WEBVTT - The Danielle Fishel Connection 0:00:04.519 --> 0:00:08.799 Hey, there are folks. Sixty percent of Americans have avoided 0:00:09.240 --> 0:00:14.080 common health screenings? Are you in that sixty percent? And also, 0:00:14.720 --> 0:00:17.520 what is your excuse? And with that, I say, after 0:00:17.560 --> 0:00:21.280 scolding you, I'll say, welcome to this episode of Amy 0:00:21.320 --> 0:00:21.800 and TJ. 0:00:22.040 --> 0:00:22.360 Robes. 0:00:22.440 --> 0:00:25.840 You have been in this position before, and I was 0:00:25.840 --> 0:00:28.080 well documented. We talked about it here. You put off 0:00:28.080 --> 0:00:30.639 a very important health screening for a long time, and 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:33.400 your reasons were BS in a lot of ways. 0:00:33.440 --> 0:00:35.279 So I think all of our reasons, all of our 0:00:35.280 --> 0:00:37.559 reasons are bs because we say we're too busy. But 0:00:37.800 --> 0:00:39.879 the truth is, until you lose your health or you 0:00:39.920 --> 0:00:43.520 realize you aren't in good health, you don't fully understand 0:00:43.560 --> 0:00:46.120 how nothing else matters. And so actually it should be 0:00:46.159 --> 0:00:49.520 the one thing you prioritize over everything else. And yet 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:52.720 most of us make excuses because who wants to go 0:00:52.800 --> 0:00:54.920 to the doctor. Who wants to be poked and prodded? 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:57.920 So I get it. It seems uncomfortable, and it seems 0:00:57.960 --> 0:01:00.400 a lot of times unnecessary because none of us think 0:01:00.720 --> 0:01:03.920 we're going to be the one who gets that diagnosis 0:01:03.960 --> 0:01:06.160 that we have to then do something about. Intrigued and 0:01:06.240 --> 0:01:06.480 let me. 0:01:06.480 --> 0:01:08.400 Make sure, let me be clear, here it sounds like 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:09.080 I'm getting on too. 0:01:09.080 --> 0:01:09.240 You. 0:01:09.240 --> 0:01:11.360 You were well documented on how you knew you should 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:13.280 have been going. But also you're talking to a guy 0:01:13.319 --> 0:01:16.120 who if it ain't broken, ain't bleed, and I ain't going. 0:01:16.560 --> 0:01:18.920 That is the I think a lot of guys have 0:01:19.040 --> 0:01:21.320 that much. It has to be that serious for us 0:01:21.319 --> 0:01:23.959 to go get a checkup of any kind or have 0:01:24.000 --> 0:01:27.000 a doctor check us out. So I am absolutely guilty 0:01:27.080 --> 0:01:27.319 of that. 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:30.800 Well, we actually have. If you aren't just taking our 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:33.720 word for it or the survey's word for it. You know, 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:36.800 every time we hear and I am always so impressed 0:01:36.800 --> 0:01:39.360 with anyone who is in the public guy who's willing 0:01:39.400 --> 0:01:44.200 to come forward and be vulnerable and share with the 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:47.280 rest of the world something that they're personally experiencing. And oftentimes, 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:49.480 when you're going through any kind of an illness, it 0:01:49.520 --> 0:01:54.160 can be debilitating, It can be embarrassing, it can be humiliating. 0:01:54.200 --> 0:01:57.800 You feel weak, you feel less then and for those 0:01:58.040 --> 0:02:00.200 folks who are brave enough to say, hey, this and 0:02:00.320 --> 0:02:03.080 to me it always serves as an incredible wake up 0:02:03.120 --> 0:02:05.240 call to anyone else who may be dragging their feet 0:02:05.880 --> 0:02:08.480 for making any kind of important doctor's appointment or even 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:10.640 just that annual appointment that we all need to make 0:02:10.680 --> 0:02:13.120 sure we know we're in a good place with health. 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:15.840 So one of those women is just step forward actually 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:18.840 in the recent months, and she is with us on 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:21.440 the podcast today, and she will be a familiar voice, 0:02:21.440 --> 0:02:23.680 a familiar face, and a familiar name to many of you. 0:02:23.960 --> 0:02:28.840 She grew up on TV screens across America, and if 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:31.840 you loved the show Boy Meets World or the show 0:02:31.880 --> 0:02:35.040 that followed Girl Meets World, you know Tapanga and you 0:02:35.080 --> 0:02:39.120 know Danielle Fischel, and she is our guest today on 0:02:39.160 --> 0:02:41.800 the podcast. Danielle, thank you so much for being with us. 0:02:42.160 --> 0:02:44.360 Thank you so much for having me and being willing 0:02:44.360 --> 0:02:45.320 to have this conversation. 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:49.440 Well, Danielle, you have joined the sisterhood that none of 0:02:49.520 --> 0:02:51.920 us want to be a part of. And I joined 0:02:52.000 --> 0:02:55.920 eleven years ago. You have a more recent history with 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.079 and in fact, you just told everyone in August, just 0:02:59.120 --> 0:03:01.320 a few months ago, Danil, that you were diagnosed with 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:03.400 breast cancer. So I want to ask you, first of all, 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:05.120 how you are doing. 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:10.080 I'm doing really well. As you mentioned, I was diagnosed 0:03:10.080 --> 0:03:12.520 just a couple months ago. I was actually diagnosed in 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:16.040 July twenty second. So it's only been two months, really 0:03:16.160 --> 0:03:20.520 since three months since my diagnosis, and I mobilized very quickly. 0:03:21.280 --> 0:03:23.560 I took it very seriously. I wanted to know all 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:28.480 the information. I wanted to have all the options in 0:03:28.480 --> 0:03:30.720 front of me and figure out what was my best 0:03:30.760 --> 0:03:34.880 path forward. And I realized very quickly, just from talking 0:03:34.920 --> 0:03:38.800 to my friends that a lot of them had said, oh, 0:03:38.920 --> 0:03:42.320 I've never had a mammogram, Oh I haven't had one 0:03:42.360 --> 0:03:45.480 for two years, or my mom hasn't been since before 0:03:45.520 --> 0:03:49.200 the pandemic in twenty twenty. And shortly after that, I 0:03:49.240 --> 0:03:52.640 came across the Affleck Wellness Matter survey and it mentioned 0:03:52.680 --> 0:03:57.000 that sixty five percent of millennials have avoided their yearly screenings. 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:01.360 And last year my mammogram was clean. So I can 0:04:01.400 --> 0:04:03.720 really speak to the testament of in just a year, 0:04:03.880 --> 0:04:07.280 you can go from no cancer to getting a cancer diagnosis. 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:10.080 And I knew that if it were happening in my 0:04:10.200 --> 0:04:13.440 friends and that stat of sixty five percent of millennials, 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:15.680 I knew I could really speak to them and say, 0:04:15.880 --> 0:04:17.520 you need to start taking care of yourself. 0:04:17.640 --> 0:04:20.240 Why were you so diligent? You didn't have a family history. 0:04:20.240 --> 0:04:23.680 But from my understanding, you were on this like clockwork. 0:04:24.200 --> 0:04:27.320 Yeah, Well, the American Cancer Society recommends that you start 0:04:27.320 --> 0:04:30.080 mammograms at forty and I was pregnant at forty and 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:32.800 I was nursing at forty one, so my first mammogram 0:04:32.839 --> 0:04:35.440 was at forty two. And I do like to give 0:04:35.440 --> 0:04:38.400 credit to my family. My parents were both really diligent 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.760 and still are really diligent about their own health screenings. 0:04:42.040 --> 0:04:44.839 I grew up hearing from my mom about mammograms and 0:04:44.880 --> 0:04:47.720 also hearing how awful and painful and miserable they were. 0:04:48.160 --> 0:04:51.159 And even though I was not looking forward to a 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.000 mammogram because of those stories, I knew that it was 0:04:54.080 --> 0:04:57.000 just kind of one of our family values that we 0:04:57.120 --> 0:05:02.080 get our screenings when they're necessary. His mom died from 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:05.000 leukemia and she chose to keep it a secret, and 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:07.000 my mom didn't find out that her mom had cancer 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:09.479 until three days before she died, and I think that 0:05:09.640 --> 0:05:11.760 was one of the things that really impacted my mom 0:05:12.120 --> 0:05:16.240 into saying, as part of our value system, we take 0:05:16.279 --> 0:05:19.200 care of ourselves and when something comes up, we share 0:05:19.200 --> 0:05:21.200 it with families so that we can rally around each 0:05:21.240 --> 0:05:23.719 other and help support each other, which is exactly what 0:05:23.800 --> 0:05:24.040 I did. 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:26.200 When I was diagnosed, daniel can I ask you and 0:05:26.320 --> 0:05:28.840 robok here actually because you said something I hadn't thought 0:05:28.880 --> 0:05:31.680 that much about. You grew up hearing how miserable they were. 0:05:32.200 --> 0:05:35.320 You grew up hearing a mammogram with something bad. This 0:05:35.440 --> 0:05:37.880 is a bad day at the office. So how much 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.480 does that actually factor around? There is that still in 0:05:40.520 --> 0:05:42.920 women's psyche to this day, to where they're turned off 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:45.719 by it because they've heard so much negative something about 0:05:45.800 --> 0:05:46.960 a mammogram from the family. 0:05:47.040 --> 0:05:50.960 Absolutely, and Danielle, when I had my baseline mammogram only 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:53.520 because I had a work assignment asking me to do 0:05:53.600 --> 0:05:56.320 a Mamma Van mammogram in the middle of Times Square 0:05:56.360 --> 0:06:00.000 to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to encourage other women 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.520 and to get their screening. But when I walked into 0:06:02.600 --> 0:06:05.880 that Mamma Van at that point, the recommendation was fifty 0:06:06.240 --> 0:06:10.960 not forty, and I was not going to get a 0:06:11.080 --> 0:06:16.479 test ten years before some board recommended that I do it. Also, yeah, 0:06:16.560 --> 0:06:21.920 I didn't want to have my breasts flattened and squeezed. 0:06:22.040 --> 0:06:24.360 I mean that doesn't feel good. Of course it doesn't. 0:06:24.400 --> 0:06:27.200 So if I hadn't gotten that push into the Mamma 0:06:27.279 --> 0:06:29.839 Van for a work assignment. I don't know that I'd 0:06:29.880 --> 0:06:32.039 be sitting next to you right now because I didn't 0:06:32.040 --> 0:06:34.800 have family history and the recommendation was fifty at the time, 0:06:34.839 --> 0:06:37.360 thank goodness, and I had been advocating for it from 0:06:37.400 --> 0:06:39.920 the moment I was diagnosed that the recommendation needed to 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.480 go back to forty. But yeah, we all put off 0:06:42.480 --> 0:06:45.520 things that were painful, and I think most of us 0:06:45.800 --> 0:06:48.640 believe it can't happen to us, or it won't happen 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:52.240 to us. Danielle. It's interesting you had a family where 0:06:52.680 --> 0:06:55.839 your mom knew it could and did, and it was 0:06:55.880 --> 0:06:58.760 important to get on top of it. And to your point, 0:06:58.800 --> 0:07:02.000 you were on top of it. I was diagnosed stage two. 0:07:02.040 --> 0:07:03.880 It had already spread to my lipnodes, so I ended 0:07:03.960 --> 0:07:07.480 up with chemo and all sorts of other interventions that 0:07:07.520 --> 0:07:09.880 wouldn't have been necessary had I caught it earlier. You 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:13.240 caught yours very early. You were stage zero, and that 0:07:13.880 --> 0:07:18.559 is I mean that, amen, hallelujah. Early detection saves lives 0:07:18.560 --> 0:07:20.840 and you are living, breathing proof of it. 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:24.160 I am. And the technology is evolving so fast. I know, 0:07:24.560 --> 0:07:26.800 you know, mammograms are still not like, oh boy, I 0:07:26.840 --> 0:07:29.240 can't wait to go. It's so so fun. But honestly, 0:07:29.600 --> 0:07:32.440 compared to what I had been told that I could 0:07:32.440 --> 0:07:35.840 experience with a mammogram, I was really pleasantly surprised that 0:07:35.920 --> 0:07:38.600 it wasn't as awful as I had been led to believe. 0:07:39.120 --> 0:07:43.400 And I want you to know that, because if that's 0:07:43.400 --> 0:07:45.400 one of the reasons you're putting it off, you can 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.720 do hard things. You can get through it. It's relatively 0:07:48.840 --> 0:07:52.520 fast and for me, a lot of anxiety rely like 0:07:52.680 --> 0:07:56.400 lies in the unknown, knowing no one wants to hear 0:07:56.480 --> 0:07:59.840 that you have cancer. Like you said, it's not news 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:02.239 you want to get. You hear that phone call. You're scared, 0:08:02.360 --> 0:08:05.520 You're completely overwhelmed. You immediately run to Google, and Google 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:09.320 is filled with all kinds of scary things. But at 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:11.920 least once I knew what I had, I knew I 0:08:11.960 --> 0:08:14.320 could start a plan. There could be a plan that 0:08:14.360 --> 0:08:16.320 put in that I could put into action, and that 0:08:16.360 --> 0:08:19.920 gave me some semblance of control. And I also know 0:08:19.960 --> 0:08:24.080 that The afflic Wellness Matters survey showed that seventy five 0:08:24.120 --> 0:08:27.480 percent of people say that they really appreciate when a 0:08:27.520 --> 0:08:29.840 friend or family member encourages them to go and have 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:32.800 their exams, and for me, that was something that really 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:34.640 made me feel good because I don't want to be 0:08:34.679 --> 0:08:36.680 a nag to anybody. I don't want to feel like 0:08:36.720 --> 0:08:39.959 I'm asking people to do things y'or butting into somebody's business. 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:42.800 But if it's your time to get a mammogram, it's 0:08:42.800 --> 0:08:45.680 probably your best friend's time. Best friend time get a mammogram, 0:08:45.760 --> 0:08:48.000 so you can say to her, let's go together, Let's 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.400 turn this into something fun. Let's get coffee after, let's 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:53.800 go shopping. If you have that ability, gather some people 0:08:53.840 --> 0:08:56.000 around you and say, let's all take care of ourselves, 0:08:56.040 --> 0:08:57.559 because we tend to put ourselves last. 0:08:57.880 --> 0:08:59.640 I love that, Danielle, and you know what, you know 0:08:59.679 --> 0:09:01.640 what I say too, because you're right. I also want 0:09:01.640 --> 0:09:04.200 to say it didn't hurt anywhere near as bad as 0:09:04.240 --> 0:09:05.800 I thought it was going to, so that is very 0:09:05.800 --> 0:09:08.320 important to say. But I also have said, you know 0:09:08.360 --> 0:09:12.920 what hurts a lot more chemo double mistectomies, being on 0:09:13.559 --> 0:09:15.720 medication for the rest of your life, and the anxiety. 0:09:15.760 --> 0:09:18.640 All that's way worse than going and getting your mammogram 0:09:18.720 --> 0:09:21.280 and having peace of mind because more than likely it's 0:09:21.320 --> 0:09:23.240 going to be clean, it's going to be clear, and 0:09:23.280 --> 0:09:24.839 you're going to be able to breathe that sigh of 0:09:24.880 --> 0:09:27.160 relief at least for a year until your next mammogram. 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:30.400 But it's better to know because knowledge is power, and 0:09:30.679 --> 0:09:33.880 you're right. I let you can take action. And when 0:09:34.280 --> 0:09:38.439 you actually have that information, there is so many there 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:40.719 are so many options for women right now. So I 0:09:40.760 --> 0:09:43.800 love this message and I can't believe you're just already 0:09:43.800 --> 0:09:47.040 in this amazing headspace, Danielle, three months into your diagnosis. 0:09:47.080 --> 0:09:50.000 It took me about two years before I could come 0:09:50.080 --> 0:09:51.400 out of the fog and the fear. 0:09:51.679 --> 0:09:54.520 You know, I really have to give so much credit 0:09:54.720 --> 0:09:58.040 to the breast cancer community that you are a part of. 0:09:58.679 --> 0:10:04.480 I have felt so enveloped, so warm, like a massive 0:10:04.520 --> 0:10:07.319 embrace from the breast cancer community who just reached out 0:10:07.360 --> 0:10:09.360 to me, whether I knew them or not, saying Hi, 0:10:09.800 --> 0:10:12.400 I have resources for you, I have doctors for you. 0:10:12.480 --> 0:10:14.560 I'm here if you want to talk. Let me send 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:16.760 you the link to the best supportive brad that I 0:10:16.840 --> 0:10:20.319 found for post surgery. Here's information I found on radiation 0:10:20.400 --> 0:10:24.360 if you're interested. Here's been my experience ontomoxifen. I spent 0:10:24.440 --> 0:10:26.400 a lot of time in the breast cancer Reddit and 0:10:26.440 --> 0:10:29.760 so special. Shout out to those breast cancer redditors because 0:10:29.800 --> 0:10:32.480 they are so open and honest and want to share 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:36.280 their experiences and can It's it's a community you never 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:38.280 want to join, but if you ever have to join us, 0:10:38.320 --> 0:10:47.520 I promise you you are in the best company. 0:10:50.600 --> 0:10:53.760 Danielle, what's your prognosis right now? What doctors told you 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:55.360 about what you're going to have to do now for 0:10:55.480 --> 0:10:56.960 the I guess the rest of your life. 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.160 Yeah, so I will definitely need to be on hormone therapy. 0:11:00.200 --> 0:11:02.920 Cancer was estrogen positive, so I'll need to go on 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:07.079 some sort of estrogen blocker, which, you know, another thing 0:11:07.120 --> 0:11:10.040 I'm not exactly looking forward to. I've heard mixed results 0:11:10.080 --> 0:11:13.920 about those side effects. And I also will most likely 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:17.520 need to have targeted radiation. Possibly we'll breast radiation. I 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:20.080 have a few appointments coming up next week next week 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:23.520 with some radiation oncologists, and those decisions will be made 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:27.200 with my team, and you know, I still have that 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:29.600 part of it in front of me. But being able 0:11:29.640 --> 0:11:33.720 to stay focused on my family, the community around me, 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:38.680 and very specifically spreading this message has been so helpful 0:11:38.800 --> 0:11:42.640 to me because it really stopped me from turning inward 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:46.160 and kind of yeah, focusing on all the fear that 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:48.800 could be there and knowing that it's making a difference 0:11:48.840 --> 0:11:51.360 and it's having a positive impact on others has helped 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:52.840 me more than anyone will ever know. 0:11:53.200 --> 0:11:55.560 Daniel I am and I couldn't agree with you more. 0:11:55.559 --> 0:11:57.520 And I just I am so impressed with you and 0:11:57.559 --> 0:12:01.439 where you are. And if you want any side conversation, 0:12:01.520 --> 0:12:03.320 you can call me. I was on tom oxyphon for 0:12:03.360 --> 0:12:06.679 eight years and I'm a big advocate for that because 0:12:06.679 --> 0:12:09.560 I remember my oncologist told me the tomoxofin is more 0:12:09.559 --> 0:12:12.760 important than the chemo actually when it comes to results. 0:12:12.880 --> 0:12:14.880 So if you want to have a side conversation about it, 0:12:14.880 --> 0:12:16.960 I can tell you it's not as bad as people 0:12:17.000 --> 0:12:19.199 say it is. I think, very similar to the Mammi grand. 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:22.880 You want to hear all. 0:12:22.840 --> 0:12:28.120 About we're all together. I've been hearing about from you. 0:12:28.200 --> 0:12:29.920 Just get ready for the hot flashes. That's all I 0:12:29.960 --> 0:12:33.840 have to say. But tell us about looking forward to that. 0:12:34.240 --> 0:12:36.160 It beats a lot of other things though, and we're 0:12:36.200 --> 0:12:38.600 here to talk about it, and that's that's important. And Danielle, 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:41.160 I know that you were and I felt the same way. 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:44.280 Work and staying busy and staying active. I know, you've 0:12:44.280 --> 0:12:47.319 got two young children, you've got your your wonderful husband, 0:12:47.360 --> 0:12:49.720 who I read it was a difficult conversation to tell 0:12:49.800 --> 0:12:52.680 him that you had cancer because both his parents. He 0:12:52.760 --> 0:12:54.600 lost both of his parents to cancer. So that's just 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:57.800 these are tough conversations and scary conversations, but when you 0:12:57.880 --> 0:13:01.520 have them, that's how you get them. But going to 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:05.080 work and keeping yourself busy, it how important was that 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.640 to you and tell us what you're doing professionally and 0:13:07.679 --> 0:13:08.600 personally right now? 0:13:08.760 --> 0:13:10.640 Yeah, it was really important to me to be able 0:13:10.679 --> 0:13:13.000 to stay focused on work. And it was actually one 0:13:13.040 --> 0:13:15.360 of the decisions that went into me deciding to have 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:18.800 a lumpectomy versus a double mess ectomy. Thankfully, I don't 0:13:18.800 --> 0:13:21.120 have any of the Broca genes or other genes that 0:13:21.160 --> 0:13:23.640 could make me more susceptible to cancer in the future, 0:13:23.679 --> 0:13:26.680 so that also played a factor. But I had you know, 0:13:26.720 --> 0:13:30.200 I've been working since twenty seventeen to be a full 0:13:30.200 --> 0:13:34.200 time director behind the camera, and I had five weeks 0:13:34.240 --> 0:13:36.920 of work directing a show called Lopez Versus Lopez for 0:13:37.040 --> 0:13:40.120 NBC starring George Lopez and Myy and Lopez and it 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:42.600 was starting on August twenty first, and I got my 0:13:42.679 --> 0:13:45.560 diagnosis on July twenty second, and I asked all the 0:13:45.600 --> 0:13:48.760 doctors I met with, is there any reason I can't 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:52.720 put surgery off until, say, mid October, when I'm done directing, 0:13:53.160 --> 0:13:55.920 And they all recommended to me that I not do that. 0:13:56.040 --> 0:13:59.240 They said, cancer is cancer, and my specific type was 0:13:59.320 --> 0:14:01.760 high grade, so it was aggressive. And they said, it 0:14:01.800 --> 0:14:04.079 doesn't send you a memo when it decides that it's 0:14:04.120 --> 0:14:06.200 going to spread, and so we don't recommend that you 0:14:06.240 --> 0:14:08.920 wait two months. And I said, okay, I do not 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:12.360 want to lose this opportunity for this work. How quickly 0:14:12.360 --> 0:14:14.679 can I get in for surgery and how quickly will 0:14:14.679 --> 0:14:16.920 I be able to recover? And so I had surgery 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:20.360 on August thirteenth, and I was at work on eight 0:14:20.400 --> 0:14:24.120 twenty one, and I worked through it. I wore my compression, 0:14:24.160 --> 0:14:28.640 brought a work and I managed. I was tired and 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:31.160 I was a little swollen, but I had great people 0:14:31.200 --> 0:14:35.720 around me. Staying busy, staying focused was very helpful. So 0:14:35.840 --> 0:14:37.040 I'm really lucky. 0:14:37.440 --> 0:14:39.600 I don't mean to and you will, please if I'm 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.360 totally out of line here, Danielle Robes, you all tell me. 0:14:42.800 --> 0:14:45.600 But from my vantage point, I've covered this for a 0:14:45.680 --> 0:14:47.840 long time, and we do breast cancer awareness and I 0:14:47.960 --> 0:14:49.960 wear a pink tie every year on certain days and 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:53.800 all this stuff. But Danielle, I don't feel like I 0:14:53.920 --> 0:15:01.080 see your story highlighted enough as the success story. You 0:15:01.200 --> 0:15:04.560 caught it early, your prognosis is great, and I think 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:07.240 so often and I'm not taking anything away from with 0:15:07.320 --> 0:15:09.640 stage two and three and four. We talk about metastatic 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:12.560 and we hear often these stories of these fighters, and 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:16.680 those are brilliant, beautiful stories. But am I crazy in 0:15:16.800 --> 0:15:20.440 thinking that the face of and we don't Sometimes I 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:23.600 feel like we're not highlighting what Danielle is talking about, 0:15:23.640 --> 0:15:27.600 which was this is a success story of why you 0:15:27.760 --> 0:15:31.480 have to do this and the prognosis is good? Am 0:15:31.560 --> 0:15:32.120 I crazy? 0:15:32.280 --> 0:15:34.920 You get? When I'm here? I think people end up 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:38.240 highlighting or telling more dramatic stories, and not that your 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:41.720 story isn't dramatic, but the ones that might be scarier 0:15:41.760 --> 0:15:44.120 are the ones that seem more Okay, it's not just 0:15:44.120 --> 0:15:47.080 me fearful, but yeo, you don't hear about I don't 0:15:47.120 --> 0:15:49.720 think you hear enough women coming forward and saying I 0:15:49.760 --> 0:15:52.080 had stage zero and I have stage zero because I 0:15:52.080 --> 0:15:54.000 caught it early, and I caught it early because I 0:15:54.040 --> 0:15:54.800 made my appointment. 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.840 So Danielle, you feel that why are we your story 0:15:57.880 --> 0:15:59.880 should be repeated and repeated and repeated. 0:16:00.080 --> 0:16:03.280 Well, it is really important, specifically again because the Affleck 0:16:03.360 --> 0:16:06.360 Wellness Matter survey also showed that fifty six percent of 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:10.160 people who are diagnosed with cancer are diagnosed exactly how 0:16:10.200 --> 0:16:13.160 I was, which is during a routine screening. It's not 0:16:13.320 --> 0:16:15.960 because they feel a lump, it's not because they have 0:16:16.040 --> 0:16:18.720 other symptoms. It's because they stayed on top of a 0:16:18.800 --> 0:16:22.440 yearly exam. And so that is the only reason I 0:16:22.480 --> 0:16:25.040 found out I had no symptoms. I had no lump, 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:27.520 I wouldn't have for a long time, and then by 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.360 the time I may have experienced a symptom, it could 0:16:30.400 --> 0:16:34.280 have been significantly more difficult to treat. So that's what 0:16:34.320 --> 0:16:36.840 I also wanted to share with people is that while 0:16:36.880 --> 0:16:39.280 no one still wants to get that phone call, hey, 0:16:39.360 --> 0:16:42.800 you have cancer. There's that is such a scary word 0:16:42.840 --> 0:16:46.920 for everyone, but finding out you have stage zero cancer 0:16:47.400 --> 0:16:51.720 is very, very treatable. And my hope is that if 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:53.840 you do have to get that call, you get the 0:16:53.840 --> 0:16:56.600 call like I did that is you just developed cancer 0:16:56.640 --> 0:16:59.680 and we found it like that, that's the best way 0:17:00.120 --> 0:17:01.200 to have to hear that news. 0:17:01.680 --> 0:17:03.360 I just got chills when you said that, because that 0:17:03.600 --> 0:17:06.560 is the best way to get the worst news possible. 0:17:06.840 --> 0:17:10.600 How are your kids doing? How is your family doing? 0:17:10.640 --> 0:17:13.119 How did they handle the news? And talk about how 0:17:13.160 --> 0:17:16.280 important that was for you to tell, to tell the 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:18.200 story in the right way and to get the support 0:17:18.240 --> 0:17:18.720 you needed. 0:17:19.000 --> 0:17:21.119 Yeah, my family is doing really well. 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:21.600 I was. 0:17:22.040 --> 0:17:23.520 You know, it was hard for me to have to 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:26.240 tell my husband. As you mentioned, both of his parents pasted. 0:17:26.280 --> 0:17:29.400 His mom died in twenty twenty two from lung cancer, 0:17:29.640 --> 0:17:31.840 and she lived with us while she was going through 0:17:31.920 --> 0:17:35.800 chemo and through her cancer treatment. And my oldest son, Adler, 0:17:35.920 --> 0:17:38.240 was three when she passed, and he was very close 0:17:38.280 --> 0:17:41.480 to her. And one of my big concerns when he asked, Boar, 0:17:41.560 --> 0:17:44.359 did Granna go? Why is Granna not here anymore? My 0:17:44.400 --> 0:17:46.280 big concern was that if we tell her, if we 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:48.840 tell him that she was sick, he's going to think 0:17:48.880 --> 0:17:51.840 the next time he gets a cold that he's going 0:17:51.880 --> 0:17:54.159 to die, or that the next time mommy or daddy 0:17:54.200 --> 0:17:56.480 is sick, he's going to think we're going to die, 0:17:56.560 --> 0:17:58.400 and so I wanted to be honest with him about 0:17:58.400 --> 0:18:01.720 the fact that she had cancer and that cancer doesn't 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:04.119 always mean that you die, but sometimes it does, and 0:18:04.160 --> 0:18:06.800 in Grandmaw's case, that's what it was. And so when 0:18:06.880 --> 0:18:10.840 I was diagnosed, my fear was I'm normally so honest 0:18:10.840 --> 0:18:13.840 with my kids, but I can't tell them I have cancer. 0:18:13.960 --> 0:18:17.360 I just can't. I can't handle that possibility that they're 0:18:17.400 --> 0:18:18.919 going to worry about me in that way. 0:18:19.800 --> 0:18:20.440 So they didn't. 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:22.560 They never They don't know that I had cancer, but 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:24.199 they do know that I had a booboo that I 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:28.359 had surgically removed from my body, and they needed to 0:18:28.359 --> 0:18:30.239 be gentle with me. I told them, I love our 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:32.520 bear hugs and I love wrestling with you, but my 0:18:32.560 --> 0:18:34.639 booboo means that I need to be I need to 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:37.480 be gentle, so you need to hug me from this side, 0:18:37.560 --> 0:18:40.560 and eventually I'll get back to wrestling with you. And 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:42.560 when that did happen that I was able to wrestle 0:18:42.560 --> 0:18:45.040 with them and swing them around, Adler stopped and he said. 0:18:44.800 --> 0:18:46.840 Mommy, is your booboo all better? 0:18:47.400 --> 0:18:49.480 And I was so happy to tell him that, yes, 0:18:49.600 --> 0:18:53.560 my booboo was all better. And yeah, my family is great. 0:18:53.640 --> 0:18:56.119 And my mom was there with me for my surgeries, 0:18:56.520 --> 0:18:59.320 my dad and his wife were right there, my friends, 0:18:59.359 --> 0:19:02.480 my family, breast cancer community. I have never felt more 0:19:02.640 --> 0:19:05.639 loved and supported than I have in these last three months. 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:08.680 I mean, I know I have said I have never 0:19:08.840 --> 0:19:13.840 met a happier group of people than people who are 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:16.080 fighting or have fought cancer, Because you get it, you 0:19:16.160 --> 0:19:20.399 get how important every day is. Every minute is in 0:19:20.400 --> 0:19:24.280 a way that maybe some people haven't had the opportunity 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:28.320 to experience, where you realize how lucky we all are 0:19:28.440 --> 0:19:31.320 to be here, and there's just this joy, and there's 0:19:31.480 --> 0:19:35.879 just this gratitude about life, about every day, about every moment. 0:19:36.119 --> 0:19:39.560 How has your life changed since you got this diagnosis? 0:19:39.920 --> 0:19:42.919