WEBVTT - Breast Cancer and Beyond 0:00:03.680 --> 0:00:08.240 Welcome everyone to a very special episode of Amy and TJ. 0:00:08.520 --> 0:00:12.320 And this is in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. 0:00:12.360 --> 0:00:14.480 I think many of you probably know my story and 0:00:14.520 --> 0:00:18.800 the significance of October first for me, eleven years ago, 0:00:19.280 --> 0:00:22.840 I walked in and had my very first mammogram as 0:00:23.040 --> 0:00:25.799 an assignment, a work assignment. So I went into a 0:00:25.800 --> 0:00:28.400 Mamma van in the middle of Times Square or a 0:00:28.440 --> 0:00:31.800 segment on Good Morning America, just to show women that 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:34.919 getting a mammogram isn't that scary, it isn't that painful, 0:00:35.040 --> 0:00:36.960 and so much so that I was willing to do 0:00:37.000 --> 0:00:39.040 it on live television. And I thought I was doing 0:00:39.040 --> 0:00:42.360 it as a public service for other women who might 0:00:42.720 --> 0:00:44.879 find their breast cancer. Well, it turns out a few 0:00:44.920 --> 0:00:49.680 weeks later, I myself, on October thirtieth, was diagnosed ultimately 0:00:49.720 --> 0:00:54.000 with stage two invasive breast cancer, and that led to 0:00:54.240 --> 0:00:58.520 a series of doctors' visits and surgeries. But I ended 0:00:58.600 --> 0:01:01.880 up with a double mistectomy. I had six months eight 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:06.880 rounds of chemotherapy, I had several reconstructive surgeries, and today, 0:01:07.480 --> 0:01:11.400 eleven years later, I can proudly say that my cancer 0:01:11.480 --> 0:01:14.759 is in remission and that I've had many many blood 0:01:14.760 --> 0:01:17.319 tests over the years, and so far, so good on 0:01:17.360 --> 0:01:19.880 those tumor markers. But it is something that I will 0:01:19.880 --> 0:01:23.280 always remain vigilant about and certainly something that I will 0:01:23.319 --> 0:01:27.160 continue to advocate because other women, all the women out there, 0:01:27.200 --> 0:01:29.640 need to know. And this is a great reminder October. 0:01:29.640 --> 0:01:33.480 First make those mammogram appointments, check in with your doctor. 0:01:33.840 --> 0:01:35.840 Make sure you're taking care of yourself so we can 0:01:35.880 --> 0:01:37.520 take care of all the people we love in our lives. 0:01:37.560 --> 0:01:40.399 Because I know so many of us women are thinking 0:01:40.440 --> 0:01:43.040 about our children, are thinking about the other people in 0:01:43.080 --> 0:01:44.959 our family, making sure they're taking care of it. So 0:01:45.080 --> 0:01:47.800 often we forget about taking care of our own health. 0:01:47.840 --> 0:01:51.200 So please everyone in this month of October, remember to 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:55.200 make your appointments and to keep them and not just once. 0:01:55.280 --> 0:01:57.880 This is something that we hope women can do every year. 0:01:58.120 --> 0:02:01.520 The recommendation finally is bad down to the age of 0:02:01.600 --> 0:02:04.160 forty and that is when women, that is when the 0:02:04.160 --> 0:02:09.600 American Cancer Society and other organizations recommend that women start 0:02:09.639 --> 0:02:12.160 getting that baseline mammogram. And right now, just to give 0:02:12.160 --> 0:02:14.560 you a few statistics at the seriousness of this disease. 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:18.800 Just last year, the American Cancer Society estimates that about 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:22.080 three hundred thousand women in this country were diagnosed with 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:25.280 invasive breast cancer, and many people have heard the statistic, 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:27.840 but one in eight women in this country in their 0:02:27.880 --> 0:02:31.000 lifetime will be diagnosed with breast cancer. And among those 0:02:31.040 --> 0:02:33.480 of us who were diagnosed with early stage breast cancer, 0:02:34.000 --> 0:02:37.560 thirty percent of us will go on to have metastatic 0:02:37.680 --> 0:02:41.519 or stage four breast cancer. And these are serious numbers 0:02:41.960 --> 0:02:44.440 that women need to be aware of. The Other one 0:02:44.440 --> 0:02:46.440 that I always try to let women know. They think, well, 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:48.280 I don't have any family history. No one I know 0:02:48.360 --> 0:02:50.840 in my family has had breast cancer. You know what, 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:53.440 it doesn't really matter, because more than eighty percent of 0:02:53.480 --> 0:02:58.000 all breast cancer patients did not have family history, and 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:01.040 that was my history as well. Actually come from a 0:03:01.160 --> 0:03:03.040 very large family. My mom is one of nine, my 0:03:03.120 --> 0:03:06.400 dad's one of six. No one when I was diagnosed 0:03:06.600 --> 0:03:08.880 had breast cancer, including all the cousins that I can't 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:12.240 even count at this point. So I really had this 0:03:12.360 --> 0:03:17.040 false sense of security that somehow I couldn't possibly become 0:03:17.040 --> 0:03:21.400 a breast cancer patient. And so that work assignment I 0:03:21.440 --> 0:03:23.880 had eleven years ago saved my life and in a 0:03:23.880 --> 0:03:27.000 lot of ways, Breast Cancer Awareness Month and October first 0:03:27.400 --> 0:03:29.919 saved my life, so please everyone remember that. And as 0:03:29.960 --> 0:03:33.680 we start off on this very special edition of Amy 0:03:33.720 --> 0:03:37.880 and TJ, I want to let everyone know that early 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:44.560 detection saves lives and that there have been so many advancements, 0:03:44.640 --> 0:03:48.200 so many new drugs, so many new treatments available to women, 0:03:48.280 --> 0:03:51.640 that whether you're diagnosed at stage zero or stage four, 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:54.960 not only can you live longer, but you can live better. 0:03:55.160 --> 0:03:58.880 So bottom line, this is not your grandmother's breast cancer. 0:03:58.920 --> 0:04:02.680 Breast cancer today is so much more manageable. There are 0:04:02.720 --> 0:04:07.360 so many advancements in treating and in testing. And get 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:12.200 this statistic right now, after five years, ninety nine percent 0:04:12.280 --> 0:04:15.480 of early stage breast cancer patients are still alive. We 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:19.760 have improved survival rates and we have improved the quality 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:23.039 of life. That is a reality for so many breast 0:04:23.080 --> 0:04:27.479 cancer patients and survivors. There are options even having a 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:30.840 double mistectomy knowing that you can have reconstruction afterwards. These 0:04:30.880 --> 0:04:33.800 are really hard and tough surgeries to have, but thank 0:04:33.800 --> 0:04:38.200 god they're available because esthetics are important. How you look 0:04:38.240 --> 0:04:40.320 and how you feel are a big part of this 0:04:40.440 --> 0:04:43.520 breast cancer journey. And then we have physical therapy options 0:04:43.560 --> 0:04:48.159 to help recover from the reconstructive surgeries. And while mental 0:04:48.200 --> 0:04:50.960 health support is such an important part of this journey, 0:04:51.240 --> 0:04:53.920 and we are talking about it and we are providing 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:56.280 it for women like me and for so many others 0:04:56.320 --> 0:05:00.000 who have been diagnosed. So today, what we have with treatment, 0:05:00.160 --> 0:05:03.120 it's just so personalized. It's specialized. It's not a one 0:05:03.160 --> 0:05:03.960 size fits all. 0:05:04.360 --> 0:05:04.560 You know. 0:05:04.640 --> 0:05:06.600 I was told even when I was diagnosed that if 0:05:06.600 --> 0:05:09.680 I had gotten my cancer five years earlier, ten years earlier, 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:12.520 my treatment would have been completely different. I would have 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:16.719 had really, really tough chemo. Instead, I got targeted chemo. 0:05:17.120 --> 0:05:21.560 And so we have treatments that are for every individual's 0:05:21.640 --> 0:05:24.960 unique needs, and that leads to more effective and more 0:05:25.000 --> 0:05:29.359 targeted treatments with a better recovery. And that's just a 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:31.640 remarkable thing. And I've always said that there is a 0:05:31.640 --> 0:05:33.960 cure for cancer. It's called cash. You know, we can 0:05:34.080 --> 0:05:38.880 encourage and contribute whatever we can to so many incredible 0:05:39.000 --> 0:05:42.440 organizations that are doing the work, the research work that 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.520 is needed to try and cure this disease. I applaud them, 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:48.359 I support them, and I urge anyone who has a 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:50.880 favorite charity that they believe in that they support to 0:05:50.920 --> 0:05:53.640 give when you can, but especially in this month, as 0:05:53.640 --> 0:05:56.839 we remember how important it is. We're going to be 0:05:56.880 --> 0:06:00.520 speaking with someone who is currently fighting this disease, someone 0:06:00.839 --> 0:06:03.480 who you know and probably someone who you love. We're 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.520 going to be speaking with actress Nicole Eggert, the beloved 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:10.640 Baywatch star, about her courageous battle with breast cancer. We're 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:13.599 going to talk about her journey of becoming her own advocate, 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:17.359 and she will tell us how facing cancer and fighting 0:06:17.400 --> 0:06:22.040 cancer in the public eye has transformed her entire perspective 0:06:22.080 --> 0:06:24.960 on life. It happens to so many of us who 0:06:25.040 --> 0:06:28.000 have fought this disease and lived with this disease, and 0:06:28.080 --> 0:06:31.480 she'll talk about how important it is to normalize this disease, 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:34.600 to talk about it, to remove the stigma around discussing 0:06:34.680 --> 0:06:41.600 breast cancer. We want to welcome Nicole Eggert to the podcast. 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:44.359 Welcome Nicole, Hi, thanks for having me. 0:06:44.839 --> 0:06:47.000 We all fell in love with you in Charles with 0:06:47.080 --> 0:06:49.600 Charles in Charge and then with Baywatch later. So your 0:06:49.640 --> 0:06:52.000 face is a very familiar one, a beloved one for 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:55.960 anyone of a certain age, for sure, but you have 0:06:56.160 --> 0:06:59.560 been obviously in the headlines again with your breast cancer battle. 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.720 You announce in December of last year that you have 0:07:02.800 --> 0:07:06.560 been diagnosed with a rare form of stage two breast cancer. 0:07:06.640 --> 0:07:10.160 So my first question is how are you doing? Where 0:07:10.200 --> 0:07:12.200 are you in your journey and just let us know 0:07:12.240 --> 0:07:13.200 how you are right now. 0:07:14.560 --> 0:07:18.000 Well, I'm good and a journey it has been. I 0:07:18.000 --> 0:07:21.520 will tell you that. Yeah, I was diagnosed with stage 0:07:21.560 --> 0:07:25.120 two to then find out later it was much more 0:07:25.160 --> 0:07:29.880 advanced than that. So it's been a roller coaster ride, 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:33.640 it really has. I did eight months of treatment. I 0:07:33.720 --> 0:07:35.840 just had a mes ectomy six days ago. 0:07:36.120 --> 0:07:38.960 Oh my goodness, Wow, I did. 0:07:39.160 --> 0:07:43.080 And I will go back on treatment and and then 0:07:43.200 --> 0:07:45.000 do some more imaging and see where we're at and 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:45.600 make sure. 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:47.280 That that that that. 0:07:46.880 --> 0:07:51.920 That silly stuff didn't travel anywhere, and you know, that's 0:07:52.000 --> 0:07:55.880 just sort of the the hardest part for me anyways, 0:07:55.960 --> 0:07:58.840 is that gray area of not really knowing what's going on. 0:07:59.640 --> 0:08:02.520 For So when I started chemo, I felt really confident 0:08:02.640 --> 0:08:05.120 because it was like, we're taking action, We're doing something. 0:08:05.880 --> 0:08:07.880 This is you know, what I've chosen, this is how 0:08:07.920 --> 0:08:09.640 I'm going to come at it. And you know, it 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:13.040 was a mission and we were it was war mode. 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:16.160 But when you stop and you're just like waiting and 0:08:16.880 --> 0:08:19.680 you know all of that, it's it can really it 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:21.960 can really mess with you. So that's that's when I 0:08:21.960 --> 0:08:25.040 have to really rely on like meditation and being happy 0:08:25.120 --> 0:08:28.680 and reading my affirmations and you know, really focusing on 0:08:28.720 --> 0:08:34.559 living fully and in the moment. And I'm here. I'm 0:08:34.600 --> 0:08:39.120 here and I'm fighting and I feel good. So, you know, 0:08:39.559 --> 0:08:40.200 it is what it is. 0:08:40.280 --> 0:08:40.840 Day by day? 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:43.320 How do how do you you kind of hit on 0:08:43.360 --> 0:08:45.720 it there, but just daily these days as you sit 0:08:45.800 --> 0:08:49.280 around and you wait, how do you feel physically? I 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:54.280 assume some days are tougher than others, but generally speaking, generally. 0:08:53.880 --> 0:08:57.480 Speaking, I feel good. I you know, I changed. I 0:08:57.559 --> 0:09:00.840 do a lot of supplements and things that help along, 0:09:01.120 --> 0:09:03.600 you know, that help fight cancer. I focus on the 0:09:03.640 --> 0:09:06.400 foods that fight and stay away from the ones that 0:09:06.520 --> 0:09:11.679 contribute to so I feel good, you know, health wise. Honestly, 0:09:12.160 --> 0:09:14.600 going through chemo is tough on the body. It's tough 0:09:14.640 --> 0:09:17.000 on the bones and the muscles. So I do get 0:09:17.040 --> 0:09:19.760 stuck a little bit and I have trouble sometimes, you know, 0:09:20.280 --> 0:09:24.120 getting moving, But I just keep keep going and just 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:26.120 keep I figure the more I move and the more 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:28.959 I do it, the easier it's going to get. And 0:09:30.280 --> 0:09:31.920 you know, I just spent time in New York, which 0:09:31.960 --> 0:09:35.400 was a huge test because OI did that push me? 0:09:35.520 --> 0:09:37.400 You know, I thought I walked and did stairs here 0:09:37.440 --> 0:09:40.120 in Los Angeles. I mean, you know, there's nothing like 0:09:40.200 --> 0:09:44.079 a day in New York to really put la people 0:09:44.120 --> 0:09:46.559 to shame on what they think are stairs and walking. 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.080 So you know, and I did great, and I came 0:09:50.120 --> 0:09:53.600 back feeling fantastic. And it's I think it's you know, 0:09:53.800 --> 0:09:58.320 pushing yourself. For me, it's pushing myself and just seeing 0:09:58.320 --> 0:09:59.840 how far I can go every day. 0:10:00.120 --> 0:10:01.920 And I think it keeps me going. 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.520 Oh, I mean, having something to do other than going 0:10:05.559 --> 0:10:08.520 to the doctor or worrying about a pet scan or 0:10:08.559 --> 0:10:11.560 your latest blood test results is key when you're not 0:10:11.720 --> 0:10:14.360 only fighting it, but then living in that gray area, 0:10:14.679 --> 0:10:17.080 waiting for it, hoping that it doesn't come back, all 0:10:17.120 --> 0:10:19.360 of those things that anyone who's gone through breast cancer 0:10:19.480 --> 0:10:24.160 understands intimately and uniquely. But Nicole, I actually wanted, if 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:27.520 you could, to take us back to last year and 0:10:27.720 --> 0:10:30.160 how you found your cancer because this month, as you know, 0:10:30.920 --> 0:10:33.640 I credit this month was saving my life for sure, 0:10:33.760 --> 0:10:37.080 because that's what prompted my mammogram which led to my diagnosis. 0:10:37.640 --> 0:10:43.720 But you found your cancer through a self exam, had 0:10:43.760 --> 0:10:47.480 you had a baseline mammogram before. Just walk us through 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:49.920 how you found your cancer, because this is so important 0:10:49.960 --> 0:10:52.880 for any woman and certainly some men out there who 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:53.880 are listening. 0:10:54.720 --> 0:10:56.720 Very diligent about my mammograms. 0:10:57.240 --> 0:10:59.760 I happen to be somebody who has very dense breast 0:10:59.800 --> 0:11:03.800 to shoe, so it was missed in the mammograms. That 0:11:03.920 --> 0:11:06.959 does not mean that you should skip the mammograms. Let 0:11:07.000 --> 0:11:09.720 me just start there. Mammograms are very important. I was 0:11:09.760 --> 0:11:15.200 doing mamograms and ultrasound, but it wasn't detected. I felt 0:11:15.200 --> 0:11:19.000 a throbbing one day, and so when I got in 0:11:19.040 --> 0:11:21.880 the shower, I did a self exam and I felt 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.760 it and it was large, and I my heart stopped. 0:11:24.840 --> 0:11:28.959 I just I couldn't believe that I didn't know that 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:31.160 that was there this whole time. Had I been doing 0:11:31.200 --> 0:11:34.920 self exams, which I wasn't, I would have known it 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:38.400 was there sooner. So that you know, that is my 0:11:38.559 --> 0:11:43.280 message to do it all, to do all of the things, 0:11:43.400 --> 0:11:47.520 because different bodies are different. And I know somebody with 0:11:47.679 --> 0:11:50.880 dense breast tissue who was just detected early from a mammogram, 0:11:51.240 --> 0:11:54.440 so you know, it just depends where it's hiding. Everybody's 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:58.560 different there. Mamograms are super important, All of it is 0:11:58.559 --> 0:12:03.200 super important. Going to your gynecology appointments and having them 0:12:03.240 --> 0:12:06.120 do a self exam is very important. And the only 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:09.800 reason I hadn't done that in a while. I did 0:12:09.840 --> 0:12:12.520 it in the beginning of the pandemic and my doctor 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:16.760 left and I was lazy about finding a new guynecologist, 0:12:16.760 --> 0:12:20.960 and I just went for ultrasounds on my pelvic area instead, 0:12:21.400 --> 0:12:23.400 and I just kept saying, I'll get to it, I'll 0:12:23.400 --> 0:12:26.520 get to it. Had I had done that, they would 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:29.000 have felt it. There's all these you could have, should 0:12:29.000 --> 0:12:31.880 have would have. So my takeaway is do them all. 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:36.400 Just do them all monthly. Not the mammograms monthly, obviously, 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:40.760 but the yearly mammograms, the monthly self exams. 0:12:40.960 --> 0:12:43.880 I say, feel yourself up. That's my little reminder. 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:47.760 Don't forget to fill yourself up, because you have to 0:12:47.760 --> 0:12:49.760 get to know your body and be aware. 0:12:50.120 --> 0:12:52.520 And Nicole, I hate that you just called yourself lazy, 0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.800 because that is what we do, right. We blame ourselves 0:12:56.040 --> 0:12:58.040 for what's happened. And I just want to make you 0:12:58.080 --> 0:12:59.960 feel a little bit better, because when I got diagn 0:13:00.679 --> 0:13:04.920 I'll never forget the radiologist took my two fingers and 0:13:05.120 --> 0:13:07.720 when they found one of the lumps, and she put 0:13:07.800 --> 0:13:11.280 it onto my breast, and clearly I then felt the 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:13.839 mass that was there, and she said, you've never felt 0:13:13.840 --> 0:13:18.320 this before. And I had not ever done a breast 0:13:18.400 --> 0:13:20.320 self exam because I didn't think it could happen to me. 0:13:20.360 --> 0:13:23.240 And I would just say to you that you sound 0:13:23.559 --> 0:13:25.920 like you were way ahead of me and a lot 0:13:25.920 --> 0:13:28.679 of other women in terms of the proactiveness you were 0:13:28.720 --> 0:13:30.680 taking with your health. And I would just say, I 0:13:30.679 --> 0:13:33.080 bet you were busy. I bet it wasn't just that 0:13:33.120 --> 0:13:36.800 you were lazy. I bet you were rightly busy, Nicole, right. 0:13:36.840 --> 0:13:40.319 I guess I should choose my words carefully. I procrastinated 0:13:40.400 --> 0:13:43.439 on it because of yes, life and other things getting 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:44.960 in the way. And let's face it, the guy inn 0:13:44.960 --> 0:13:48.520 ecologist is not the most fun place to go. So 0:13:49.000 --> 0:13:53.280 I had procrastinated a bit on it. And yeah, and 0:13:53.320 --> 0:13:55.560 you have to. And I didn't do self exams because 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:58.360 I had implants and so that there was scar tissue, 0:13:58.440 --> 0:14:00.599 and so I always felt like, oh, my guide in 0:14:00.640 --> 0:14:03.160 college is she knows the difference between what's a lump 0:14:03.160 --> 0:14:05.840 and what the scar tissue is and you know all 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:06.080 of that. 0:14:06.160 --> 0:14:07.600 So I didn't do it. 0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:10.520 I kind of steered away from it, thinking I didn't 0:14:10.559 --> 0:14:13.079 want to freak out about something that wasn't there, and 0:14:13.320 --> 0:14:15.640 I'll leave this in the hands of the professionals. But 0:14:15.679 --> 0:14:18.400 that is if I could take all of that back. 0:14:18.240 --> 0:14:18.640 I would. 0:14:18.720 --> 0:14:22.440 You definitely need to fill yourself. You definitely do, men 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:23.000 and women. 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:29.840 I'm curious everyone reacts differently to getting that diagnosis, and 0:14:29.880 --> 0:14:32.000 I think it's a shock for just about everybody who 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.520 gets it. Can you talk a little bit about what 0:14:35.560 --> 0:14:39.520 your emotions were like when you got the diagnosis and 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:43.840 who you relied on for emotional support, because yes, we've 0:14:43.880 --> 0:14:46.120 got to take care of the physical when you're dealing 0:14:46.160 --> 0:14:51.800 with cancer, but the emotional response is just as huge. 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:56.160 Yeah, you know, it's the worst feeling I've ever felt 0:14:56.200 --> 0:15:01.560 in my life. It was heart stopping, dread, nightmare. This 0:15:01.640 --> 0:15:06.040 can't be just going, you know, not being able to 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.600 hear or see or focus properly. And at first I 0:15:09.640 --> 0:15:14.800 really kind of just went into myself because I suddenly 0:15:14.800 --> 0:15:18.960 felt very alone. I felt like, this is it. Nobody 0:15:19.000 --> 0:15:21.600 can do anything for you. This is you and your body, 0:15:21.720 --> 0:15:24.360 and this is what you have to deal with. It 0:15:24.400 --> 0:15:31.680 was I very much felt isolated alone, and then when 0:15:31.680 --> 0:15:37.040 I decided to start talking about it, that the entire 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:41.720 the entire community just put their arms around me and 0:15:42.920 --> 0:15:44.640 reached out to me. People I don't even know, I 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:46.840 speak to all the time now I haven't even met 0:15:46.880 --> 0:15:49.960 in person yet, just lifting me up and letting me 0:15:50.080 --> 0:15:52.120 know I was going to be okay, and telling me 0:15:52.160 --> 0:15:56.600 their story and really making me not feel lonely, making 0:15:56.600 --> 0:16:01.680 me feel you know, surrounded and hugged, and it was. 0:16:01.800 --> 0:16:05.760 It made all the difference. It just really changed everything. 0:16:05.960 --> 0:16:10.960 It started making me be able to research what I 0:16:11.000 --> 0:16:12.920 was dealing with because I couldn't even I wouldn't even 0:16:12.960 --> 0:16:15.520 look at the paperwork. I wouldn't go online. I didn't 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:16.720 want to do any of it. I didn't want to 0:16:16.760 --> 0:16:20.240 talk about it. I was so scared of it. And 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:23.160 it made me be able to start researching, like what 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:24.440 can I do to help myself? 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:24.680 What? 0:16:25.000 --> 0:16:26.320 You know, what am I going to go through? 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:31.640 You know, and asking people their their experiences and sort 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:33.640 of picking certain people and saying I want to have 0:16:33.680 --> 0:16:36.840 that experience, so then picking their brains, What did you do? 0:16:37.000 --> 0:16:39.360 How did you handle this? And just sort of making 0:16:39.440 --> 0:16:42.000 a game plan, And it was a really good distraction 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.840 for me to start thinking of all the things I 0:16:45.840 --> 0:16:46.120 can do. 0:16:46.160 --> 0:16:47.480 How do you prevent neuropathy? 0:16:47.560 --> 0:16:50.280 How do you you know, not lose your eyebrows and 0:16:50.320 --> 0:16:51.080 your eyelashes? 0:16:51.160 --> 0:16:53.360 You know, how do you just all the other things? 0:16:54.280 --> 0:16:56.320 What do you eat? What do you not eat? So 0:16:56.600 --> 0:16:58.720 sort of like controlling the controllables. 0:16:59.200 --> 0:17:02.520 And that got me into a place of with a 0:17:02.560 --> 0:17:05.320 lot of like work with healers and breath work and 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:09.840 meditation and a shaman and my family, I got to 0:17:09.920 --> 0:17:12.280 a place where I just really was ready to fight 0:17:12.920 --> 0:17:16.359 and go forward. And I knew being negative and I 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:19.159 knew being scared wasn't going to heal me. 0:17:20.520 --> 0:17:22.400 I know you don't like the word and we don't 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:23.480 like the word lazy. 0:17:23.960 --> 0:17:25.880 But what tough love. 0:17:25.920 --> 0:17:28.600 Because a lot of people, a lot of women, are 0:17:28.720 --> 0:17:31.320 in that place you were at, possibly to where you're 0:17:31.440 --> 0:17:33.919 Sometimes you just think, Okay, this can't happen to me, 0:17:34.359 --> 0:17:37.320 or you think, oh my god, I'm so paranoid. This 0:17:37.480 --> 0:17:40.000 is going to happen to me. And sometimes you all 0:17:40.040 --> 0:17:41.359 have talked about it, and Robot has talk to me 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:45.119 about it. Here plenty that sometimes they women will overcorrect 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.840 or take an aggressive action that maybe is not necessary 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:50.680 because they're worried about what may come. But for you, 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:53.240 what was it you said you were diligent about the 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:56.040 mammograms and some of the self exams. Did you have 0:17:56.080 --> 0:17:58.800 a family history, did you have friends? What was it 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:02.080 that made you always be so diligent that? And I'm 0:18:02.119 --> 0:18:04.360 sure other women would appreciate hearing that. 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:08.080 Well, both of my parents did have cancer, but neither 0:18:08.440 --> 0:18:11.000 was breast cancer, and I don't know, I'm not aware 0:18:11.000 --> 0:18:14.439 of any breast cancer history in my family, but so 0:18:14.480 --> 0:18:17.760 I've always been slightly paranoid of it, and you know, 0:18:17.880 --> 0:18:21.480 dreading it a bit because it not only because both 0:18:21.520 --> 0:18:23.879 my parents had it, but because so many people have it. 0:18:24.040 --> 0:18:27.600 It's it's one in eight women are getting breast cancer, 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:32.199 so it's it's more common than uncommon, And so I 0:18:32.240 --> 0:18:36.320 was always worried about it. Plus having the implants, and 0:18:36.400 --> 0:18:39.880 I think that knowledge is key. Those tests are scary. 0:18:39.960 --> 0:18:42.480 You have to put your big grown up pants on 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:44.960 and you have to go do it, and you you know, 0:18:45.600 --> 0:18:49.199 the scariness of the testing and getting a results is 0:18:49.240 --> 0:18:51.960 nothing compared to having to go through treatment and fight 0:18:52.040 --> 0:18:54.560 this when it's gone too far and you ignored it 0:18:54.680 --> 0:19:00.240 or you know, procrastinated on it, so you know, you 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:02.000 just you have to. It's just one of these things 0:19:02.000 --> 0:19:04.280 in life. It's just one of these grown up adulting 0:19:04.320 --> 0:19:06.680 things you have to do. You have to go get 0:19:06.680 --> 0:19:10.480 it done, and it's worth it, and early detection is everything. 0:19:11.840 --> 0:19:14.359 My journey would have been so much easier had I 0:19:14.400 --> 0:19:17.320 done the self exam and caught this earlier. But we 0:19:17.359 --> 0:19:20.720 caught it and we're working on it, and that's just 0:19:21.640 --> 0:19:23.440 you know, it's just what you have to do. You 0:19:23.440 --> 0:19:25.520 have to do it, and you shouldn't be over You 0:19:25.560 --> 0:19:27.879 have to live in the moment. You have to be reasonable. 0:19:28.280 --> 0:19:32.600 You can't overshoot. Like I literally on the operating table, 0:19:32.680 --> 0:19:34.560 my surgeon and I were going back and forth about 0:19:34.680 --> 0:19:38.320 double misseectomy or single, and I was really pushing for 0:19:38.359 --> 0:19:40.760 the double, and he said, I know you want the double, 0:19:40.920 --> 0:19:42.720 but we also need to get you back into treatment, 0:19:42.960 --> 0:19:45.480 so let's do the single. Let's do the single. It 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:47.919 will keep your immune system up higher than if we 0:19:47.960 --> 0:19:50.679 take both. You'll be able to get into treatment quicker, 0:19:50.720 --> 0:19:53.800 we have less chance of infection and a quicker healing 0:19:53.840 --> 0:19:56.360 time you can get back into treatment, and then when 0:19:56.359 --> 0:20:00.920 we reconstruct this one, we will take the other one 0:20:01.080 --> 0:20:04.160 and we'll reconstruct them at the same time, and then 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.280 you'll have new boobs that aren't trying to kill you. 0:20:07.040 --> 0:20:11.280 And you know that's you know, I could have said, no, 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:13.520 do both, do both, and he said you could do both, 0:20:13.560 --> 0:20:16.199 and then we find out later it traveled and we 0:20:16.240 --> 0:20:18.600 didn't get to it in time, and it's growing and 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:21.080 you know, so you know, you don't want to you 0:20:21.119 --> 0:20:24.000 don't want to be hasty, you want to be careful. 0:20:23.480 --> 0:20:24.640 But you have to go with your gut. 0:20:24.680 --> 0:20:27.280 You have to go with your heart. There's no black 0:20:27.320 --> 0:20:30.680 and white, there's no yes and right or wrong. It's 0:20:30.720 --> 0:20:34.800 it's really like your own personal journey, and everybody's so different, 0:20:34.800 --> 0:20:37.480 and you have to believe in your doctors and trust 0:20:37.520 --> 0:20:39.600 in your doctors and what you're doing in your journey 0:20:39.600 --> 0:20:42.160 and what you've chosen, and you've got to go You've 0:20:42.160 --> 0:20:44.080 got to go in and just got to go for it. 0:20:46.720 --> 0:20:49.919 Nicole. You make so many good points, because when you 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:53.720 get diagnosed, it's bizarre how many choices are in front 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:56.160 of you. And you have to be comfortable with who's 0:20:56.200 --> 0:20:58.960 guiding you. In those choices, because each choice affects the 0:20:59.000 --> 0:21:01.800 next one, as point out, and you're learning all of 0:21:01.840 --> 0:21:05.440 this in warp speed while you're dealing with the probably 0:21:05.480 --> 0:21:07.800 the greatest trauma you've ever experienced in your life to 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:10.520 this point. So I applaud you for sharing your story 0:21:10.560 --> 0:21:14.080 because it's important that other people see the paths that 0:21:14.840 --> 0:21:17.320