
1125
00:58:25,640 –> 00:58:29,160
I like to teach other people and be in space in that way.
1126
00:58:29,160 –> 00:58:33,440
And for me, yoga was just so healing for me.
1127
00:58:33,440 –> 00:58:35,520
It helped me conduct to my body.
1128
00:58:35,520 –> 00:58:40,840
It helped me remind me that I have a breath when things get overwhelming during survivorship.
1129
00:58:40,840 –> 00:58:45,040
And so I decided to get certified as a yoga teacher.
1130
00:58:45,040 –> 00:58:48,560
And I finished that certification in May, 2021.
1131
00:58:48,560 –> 00:58:52,360
So not, you know, about a year ago, the whole purpose of getting that training was to connect
1132
00:58:52,360 –> 00:58:53,400
to the cancer community.
1133
00:58:53,400 –> 00:58:55,440
Like I would be, that was really what I wanted.
1134
00:58:55,440 –> 00:58:59,960
It wasn’t about just like teaching other people, like again, everyone do their thing, but that’s
1135
00:58:59,960 –> 00:59:00,960
why I did it.
1136
00:59:00,960 –> 00:59:03,000
Because for me, it was so healing personally.
1137
00:59:03,000 –> 00:59:05,200
I played around with how am I going to do this?
1138
00:59:05,200 –> 00:59:06,200
I don’t know.
1139
00:59:06,200 –> 00:59:08,040
And I kind of put things out there.
1140
00:59:08,040 –> 00:59:13,040
And then finally I said, okay, I’m just going to start a meditation group because anyone,
1141
00:59:13,040 –> 00:59:17,080
whether you’re in treatment, surgery, et cetera, can come to a space and engage in meditation.
1142
00:59:17,080 –> 00:59:19,320
Like movement practice is a little bit different, right?
1143
00:59:19,320 –> 00:59:25,160
It could, you know, there’s limitations, but with meditation, anyone can join whenever.
1144
00:59:25,160 –> 00:59:27,480
And so I said, let’s just try this.
1145
00:59:27,480 –> 00:59:31,720
So a little before Thanksgiving in November of 2021, I said, I’m just going to put it
1146
00:59:31,720 –> 00:59:32,720
out there on Instagram.
1147
00:59:32,720 –> 00:59:34,400
We’ll see who shows.
1148
00:59:34,400 –> 00:59:38,540
And I got an immense response of people just like signing, wanting to sign up and hear
1149
00:59:38,540 –> 00:59:39,540
about it.
1150
00:59:39,540 –> 00:59:43,000
And what’s been really nice is I’ve had the spaces like really transformed.
1151
00:59:43,000 –> 00:59:47,240
Like I’ve had several consistent attendees and a lot of repeat attendees.
1152
00:59:47,240 –> 00:59:51,520
What really started out with me, like sharing meditation with other folks impacted by breast
1153
00:59:51,520 –> 00:59:56,440
cancer has really become a space for folks to also check in where we check in with each
1154
00:59:56,440 –> 00:59:57,440
other.
1155
00:59:57,440 –> 00:59:58,440
How is your week going?
1156
00:59:58,440 –> 00:59:59,440
And some weeks are great for people.
1157
00:59:59,440 –> 01:00:00,440
Like they don’t have much to report.
1158
01:00:00,440 –> 01:00:02,720
And then some weeks I am struggling right now.
1159
01:00:02,720 –> 01:00:04,040
You know, I’m dealing with pain.
1160
01:00:04,040 –> 01:00:05,760
I’m finishing chemo.
1161
01:00:05,760 –> 01:00:08,000
I’m doing this, whatever it may be.
1162
01:00:08,000 –> 01:00:12,200
You know, even when I was before my surgery, like we had meditation group the Sunday before
1163
01:00:12,200 –> 01:00:13,440
my explant surgery.
1164
01:00:13,440 –> 01:00:17,360
And I shared all about my fears leading into that because I was nervous.
1165
01:00:17,360 –> 01:00:22,520
I mean, even if I’ve had surgery before, it’s really a cool space is what I would say.
1166
01:00:22,520 –> 01:00:25,800
Like it’s, it’s the group is really open to trying different meditations, which has been
1167
01:00:25,800 –> 01:00:26,800
fun.
1168
01:00:26,800 –> 01:00:30,720
So we’ve done stuff around self-compassion stuff like body scans and just all these different
1169
01:00:30,720 –> 01:00:31,720
types of things.
1170
01:00:31,720 –> 01:00:32,720
And I love guiding the space.
1171
01:00:32,720 –> 01:00:37,680
And it’s been really, really supportive for me in this later stage of my survivorship.
1172
01:00:37,680 –> 01:00:43,640
And it’s been really nice to connect to people who many of them are in it or post in it.
1173
01:00:43,640 –> 01:00:46,120
And they’re like processing this stuff.
1174
01:00:46,120 –> 01:00:49,740
And it’s not, I wouldn’t call it a support group because it’s not that, but it is a space
1175
01:00:49,740 –> 01:00:53,120
for folks to come and be in space with other people who get it.
1176
01:00:53,120 –> 01:00:59,280
You probably make someone’s day by providing that meditation weekly.
1177
01:00:59,280 –> 01:01:05,800
There are times where you can’t share what you’re going through with your family members,
1178
01:01:05,800 –> 01:01:08,380
your friends, because you don’t want to be a burden.
1179
01:01:08,380 –> 01:01:15,720
When you offer that space to women, they feel like they could talk about it with people
1180
01:01:15,720 –> 01:01:17,380
who get it.
1181
01:01:17,380 –> 01:01:20,280
And I think that’s just super important.
1182
01:01:20,280 –> 01:01:22,360
And we need this type of community.
1183
01:01:22,360 –> 01:01:25,540
We need every resource that we can get.
1184
01:01:25,540 –> 01:01:32,160
I feel like I always say why I did that in the beginning is one thing I never felt through
1185
01:01:32,160 –> 01:01:34,560
my own journey was seen.
1186
01:01:34,560 –> 01:01:40,840
I just felt like no one saw me through that, the real me of what I was dealing with.
1187
01:01:40,840 –> 01:01:46,000
And the only people that can truly really see you are the people that get it.
1188
01:01:46,000 –> 01:01:49,320
And even if their experiences are slightly different, they get it.
1189
01:01:49,320 –> 01:01:55,160
And so I think that’s really what these different resources, I had this thought I had meant
1190
01:01:55,160 –> 01:01:59,760
to mention it while we were chatting, but I love the name of the podcast for you all
1191
01:01:59,760 –> 01:02:00,760
because I love it.
1192
01:02:00,760 –> 01:02:01,760
I literally read that.
1193
01:02:01,760 –> 01:02:03,480
I was like, too young for this shit.
1194
01:02:03,480 –> 01:02:06,480
That’s me every day.
1195
01:02:06,480 –> 01:02:13,960
But if I was a young survivor and that’s the resource I wish I had had, those are the things
1196
01:02:13,960 –> 01:02:19,080
and that’s what I really hope to provide is these are the things we wish we had.
1197
01:02:19,080 –> 01:02:24,320
And so my hope moving forward and right now it’s like the best way to connect to me is
1198
01:02:24,320 –> 01:02:28,200
really on Instagram because I’m still working on like, you know, again, I only got certified
1199
01:02:28,200 –> 01:02:29,200
about a year ago.
1200
01:02:29,200 –> 01:02:31,400
So these are new things for me that I’m working on.
1201
01:02:31,400 –> 01:02:35,840
But my hope, I just finished a training focused around cancer patients.
1202
01:02:35,840 –> 01:02:40,280
So like yoga for cancer patients, both like subtle and more physical practices.
1203
01:02:40,280 –> 01:02:44,920
And my hope is to offer more things for cancer patients in general for the in the future.
1204
01:02:44,920 –> 01:02:49,200
It’s more just giving myself space and grace to do that work incrementally.
1205
01:02:49,200 –> 01:02:53,160
But you know, the best way for folks to kind of make sure that, you know, they’re staying
1206
01:02:53,160 –> 01:02:56,880
up to date on that is just following me on Instagram because and staying on my email
1207
01:02:56,880 –> 01:02:59,980
list too, which is they can access through my Instagram.
1208
01:02:59,980 –> 01:03:03,720
You know, it’s a good way to kind of stay connected and hear about what I hope to offer
1209
01:03:03,720 –> 01:03:04,720
moving forward.
1210
01:03:04,720 –> 01:03:06,560
Yeah, so that’s perfect.
1211
01:03:06,560 –> 01:03:12,480
I love that you hooked your IG and let us know where we can find you, which we’ll also
1212
01:03:12,480 –> 01:03:14,400
put in the show notes.
1213
01:03:14,400 –> 01:03:21,960
With that being said, at the end of our episode, we just like to ask a fun mystery question.
1214
01:03:21,960 –> 01:03:24,400
So Sean, I take it away.
1215
01:03:24,400 –> 01:03:26,120
What is your go to karaoke song?
1216
01:03:26,120 –> 01:03:27,120
That’s an easy answer.
1217
01:03:27,120 –> 01:03:28,120
Party in the USA by my.
1218
01:03:28,120 –> 01:03:29,120
That’s so funny.
1219
01:03:29,120 –> 01:03:30,120
You didn’t even hesitate.
1220
01:03:30,120 –> 01:03:34,320
That is definitely my go to karaoke song.
1221
01:03:34,320 –> 01:03:35,720
I love that song.
1222
01:03:35,720 –> 01:03:40,840
It’s it is the song that just immediately elicits joy.
1223
01:03:40,840 –> 01:03:43,080
So yeah, that’s it.
1224
01:03:43,080 –> 01:03:44,080
Everyone knows it.
1225
01:03:44,080 –> 01:03:47,840
Man, woman, everyone knows that song.
1226
01:03:47,840 –> 01:03:49,600
It’s a crowd pleaser for sure.
1227
01:03:49,600 –> 01:03:54,480
Stine, thank you so much for being on this podcast.
1228
01:03:54,480 –> 01:04:02,440
I know that we became like internet friends through Instagram, but I love that we got
1229
01:04:02,440 –> 01:04:04,520
to know you even more.
1230
01:04:04,520 –> 01:04:06,400
And yeah, you’re just so incredible.
1231
01:04:06,400 –> 01:04:11,440
You’re so honest about your experience and so confident, too.
1232
01:04:11,440 –> 01:04:13,880
I just want to mention that as well.
1233
01:04:13,880 –> 01:04:18,360
It’s making me excited now for like every year that’s going to pass for me.
1234
01:04:18,360 –> 01:04:21,280
Hopefully, you know, getting to a 10 year mark, I think.
1235
01:04:21,280 –> 01:04:23,640
I’m like, I’m you’ve made me so excited for it.
1236
01:04:23,640 –> 01:04:25,200
I really you all are too sweet.
1237
01:04:25,200 –> 01:04:26,200
I appreciate it.
1238
01:04:26,200 –> 01:04:27,880
Thank you so much for having me here.
1239
01:04:27,880 –> 01:04:32,120
Like it was really nice to connect and be in space and, you know, just share.
1240
01:04:32,120 –> 01:04:33,120
It was so wild.
1241
01:04:33,120 –> 01:04:36,440
Like I was trying to distill these 10 years and it was really nice to do that and think
1242
01:04:36,440 –> 01:04:39,160
about that intentionally as I approached this time.
1243
01:04:39,160 –> 01:04:41,880
And so I just really like the timing of this with you all.
1244
01:04:41,880 –> 01:04:43,720
It was it was it was great.
1245
01:04:43,720 –> 01:04:46,440
The blessing I would just say is thank you so much.
1246
01:04:46,440 –> 01:04:50,680
And the years they can be hard, but then there are also so much joy in those years.
1247
01:04:50,680 –> 01:04:55,680
So like it’s like finding the joy and also letting you yourself feel those emotions for
1248
01:04:55,680 –> 01:04:56,680
those listeners.
1249
01:04:56,680 –> 01:04:57,680
So thank you so much.
1250
01:04:57,680 –> 01:05:02,680
Thank you all for listening and supporting our podcast.
1251
01:05:02,680 –> 01:05:07,960
Sharing our stories with you has been incredibly healing for both of us and we hope it helps
1252
01:05:07,960 –> 01:05:10,960
other women in their journeys through breast cancer.
1253
01:05:10,960 –> 01:05:15,840
Ladies, if you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends and fellow breasties.
1254
01:05:15,840 –> 01:05:20,720
Help us reach more women by subscribing and rating us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and now
1255
01:05:20,720 –> 01:05:21,720
on YouTube.
1256
01:05:21,720 –> 01:05:29,480
You can follow us on Instagram at TYFTSpodcast and email us at TYFTSpodcast at gmail.com.
1257
01:05:29,480 –> 01:05:32,360
We love hearing from you guys, so shoot us a message.
1258
01:05:32,360 –> 01:05:46,000
We will link any resources from that episode in our show notes.