Breast Cancer Awareness and Early Detection

Speaker 1 0:08

Welcome to the Bubble Lounge . I'm Martha Jackson . In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month , we're joined by two amazing ladies , beth Stavanova and Lisa Bedford-Thomas , who are not only Park City's moms but also dear friends of mine . Both of these women face breast cancer head-on , and today they're here to share their personal journeys . Breast cancer doesn't always come with obvious signs . Sometimes it's found during a routine checkup when you least expect it . Beth and Lisa's experiences are a reminder of just how important early detection can be . Their stories of strength , treatment and perseverance are a must-hear for anyone , whether you're looking for information or inspiration . If you or someone you know has been affected by breast cancer , this episode will offer real-life insights , valuable resources and a message of hope .

Speaker 1 0:57

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Speaker 2 1:54

Oh well , thank you for having us . It is a pleasure .

Speaker 1 1:56

Well , if you will , please introduce yourselves and tell us about your journey with breast cancer .

Speaker 3 2:02

I'll go first . Okay , I'm gonna be greedy . I'm Lisa Thomas Bedford and I've been a survivor since I'll call it 2022 , and I have a son at Highland Park High School , and then I have a daughter that's 23 , but also a Highland Park High School graduate .

Speaker 2 2:18

That's right , because our girls graduated the same year . They sure did . I have 23 year old twins and I'm a Highland Park graduate , so we do have a lot in common , and Lisa and I both have a radio background . But do you want to start by telling about your diagnosis ?

Speaker 3 2:31

Well , why don't you introduce who you are ? Oh , I forgot to say my name , didn't I ? Thanks , lisa , you want to ?

Speaker 1 2:36

make them guess .

Speaker 2 2:38

I'm Beth Wilson-Stavanoa and I was diagnosed in 2013 , and so I have been clear for a while . But I've actually since then had a second cancer , which was not related to breast cancer , and I was treated at MD Anderson for that . Otherwise , my treatment for breast cancer was here in Dallas .

Speaker 1 2:57

Okay , great , well , walk us through how you first found out and just what that was like . How you first found out and just what that was like .

Speaker 3 3:04

You know I'll say I was never very good and I realize I should be saying otherwise , but I was never very good about doing the breast exams myself . Right , you know how you're supposed to do them in the shower and all that .

Speaker 3 3:17

Yeah , yeah yeah , but I always was really good about doing my mammograms . I never missed and I have to admit I got called back a lot , because when you have a mammogram there's a 2D and a 3D 2Ds . If you have dense breasts , like I do and I bet you do too you're going to get called back . But this was just the one time I didn't get called back . So when the postcard came that I had my appointment , I put it off Okay , busy , you know , taking care of everyone else . But then I revisited in three months and I got to make that call and I'm so glad I did , because they found an area and I have made it before a lot of times . And it's don't be nervous , if you have dense breasts , it's just normal . You'll have , you know , your first scan . They do the callback , they'll do another one and then sometimes they'll make it to the sonogram and I've done that .

Speaker 3 4:12

I've been there before , but this time I made it into the radiologist's office and he's like you know , I don't like the way that looks , I want to do a biopsy . And so I got that done and the doctor that called me said hey , I think this is precancerous , I still want it out and you need to make an appointment with a surgeon , which I did , and it turned out was cancer , wow . And so I went the route because I did the genetic testing . I didn't have the BRCA genes . I was very blessed , so I just had a lumpectomy and then I had you have lymph nodes under your arms Right and I had those removed and the cancer hadn't spread . I had a full body scan and so then I went the radiation route . So honestly , mine was a breeze , but let me tell you , early detection is everything .

Speaker 1 5:05

I hear women all the time say oh , oh , my God , I haven't been in years . Oh God , that freaks me out . I know somebody right now and I hope she's listening .

Speaker 3 5:11

It's three years and I'm telling you right there I will say my number 214-536-4655 . I don't care , I will stay on you , I will pick you up , I will take you to get your mammogram . There is no excuse . You are so worth it .

Speaker 1 5:25

Yeah , yeah . When I get the notice in the mail , I literally can hear your voice saying get your mammograms , ladies . I mean you've been so good on social media , just really repeating that message constantly . I mean I totally associate that with you .

Speaker 3 5:40

Yeah , I mean I just , I think , what if I'd waited ?

Speaker 2 5:42

Oh , well , I can tell you about that .

Speaker 3 5:45

And yeah , you've got a story that's completely different and that's the thing . There are so many options when you hear that you've got cancer Right , so what was yours , beth ?

Speaker 2 5:55

Well , so I had a very conservative OBGYN who delivered my twins in Fort Worth I was living there at the time and he had me start my mammograms at age 40 , even though there was no history of cancer in my family . That's just his protocol . So at 45 , I went in for my mammogram and at that time he had retired and I had a new doctor . Well , I received a letter in the mail and this is in the fall of 2012 , from Solis Mammography , indicating that I had dense breast tissue and that I should contact my doctor to discuss further screening . So I called and they said oh , okay .

Speaker 2 6:32

Well , the nurse said we'll talk to the doctor and I'll call you back . And I said okay , so she calls me back . And she said you know , beth , this is so common , we're just going to put it in your file , don't worry about it . Over 50% of women have dense breast tissue , so I think you're fine . Well , later that spring in 2013 , I rolled over to turn off my bedside table lamp and just to kind of give you a backstory , I was fresh out of a divorce , I was a single mom and I had just started working full time . My girls were 12 .

Speaker 2 7:03

And we were living in Fort Worth and I was commuting three hours a day to Dallas for my job and selling my home so that at the end of the school year we could all move to Dallas and be closer to each other during the day . So I rolled over , like I said , in bed to turn off my light and I felt what felt like a rock , and I literally jumped out of my bed and I just pulled my sheets apart . I'm like what in the world ?

Speaker 1 7:26

is in my bed .

Speaker 2 7:28

I felt something when I rolled over and I couldn't find anything . And so I thought , oh , what if it's in me ? And so I knew it was right by my chest . So I started patting around and I pushed really hard on my left breast and I felt something really hard and I went , oh my gosh . And so I called this new doctor . We went in . She said I don't know what that is , but that needs to come out . And I go you mean like surgery ? And she goes oh yeah , you need a breast surgeon . And I'm like , okay , and she goes and a biopsy . And I said okay , and I'm thinking , oh seriously , I'm like six months out of divorce , six months into a brand new job . I don't have any family that lives in Texas . I mean , I have got , I don't have time for this .

Speaker 2 8:14

But cancer as we well know , doesn't really care what you have going on in your life . So anyway , fast forward . It was cancer . The biopsy showed and I found out on a Friday in the middle of a meeting , and then I had my appointment set for that Monday with Dr Grant at Baylor . And so we went and we talked . Long story short , I went through eight rounds of chemo , did lose my hair that's another story of how I almost died during my first chemo . And instead of every three weeks because mine was so aggressive and it was stage 2B in the size of a golf ball , I went every other week . So I'd work Friday morning , I'd get chemo Friday afternoon , I'd drive back to Fort Worth and then go back to work on Monday , and then I had a double mastectomy because I didn't want it to come back on the other side , and then I had reconstructive surgery and the treatment process lasted nine

Women's Health and Breast Cancer Awareness

Speaker 2 9:08

months .

Speaker 1 9:08

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Speaker 1 9:36

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Speaker 3 10:12

Nothing felt out of Mine was really deep and I have a lot of cysts as well . I do have dense breast tissue . I mean , look here I am . Why am I touching my breast ?

Speaker 2 10:23

right now , because we're all doing it . You touch them , but I won't .

Speaker 3 10:27

But I mean , you know , they're always naughty , so to speak .

Speaker 2 10:30

I have naughty breasts , not naughty Naughty .

Speaker 3 10:35

And I mean mine was really deep . So when they did the biopsy , I mean they had to really go in there and it was tiny . Like I said , early detection saved my life . It saved you from chemo for sure . Yes , and you know I had every test possible to see if maybe the kind of cancer that I had would be reactive to chemo , and it didn't . I mean I didn't want to rule anything out , I would do whatever the doctor said you know there are breast cancer comes in .

Speaker 3 11:05

It's either progesterone it's reacted to progesterone , or estrogen or this HER2 . And when you talk about your negative for all three of those , that's tough because they don't really know how to treat it . Wow , and your options are really not there . Like if you're hormone reactive , which is , you know , estrogen and progesterone , they can give you a pill .

Speaker 2 11:30

Like Tamoxifen .

Speaker 3 11:30

Yeah , that's the only one if you are premenopausal . Once you go through menopause , it opens wide open . You know there's six or seven that you can take . I think they call them hormone inhibitors , yes and so , yes , you and I both were on tamoxifen and you hated it . I got used to it .

Speaker 2 11:50

How about that ? Yeah , and I want to touch on Martha , the dense breast tissue that Lisa brings up , because it is so common . And if you have dense breast tissue and you get a mammogram , it's like looking for a snowball in a snowstorm , and that's why my mammogram didn't show the tumor . So Henda Salmaran lives in Dallas and she found out when she had breast cancer that , because of the dense breast tissue , the imaging wasn't helpful for her . So she just lobbied up and down in Austin until she got this bill passed into law called Henda's Law . So by law , you will receive this letter in the mail . It looks kind of like an ad , so don't throw it out . Read it , but talk with your doctor , because it means that you need additional screening , and screening has come so far since you know when I went through this in 2013 . I don't even know what types of screening they do now , because I don't get screened anymore .

Speaker 3 12:47

I don't have real live breasts anymore . I have rotation devices . Once you have a mastectomy , you no longer have to have mammograms .

Speaker 2 12:53

You don't . In fact , I kind of got lucky by my second cancer , in the sense that and that was in my stomach they removed 20% of my stomach . I had a really rare tumor . My only symptom was anemia , go figure and they found it through an endoscopy . But I ended up at MD Anderson because it was so rare , and so she asked me what kind of surveillance are you doing for your breast cancer ? And I said well , after five years they kicked me out of the office , they said you're fine , move on , and she goes . Nah , I don't think so . So when I would get scanned , she would also scan my chest , and so that was really comforting to me to know that she was doing that . You know , in addition but again , that's been that happened in 2018 . So a lot of time has passed since then , so I'm not screened for anything anymore .

Speaker 1 13:36

So they should send you this letter if you have the dense breast .

Speaker 2 13:40

It's by law . They will absolutely send you this letter , but nobody understands it . And I said to Henda because I called her , I wanted to meet her and find out her story . And I said why didn't my doctor pay more attention to this letter ? And she said doctors are in such a hurry because of insurance . They don't take the time to explain to you what this means . And she said it's . Our biggest problem is getting the doctors on board , and the patients are asking , but the doctors aren't necessarily spending the time on it . So that's why you really have to be your own advocate and do your research . And I know you're going to post a link to Henda's Law website and it's a great website . It tells the whole story and what you should do . So you should read the letter and you should go to the website .

Speaker 1 14:24

Yeah , when you told me about this today , I've never heard about it and I think this is so helpful . I bet there's a lot of people out there that haven't heard about it as well , and I think that's going to be really , really helpful to help educate everyone .

Speaker 2 14:35

And maybe , martha , you don't know about it because you don't have dense breast tissue . That may be why , but again it doesn't . It kind of looks like all the political mail we're getting right now right . So it kind of blends in , it does so don't blow it off , because I look down like what is this ? It doesn't seem very personal , you know Interesting , interesting .

Speaker 1 14:54

Well , do you both feel like 40 is the right age , or do you feel like that you should start getting mammograms even younger than 40 ?

Speaker 2 15:01

Well , our girls will have to get mammograms earlier because Lisa and I have both had breast cancer . So my recommendation to the twins was to start at 30 . I mean , are you doing that for Susie as ?

Speaker 3 15:14

well . Susie's had a mammogram and they found a lump Already yeah , already . It was something she's had for a while , since puberty . But the last mammogram that she had , they were like I want to see this out . So she went to my breast surgeon . Dr Carolyn Thomas got it out and it was benign Most of the time . It is yeah , but better safe than sorry . Better safe than sorry is yeah , but better safe than sorry Better safe than sorry .

Speaker 2 15:39

So she will now continue to have those early mammograms . Absolutely , and you know , it really depends on if you've had a history of breast cancer in your family . Then , yes , talk to your doctor about when you should start . But they're seeing breast cancer diagnosis earlier and earlier , down to women in their 20s . Oh , wow . And the reason for that is one education People like Lisa who are getting on social media going get your screening . It's people knowing if it runs in your family , you do need earlier screenings to detect it . So it's going to keep changing every year . You just really need to stay on top of it . The American Cancer Society has a great website . They will tell you what age to get any screening . But if it's in your family , that's a whole different ballgame , Right ?

Speaker 3 16:21

right , and it's in my family as well . My grandmother , my mother has something called in situ my aunt , so I was surprised that I didn't have . There are several genes you can have for breast cancer and they're called the BRCA genes . Right , and I didn't have them , me neither .

Speaker 2 16:37

Yeah , I mean it's just crazy . It's like why does it happen ? I mean we just don't know . But again , eat healthy , exercise , watch your alcohol intake , watch your stress level At the time I think that my stress level was a big part of it .

Speaker 1 16:53

Yeah , you sound like you were kind of at capacity with the stress at that time .

Speaker 2 16:56

I really was . And when my second cancer came , oddly enough , it happened right after a year and a half into my marriage to Brad who , by the way , I met in my wig when I had no hair . So there is hope for all of us . He had had a very rare stroke in his spinal cord that left him without the use of his left leg , and he was in the hospital for a month and in a wheelchair for four months , and so we were going through a lot . So I thought my anemia was because we had five kids together and I was helping take care of him , and come to find no , it was that I had this huge angry tumor that was bleeding .

Speaker 2 17:34

And so , honestly , by the grace of God , and so , honestly , by the grace of god , I was in the baylor infusion room , one place I never thought I'd return to getting iron

Personal Stories of Cancer Treatment

Speaker 2 17:45

infusions . When a nurse said to me on a saturday why are you here ? I haven't seen you before . You don't really look like you have cancer . And I told her what was going on and she said have you had this screening , this , this , this , this and this ? And I was like and she said have you had an endoscopy ? And I said no and no and she goes you need one Later that week I'm going to get Botox and my paint and body guy says that's what he calls himself the Botox guy .

Speaker 2 18:05

He says to me how's life ? And I tell him and he goes they're giving you iron infusions for anemia . They're putting a bandaid on your leak . They I said well , this nurse just told me I needed an endoscopy . And he goes you do . And I woke up from that and he said you have a tumor and it needs to come out immediately . And one week later they removed 20% of my stomach and a racquetball-sized tumor out of my belly button . They pulled it out of my belly button .

Speaker 2 18:28

It was called a gastrointestinal stromal tumor , and they only diagnosed between 4,000 and 6,000 a year , and mostly in the elderly . Oh my gosh that is crazy , and both of those cancers happened during very stressful times of my life , right , and I do believe the body can heal itself , but I also believe the body can fall victim to itself , and so that's why I say make sure that you're exercising one , because that has released a lot of stress , but also manage your life appropriately and if something's not working , remove it .

Speaker 1 18:58

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Speaker 1 19:33

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Speaker 2 20:05

So my girlfriend from Fort Worth helped me load up these cold caps that I actually had to order from Great Britain . They were not doing them yet in the United States and basically it's a cap that you change on your head every 30 minutes . It goes in dry ice , it has to be at a certain temperature , so there's a lot of work . Prior to using it . You roll all these coolers in . People look at you like what are you doing and then you put them on your head .

Speaker 2 20:48

Well , at the time , because I'd been through a lot of stress , I weighed 110 pounds , so I was really thin for five , seven and a half , and I put that cold cap on because I didn't want to lose my hair . You know we're in Texas hair matters and I knew that no one would notice that I was losing my breasts . But I was pretty sure at the office they'd notice I was bald and that was embarrassing to me , and so I wanted to save my hair . I put the cold cap on and 10 minutes into my first chemo treatment I passed out . My blood pressure dropped to 40 over zero . I was gray , I was ice cold , I was unresponsive and they almost called my time of death . So they took the cold cap off and it took 12 minutes for me to warm up and for my body to begin to function properly again .

Speaker 2 21:25

So at that point I knew I was going to lose my hair . There was no way around it . The cold cap was not going to work for me . Since then They've made great strides . They now have a cooler at baylor for those caps . They know more , they're available in the united states . So I'm not poo-pooing the idea of it , I'm just saying it didn't work for me . Right , and at the end , losing my hair was absolutely the best thing that could have happened to me , because it taught me that it's not about the outward appearance . It's about the inward appearance and our real beauty comes from inside . It has nothing to do with the way we look .

Speaker 1 22:01

That's such a good point .

Speaker 2 22:02

So I was grateful . It really taught me a lot . And , having been on TV prior to that because I was on Good Morning Texas up until my twins were born I was freelancing in the world of on-camera and voiceover work and appearance mattered , and so I'd always worried about my appearance and was my hair right , and this , that and the other ? And then I realized you know what ? It doesn't matter , it doesn't matter , and this , that and the other ? And then I realized you know what ? It doesn't matter , it doesn't matter . Yeah , in the grand scheme of life , it just doesn't . And I just had eight inches cut off two weeks ago , so I really don't care about my hair anymore .

Speaker 1 22:32

Well , lisa , tell us about your treatment .

Speaker 3 22:34

Really , mine was simple . After I did a lot of testing and I felt like I was waiting , I'm like I want to get on this . I just did radiation and I went every day . I think it was for 30 days . It wasn't bad for me Really , it really wasn't . I mean , in fact , they have a locker room for you to go in and you put on the gowns . I guess , if you're modest , I'm not modest . So I finally said , do I have to go're modest ? I'm not modest . So I finally said yeah , once you've had kids , I'm like do I have to go through this , or can I just take my shirt off and hop on the table and they're like sure , go for it .

Speaker 3 23:10

I mean it was maybe 20 , 30 minutes and I got a little red in the area the last week maybe a little tired , it really wasn't a big deal .

Speaker 2 23:21

I mean you're so fortunate , lisa , I know , because I hear women who have to go through radiation and I didn't . And I told Dr Grant I was like I do not want radiation . I'm like I've done this , I've done this , I'm like at the end of my rope with treatment . He said well , if I don't put you in front of a radiologist , you probably won't have radiation felt . I was okay to move on . But I've heard women who get sunburned really badly and maybe that's if they're fair skin . You look like you tan well , so maybe you just have thicker , tougher skin . I don't know . But I mean , radiation can be so different and it can also be exhausting . Were you not exhausted ?

Speaker 3 23:54

Really , I worked out every day .

Speaker 2 23:55

And maybe why .

Speaker 3 23:57

I don't know , Maybe the last couple of days I felt fatigue .

Speaker 1 24:00

But I was just lucky .

Speaker 3 24:02

I did do emu oil , coconut oil and Eucerin .

Speaker 2 24:07

Okay .

Speaker 3 24:08

Afterwards , but I mean , mine was a breeze .

Speaker 2 24:11

That is amazing .

Speaker 1 24:12

Yeah , she's very lucky , that's great , but I mean , believe me , I sat in the waiting room .

Speaker 3 24:16

And another thing when you have had breast cancer , there is a real thing and it's called survivor's guilt . Yeah , Like I don't like when people say so you're cancer free , just because I don't want to speak it into existence .

Speaker 1 24:30

So I say , that's what they tell me .

Speaker 3 24:32

Okay , there's always somebody worse too , Like when I go to the oncologist cause I still do . I mean , you see a lot of warriors .

Speaker 2 24:40

Oh , it's hard . I mean , the first day I walked into the infusion room , I was carrying the cooler Courtney was behind me carrying a cooler and I looked around and it was like life just morphed into slow motion and there were just these people with no color in their face and they were bald and they looked out of shape and I was like , oh my gosh , is this where I'm headed ? It ?

Speaker 2 25:01

was just so frightening and I think that's why , when I went back for the iron infusions , I looked so different I was in heels , I was in a dress , I was working , I had hair and it just can be really difficult and everyone's cancer is different and everyone's treatment is different and everyone feels differently about it and gets something different from it .

Speaker 3 25:23

There , is no cookie cutter , and that's actually what I do love about . I think about my great-grandmother . She had no options back in the day .

Speaker 1 25:33

I mean you just whacked it off .

Speaker 3 25:35

And I remember , you know , she put the pads , you know , in her bra .

Speaker 2 25:38

Yeah .

Speaker 3 25:39

I think I made fun of .

Speaker 2 25:41

I feel bad , you know because I've not seen anything like that .

Speaker 1 25:43

I was a little girl and she had scars up and down her arm .

Speaker 3 25:46

So when I was going through all my research , I just thought how blessed . And look , it's a fact , let's be positive about it , let's normalize it One in eight women are going to get breast cancer . It is not a death sentence and deep breath . It'll be a long journey and it'll be a lot of information . Make sure you have a journal so you can just write down everything .

Speaker 1 26:07

It's going to be okay .

Speaker 3 26:08

Yeah

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Speaker 3 26:09

.

Speaker 1 26:09

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Speaker 2 27:04

You know and you're right about the journal , because I was a single working mom . The hardest times for me were in the evening , after my girls had gone to bed , and I felt so lonely and I didn't have anybody to talk to . And then chemo causes insomnia , which is really unfair , and so I'm sleeping like four hours a night and , you know , I'm cleaning house , I'm taking care of kids , I'm working . It was just a tough time and so I started my blog . Always Wear Lipstick to Chemo .

Speaker 3 27:29

And that sounds so cute .

Speaker 2 27:36

And it was really therapeutic and it was about not just what I was feeling but what I was learning and my walk with the Lord and how that was so significantly changing Because Jesus was all I had . I mean , I would talk to him all night . I was just so awake and alone . And I look back at that and , ironically , that blog was why Brad fell in love with me , because after our third date I said look , I've been through so much . I was like it would take like 10 dates for me to tell you all this . I said I'll email you my blog , read my blog . If you want to go out with me afterwards , great , let's do it , and if you don't , it's okay , I understand . And he emailed me at 2 in the morning and he was like I just finished reading your blog . I cried all the way through it when do you want to go out again ?

Speaker 1 28:17

Oh my gosh , that just brought tears to my eyes .

Speaker 2 28:21

Such a sweet story . It really was . It really was . So you know it . Just journaling is helpful because you will forget . And actually I go back and I'm like , oh my gosh , that sentence was so poorly constructed , but it was because I was so sick , you know .

Speaker 1 28:36

I was just kind of spitting things out . You had chemo brain . I had chemo brain for sure , which you know is a real thing , chemo brain for sure , which is a real thing , and actually a lot of women suffer for that .

Speaker 2 28:42

For years I had a friend who had to quit working . She was an accountant and her chemo fog was so bad she was making mistakes . I mean , it can be very life-changing . Chemo is ravishing on the body . So that right there is poison , that right there should be a reason to go get your screening so you don't lose your hair and have chemo brain .

Speaker 3 29:01

Excellent points . My mantra was for mine was detect it , treat it , defeat it .

Speaker 1 29:08

I love that . That's a good mantra . That's simple . I like it .

Speaker 3 29:11

And you know , and one thing I love about the community that we live in is I've met so many amazing women . You know , people are either a little embarrassed , you know it's bosoms breasts you know , but then , or they're like me who named theirs .

Speaker 1 29:24

Mine was .

Speaker 3 29:25

Bubra oh that's right . That was so funny . If I had that one , it would have been Streisand .

Speaker 2 29:31

I really hope you never have a full name .

Speaker 3 29:33

Right , right , yeah exactly .

Speaker 2 29:34

But you have a really lighthearted approach to a lot of things , lisa , and you're very tough , very tough . You have a great sense of humor and that helps . And I do remember my oncologist saying that his most successful patients because he was like Beth , you're killing it through chemo , you're doing so great , keep going , keep going . I'm like really , because I'm like holding onto the wall to get to my office . I feel so bad . And he said here's the deal . He said get up , put your makeup on , get dressed , have a purpose , get out of the house , go live your life , do your treatment . And he said my toughest patients are my stay-at-home moms that are reading WebMD that think they're going to die in the next 12 hours .

Speaker 2 30:10

And he was like sometimes there's too much information , you need to make sure you're getting it from the right sources . You know the National Institute of Health , the American Cancer Society , mayo Clinic . Don't fall victim to all of this , and people would say to me too also be careful what people say to you . Don't get your feelings hurt . They go . Oh , you have cancer .

Speaker 2 30:26

My aunt died from cancer and I would be like you know , and then you're like trying to console them and thinking well , I hope I'm not like your aunt , you know , I hope I outlive all this and so it , but people don't know what to say . They're getting better at it , though , as we journey down this road , and more and more women are on the survivor side , because , like you said back in the day , that was it . You may not be treated .

Speaker 3 30:50

I am laughing though , because I agree with you . People don't know what to say , so I would send a meme out , and it's like I feel less cancer-y today . You could laugh at it , in fact , I will say , because I have harped on early detection , I've had four friends at different stages . I've got a current friend right now , summer Glass , and hers was just barely a stage one .

Speaker 2 31:15

Wow .

Speaker 3 31:16

And she would be here today , except for she's going through radiation the exact time . So love you , Summer Glass .

Speaker 1 31:22

Well , let's just end with that . Just the importance of early detection , like they keep saying . And just what should people do ?

Speaker 3 31:30

I know Lisa will say go get your mammogram right now , actually Summer my friend said remind people that when you finish your mammogram , go ahead and book the next appointment . Smart yeah , Go ahead and book the next appointment .

Speaker 2 31:42

Smart . Yeah , I would say take care of your body , listen to your body , be your own advocate , don't be afraid to disagree with your doctor . I dumped three oncologists in Dallas for MD Anderson because they all wanted to put me on a 10-year chemo pill I didn't need . Oh , my goodness . So do your homework . And then I'm really serious when I say make sure you have faith and you have a walk with the Lord , because at the end of the day , we're all going to go through hard times , we're all going to suffer , we're going to have things happen to us that don't seem fair , but that's life and we weren't promised it was going to be easy .

Speaker 2 32:28

I will say in all honesty , when my second cancer came , I was not as entrenched daily in my walk with the Lord as I was when my first one came , and it really hurt me and I knew at that point I would never make that mistake again . I would take that time daily to spend in prayer and in reading my Bible . So faith trumps everything . It really does . If you have that , you can get through anything .

Empowering Women's Cancer Survivor Stories

Speaker 1 32:37

Well , ladies , thank you so much for being here today . You did such an amazing job of just sharing your journey , sharing advice . I love everything that you had to say and I know it's going to be so helpful .

Speaker 3 32:47

Well , thank you , martha . We're blessed that you have this platform . Thank you so much because you are such a great voice for the community .

Speaker 2 32:54

Yeah , you are , I love listening . And she's got on a Bubble Lounge shirt , now a sweater . She has swag . You've come a long way Well , thank you .

Speaker 1 33:03

That's been another episode of the Bubble Lounge . I'm Martha Jackson and I'll see you next time .