WEBVTT - Amanda Pacheco: Wilmer’s Better Half is here! 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:06.760 Hello everyone. I'm Wilmer Valderrama. 0:00:06.920 --> 0:00:10.760 I'm Freddie Rodriguez and this is the docent MINGOS podcast. 0:00:10.960 --> 0:00:13.920 Yeah, we have a very special episode today. I don't 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:16.520 even know where to begin. Our guest is someone that 0:00:16.560 --> 0:00:19.160 I've known for a long time. We've trusted each other 0:00:19.400 --> 0:00:25.079 with our lives. Shared of milkshake, Yeah we have, we 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.240 have her milshik definitely got this boy to the yard. 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:31.120 Oh yeah, any of you there. 0:00:31.040 --> 0:00:34.680 Guys are watching or listening to that AMOS podcast, Thank 0:00:34.760 --> 0:00:36.839 you so much. This is a very special episode, a 0:00:36.920 --> 0:00:39.080 very exciting one for us because he's getting it, He's 0:00:39.120 --> 0:00:42.400 getting a little personal, a little deeper dive. We normally 0:00:42.479 --> 0:00:45.479 never do this where you know, neither you or I 0:00:45.760 --> 0:00:49.519 never really do this, but foreign territory if you want 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:50.760 to introduce who I guess this. 0:00:51.920 --> 0:00:58.840 Our guest is a model, a dive master, a mother 0:00:58.920 --> 0:01:04.559 of two, and the partner to me and Mono. 0:01:04.880 --> 0:01:08.280 Me Amigo, amandap a trick. 0:01:09.720 --> 0:01:16.640 Yay yay yay yy yn Uh honey, Hi, welcome to 0:01:16.680 --> 0:01:18.000 the podcast. 0:01:18.880 --> 0:01:19.760 How does it feel? 0:01:20.680 --> 0:01:22.959 I mean I could literally count on like two fingers 0:01:23.000 --> 0:01:24.960 how many times I've talked into a microphone. 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:25.559 So uh. 0:01:27.400 --> 0:01:28.240 Supernatural. 0:01:28.480 --> 0:01:31.280 Yeah, well, look, we were gonna make it super easy 0:01:31.360 --> 0:01:35.360 because obviously this is this is the this, this is 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:40.080 supposed to be interrogation, and we never have you know, 0:01:40.080 --> 0:01:42.399 it's agos, but today you're the third Ama. 0:01:42.640 --> 0:01:45.240 You're so so very excited. 0:01:45.280 --> 0:01:49.800 So we you know, Leo, our producer, Leo clam I 0:01:49.920 --> 0:01:52.440 had this idea that you know, we've gone the whole 0:01:52.440 --> 0:01:55.480 season talking to some amazing friends of ours who you know, 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:58.040 have played different roles in our lives, and you know, 0:01:58.080 --> 0:02:00.520 it all came full circle too, you know, the two 0:02:00.520 --> 0:02:03.160 people in our lives that are made made a major, 0:02:03.600 --> 0:02:08.200 a major contribution, if not in life, life enhancing an 0:02:08.280 --> 0:02:12.440 altern moment as we revolutionize ourselves as actually not just 0:02:12.520 --> 0:02:14.160 grown ups but real men. 0:02:14.280 --> 0:02:14.480 You know. 0:02:14.680 --> 0:02:18.200 Yeah, yeah, So so we thought that having an episode 0:02:18.240 --> 0:02:21.560 where we just paid tribute to the women that makes 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:23.639 us a hole in the women that makes us better, 0:02:23.680 --> 0:02:25.560 I thought, you know, would be a really cool idea. 0:02:25.880 --> 0:02:27.320 We have a little bit of a game for those 0:02:27.360 --> 0:02:29.040 of you who are expecting what this episode is going 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:32.799 to be, and we're not going to play against each 0:02:32.840 --> 0:02:35.799 other a little bit and and Freddie's going to run 0:02:35.840 --> 0:02:39.240 that game. But before that, it would be my pleasure 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:41.560 for you all to meet who Amanda Projecto is. 0:02:42.520 --> 0:02:46.200 Yes, indeed, yes, indeed, Amanda. Where are you originally from? 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:47.480 So? 0:02:47.520 --> 0:02:50.840 I was born in San Diego, and I grew up 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:54.120 in a small town near Sacramento called Rockland, California. 0:02:54.320 --> 0:02:54.760 Rockland. 0:02:56.040 --> 0:03:01.200 I lived there for most of my life until I 0:03:01.240 --> 0:03:06.919 moved around as I got older and have lived all over. Yeah, 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:10.400 mostly in northern California, southern California, but I jumped around, 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.280 lived in Hawaii for a little bit, lived in the 0:03:13.280 --> 0:03:14.639 Philippines for a little bit. 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:17.480 Why did you move Why did you live there when 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:19.160 you were a child? Why were you moving so much? 0:03:19.480 --> 0:03:21.240 Well, this was not when I was a child, so 0:03:21.320 --> 0:03:23.280 this was like old like as I got older, so 0:03:23.440 --> 0:03:27.000 like just you know, growing up and took some time 0:03:27.040 --> 0:03:29.200 off of college and like just jumped around a little 0:03:29.240 --> 0:03:33.200 bit just to explore and have fun and live my life. 0:03:33.960 --> 0:03:34.600 And why there? 0:03:34.639 --> 0:03:36.920 Why did you choose to go to the Philippines and Hawaii? 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:40.480 So Hawaii, I mean for obvious reasons. I mean, he 0:03:40.520 --> 0:03:42.600 doesn't want to live in Hawaii. That was a magical 0:03:42.640 --> 0:03:46.640 time when I went to the Philippines. I went there 0:03:46.680 --> 0:03:51.360 for a scuba diving trip actually, and I went there 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:54.040 for I went there for one week for on a 0:03:54.040 --> 0:03:56.600 liver board, So I basically like went on a dive trip. 0:03:56.720 --> 0:03:59.000 You go on a dive boat for a week. 0:03:59.080 --> 0:04:00.800 You live on the boat and you just hop around 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.240 different islands and you go on a bunch of different dives. 0:04:04.000 --> 0:04:06.320 While I was there, I remember like I was on 0:04:06.360 --> 0:04:08.480 my phone and I'm like looking through my maps and 0:04:08.520 --> 0:04:10.840 I'm looking at all of the places that I was 0:04:10.880 --> 0:04:12.920 so close to, and I was like, I want to 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:16.359 explore this place so much more so as everybody was 0:04:16.360 --> 0:04:18.400 like packing their bags up and they're like, oh, got 0:04:18.440 --> 0:04:21.080 to get back to work on Monday, I was like, do. 0:04:21.160 --> 0:04:23.200 I really need to get back to work on Monday? 0:04:24.000 --> 0:04:27.960 So I ended up saying goodbye to everybody that was 0:04:28.400 --> 0:04:31.440 flying home back to the States, and I ended up 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:34.360 staying in Manila. 0:04:33.680 --> 0:04:36.040 And by yourself. 0:04:35.720 --> 0:04:41.680 By myself, and I ended up staying there for six months. Wow, 0:04:41.720 --> 0:04:45.919 just traveling solo. Completely different culture in the Philippines. Like 0:04:46.720 --> 0:04:49.160 I ended up like meeting a family out there. They 0:04:49.240 --> 0:04:51.920 like took me in and I ended up living there. 0:04:52.600 --> 0:04:56.919 I honestly never wanted to come home, but yeah, eventually 0:04:57.040 --> 0:04:59.760 I ended up coming home, But it was it was 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.200 a magical time I went to Hong Kong. While I 0:05:03.279 --> 0:05:08.040 was there, I went to Bali. Where else did I go? 0:05:08.560 --> 0:05:11.080 I mean a ton of different islands. The Philippines has 0:05:11.120 --> 0:05:13.880 over like seven thousand islands, so I hopped around all 0:05:13.960 --> 0:05:17.160 kinds of different islands, just diving and yeah. 0:05:17.720 --> 0:05:19.400 Yeah, I was going to ask, what was the thing 0:05:19.440 --> 0:05:22.560 about the culture that kind of captivated you so much, 0:05:22.600 --> 0:05:25.800 that decided that made you anchor yourself there and wanted 0:05:25.800 --> 0:05:27.120 to summerse yourself more in it. 0:05:27.800 --> 0:05:31.440 I mean, just the hospitality of just the people there. 0:05:31.520 --> 0:05:33.640 It was just like, I don't know, I felt so 0:05:33.720 --> 0:05:37.440 safe there. I just felt like, I mean I was, 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:40.520 I was by myself, you know, so traveling alone was 0:05:40.800 --> 0:05:43.120 terrifying for my dad. When I told him that I 0:05:43.160 --> 0:05:44.880 was staying there, He's like, what do you mean, Like 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:46.839 why are you doing? What are you doing? You know, 0:05:48.920 --> 0:05:52.600 this was two thousand and seventeen. 0:05:52.960 --> 0:05:55.120 I think I'm only asking because you said your dad 0:05:55.240 --> 0:05:58.120 was I'm a dad, so I could imagine the child 0:05:58.440 --> 0:05:59.400 at a certain age. 0:05:59.240 --> 0:06:01.640 Says I want to stay in the Philippines for six months. 0:06:01.960 --> 0:06:02.239 Yeah. 0:06:02.360 --> 0:06:04.880 I mean, it doesn't matter like what age your kid is, like, 0:06:04.920 --> 0:06:07.200 you're always going to be like what as a parent, 0:06:07.240 --> 0:06:11.719 you know what I mean. But but yeah, my dad 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.479 was absolutely terrified, like he blames all of his gray 0:06:14.480 --> 0:06:17.800 hairs on me. Not a specific time of my life, 0:06:17.839 --> 0:06:21.040 but but yeah, I just I don't know, it felt 0:06:21.279 --> 0:06:23.160 it felt like another home to me, and I don't know, 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:25.320 I can't wait to take you back there sometimes. 0:06:25.400 --> 0:06:25.760 Yeah. 0:06:25.800 --> 0:06:29.000 So then when you started exploring the Philippines and you're like, oh, 0:06:29.040 --> 0:06:30.839 I think I'm gonna stay here forever. Why was the 0:06:30.880 --> 0:06:32.280 one thing that you're like, I got to go back 0:06:32.320 --> 0:06:33.520 home at some point? 0:06:33.800 --> 0:06:36.680 Mostly like my family and my friends were like can 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:37.400 you come home? 0:06:37.520 --> 0:06:39.880 Yeah? Also your relationship with your dad, because you and 0:06:39.920 --> 0:06:41.080 your dad are like, yeah. 0:06:40.960 --> 0:06:42.279 I'm so close with my family. 0:06:42.320 --> 0:06:45.440 And that's the reason why, like I had lived so close, 0:06:45.600 --> 0:06:48.360 like I never like went too far from home because 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:50.279 I just always wanted to be close to my family. 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:54.760 So probably that, Yeah, But you know, you go on vacation, 0:06:54.880 --> 0:06:57.000 you're like, oh, I can't wait to come back here sometime, 0:06:57.080 --> 0:06:59.599 and then you realize like, well, I'm already here, Like 0:06:59.680 --> 0:07:01.599 why so like if you don't have to go home, 0:07:01.760 --> 0:07:03.360 like you never know when you're. 0:07:03.240 --> 0:07:04.760 Actually going to go back to that place. 0:07:04.839 --> 0:07:08.279 And for me, that's why I sometimes don't go home 0:07:08.480 --> 0:07:11.160 because I know that when you get back home, life 0:07:11.200 --> 0:07:13.560 gets crazy and then it's hard to get back to 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:16.760 those places. So if I'm somewhere, I'm like, I'm just 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:17.920 gonna stay if I can. 0:07:18.680 --> 0:07:22.280 And did you have the same experience in WHI same thing. 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:27.640 I went there for my twenty second birthday, my twenty 0:07:27.640 --> 0:07:32.120 first birthday, and I told my mom I'm not coming 0:07:32.120 --> 0:07:37.160 home and she was like, hell you are, Like I 0:07:37.200 --> 0:07:39.040 was with my mom. We were actually we went for 0:07:39.200 --> 0:07:42.640 my birthday trip and she was like you're coming home 0:07:42.680 --> 0:07:44.400 with me, like you're getting on that plane. And I 0:07:44.440 --> 0:07:47.520 was like no, Well I ended up going home on 0:07:47.560 --> 0:07:48.440 the plane with my mom. 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:52.240 But I did go back like immediately after. And then 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:53.880 I ended up staying there for about a year. 0:07:54.280 --> 0:07:56.400 A year. Yeah, did you stay with the family. 0:07:57.160 --> 0:07:59.320 No, No, not on that trip. 0:08:00.680 --> 0:08:04.120 I stayed there for let's see, I say there for 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.680 a year. Actually it was like under a year. I 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:10.360 got Island fever pretty quick because I was like exploring. 0:08:10.000 --> 0:08:13.920 Every single friend that we have that has either moved 0:08:13.920 --> 0:08:17.120 to Hawaii or moved there to do a job. Eventually, 0:08:17.120 --> 0:08:20.800 at some point, there's like a zoming in that happens 0:08:20.800 --> 0:08:24.480 that you're like, oh, okay, the most beautiful place in 0:08:24.520 --> 0:08:26.080 the world. How many times am I going to go 0:08:26.080 --> 0:08:28.160 to this beach? And like you know what I mean, 0:08:28.200 --> 0:08:31.080 like get repetitive, it gets then you get this this 0:08:31.160 --> 0:08:33.440 era where like, oh man, I you know, it's like 0:08:33.480 --> 0:08:35.679 the same day over and over and over again. 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:35.880 You know. 0:08:37.200 --> 0:08:41.679 You know our brother Jay her Natty, you know, he 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:43.240 had a tough one though, because he was leading the 0:08:43.320 --> 0:08:46.760 show and he was in Hawaii and he was basically 0:08:46.760 --> 0:08:49.080 in every single scene. So he was like so exhausted 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:50.880 he couldn't even enjoy the place. 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:51.240 You know. 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:54.760 He would go like surfing and occasionally and stuff, but 0:08:54.800 --> 0:08:55.960 like at the end of the day, you're there to 0:08:56.000 --> 0:08:58.559 do this job. But as it is a unique kind 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:02.600 of experience to go there, So then you explore how 0:09:02.800 --> 0:09:03.480 did you dive there? 0:09:03.480 --> 0:09:03.640 Too? 0:09:04.280 --> 0:09:06.280 At that time, I wasn't diving, so no, I was 0:09:06.320 --> 0:09:08.640 doing a lot of snorkeling, and a lot of friends 0:09:08.640 --> 0:09:11.120 that I had made there were like, don't get in 0:09:11.200 --> 0:09:14.520 the ocean because it's funny how a lot of like 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:17.880 the natives are like very aware of how dangerous the 0:09:17.920 --> 0:09:19.800 ocean is. So I'm going there and I'm like, oh, 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:21.559 I'm just gonna get in the water and I'm gonna 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:27.559 swim forever. But they know how dangerous it is and 0:09:27.600 --> 0:09:29.320 the things that can happen in the ocean. So they 0:09:29.320 --> 0:09:31.480 were like, you need to be safe and not just 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:33.720 like go out there and thinking that you know how 0:09:33.760 --> 0:09:34.640 to swim. 0:09:35.280 --> 0:09:39.240 But what made those waters different or more dangerous than what? 0:09:39.640 --> 0:09:42.440 Because you were obviously accustomed to a certain type of 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.040 water that you felt comfortable enough to just go swim. 0:09:45.280 --> 0:09:47.960 What was different that made theirs dangerous? 0:09:50.200 --> 0:09:53.600 I mean, I think just like bigger waves and you know, 0:09:53.760 --> 0:09:54.600 like just. 0:09:54.920 --> 0:09:55.920 Unpredictable of waters. 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:59.400 Yeah, right, I mean it's also like it's very deep waters, 0:10:00.320 --> 0:10:03.160 so you're talking about some of the biggest animals. 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:03.280 In the water. 0:10:03.360 --> 0:10:07.840 Or to a was added, I'm honestly way more terrified 0:10:07.840 --> 0:10:09.839 of sharks here than anywhere else. 0:10:10.080 --> 0:10:12.600 So I guess you don't look like food anywhere else 0:10:12.600 --> 0:10:13.960 in the world except for California. 0:10:14.240 --> 0:10:24.480 Yeah. 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:27.920 And then so then you came back to the United States, right, 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:30.200 And then where did you go to school? 0:10:30.240 --> 0:10:32.080 At that point? You had gone to school before that. 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:40.600 Let me think, So then I came back and what 0:10:40.640 --> 0:10:41.040 did I do? 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:41.640 What did I do? 0:10:43.400 --> 0:10:45.960 I went to community college for like ever and then 0:10:46.120 --> 0:10:48.040 I moved to San Diego. I was going to go 0:10:48.040 --> 0:10:51.400 to school out there, and I was studying at the 0:10:51.520 --> 0:10:58.400 time environmental studies, and I was supposed to start school 0:10:58.440 --> 0:11:00.679 out there. The same week that I was supposed to 0:11:00.720 --> 0:11:03.560 go to school, that's when I got a call that 0:11:03.640 --> 0:11:08.000 my mom was sick, and so I moved back home 0:11:08.160 --> 0:11:10.640 and then never went back to school. 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:18.120 You you had when we first met, we had such 0:11:18.160 --> 0:11:23.080 an incredible inside of conversation about the moments in life 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:25.960 that teaches you the purpose, right, I guess, and that 0:11:26.040 --> 0:11:30.600 maybe a little more specific the times we were recognizing 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:33.360 that we both have certain patterns in our lives, you know, 0:11:33.920 --> 0:11:37.480 whether it was in relationships, whether it was in you know, 0:11:37.520 --> 0:11:39.920 in the way we live life, whether it was in professions, 0:11:40.000 --> 0:11:43.360 you know, how we looked at the world and uh 0:11:43.640 --> 0:11:46.600 we community with the world, and some of our differences 0:11:46.600 --> 0:11:51.200 made it even more exciting to explore in different ways, 0:11:51.280 --> 0:11:54.439 you know. So one of the things that really captivated 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:57.040 me was, you know, your story with you and your mom, 0:11:57.280 --> 0:11:59.480 you know, which is one of the most you know, 0:11:59.600 --> 0:12:03.240 sober moments that any son or daughter can experience, or 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:05.280 your mother, and you've been very spoken about this and 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:07.440 You've played a lot of tribute. 0:12:06.960 --> 0:12:08.040 To your mother. Every year. 0:12:08.960 --> 0:12:12.200 Every year we have a tradition where the whole family 0:12:12.240 --> 0:12:15.160 I was invited I think a year in so to 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.960 go to go to this kind of you know, ceremonial, 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.320 you know time where they go to San Diego and 0:12:23.360 --> 0:12:26.000 they pay respects to the mother, you know, and there's 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:29.320 a place where she was set to rest. And so 0:12:29.400 --> 0:12:32.120 every year we come and we bring flowers, and every 0:12:32.200 --> 0:12:35.120 year we've come and introduced our new you know, we 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:39.679 introduced Nakano and this year we introduced wolf and they 0:12:39.720 --> 0:12:43.800 have a beautiful tradition of always remembering, you know, your mother. 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:49.040 And what I loved about, you know, the story of 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:53.880 your mother is that at first it feels, oh, what 0:12:54.000 --> 0:12:57.719 a selfless act when I get out of college and 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.240 you know, and you take care of your mother in 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:04.080 the time that she was she was ill. But it's 0:13:04.120 --> 0:13:06.760 kind of why we do for family, you know, and 0:13:06.800 --> 0:13:11.120 it's a universal kind of primal calling. He says, Okay, 0:13:11.160 --> 0:13:12.800 I gotta drop everything out to be here, and I 0:13:12.840 --> 0:13:17.960 got to experience every minute. And you have been a 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.080 strong advocate. And if you went at you to mind 0:13:20.200 --> 0:13:23.840 talking a little bit about your mom's journey and what 0:13:24.000 --> 0:13:26.800 made you're such an advocate for for cancer. 0:13:27.880 --> 0:13:32.520 Yeah, so my mom was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer. 0:13:33.720 --> 0:13:37.559 She it wasn't something that you know, it was anything 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:41.480 we thought she needed to worry about, Like, it wasn't 0:13:41.520 --> 0:13:45.280 something that like was in our family, So it wasn't 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:48.840 something that she was like on the lookout for. It's 0:13:48.840 --> 0:13:54.160 also a cancer that really has no like symptoms, no signs. 0:13:54.200 --> 0:13:56.840 They're like very subtle. All of the signs are like 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:00.280 what you would feel if you were just like on 0:14:00.320 --> 0:14:04.480 your period, So like nothing like crazy out of the 0:14:04.559 --> 0:14:07.720 ordinary until it gets very serious, and then that's when 0:14:07.720 --> 0:14:11.679 you realize like, oh, something's wrong. At that point, it's 0:14:11.880 --> 0:14:15.040 already at such an advanced stage that it's really hard 0:14:15.080 --> 0:14:16.240 to you know. 0:14:16.559 --> 0:14:19.480 So you get the news and you embark in the 0:14:19.560 --> 0:14:22.760 journey of you know, staying by your mother's side throughout 0:14:22.760 --> 0:14:24.920 the process. And in one of some of the conversations 0:14:24.920 --> 0:14:28.320 that we had, you know, she had shaved her head 0:14:28.320 --> 0:14:31.480 with her mom and and it was just like to me, 0:14:32.200 --> 0:14:35.200 it was the most Uh, it was like the ultimate 0:14:35.280 --> 0:14:37.640 sign of you know, I'm going to stand by my 0:14:37.640 --> 0:14:40.480 mother's side and and all that, and I respected that 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:43.520 so much. My family is very close to and no 0:14:43.560 --> 0:14:47.040 matter whether our you know, my family is either a 0:14:47.080 --> 0:14:51.560 Spanish telenovela, you know, like a a Colombian telenovela, or 0:14:51.600 --> 0:14:55.280 it's like a very joyous Christmas, you know. And but 0:14:55.400 --> 0:14:57.960 above it all, it's something weird to happen in the family. 0:14:58.400 --> 0:15:00.760 We we show up. I mean, I know that you 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:04.040 have a very similar relationship with your family. You know, 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:07.080 something you know, either in success or in failure and 0:15:07.120 --> 0:15:09.120 all that you guys kind of gather around and celebrate that. 0:15:09.200 --> 0:15:12.880 Now, yeah, we do, we do. My mom is suffering 0:15:12.920 --> 0:15:16.000 from something very similar now. She has a cancer and 0:15:16.000 --> 0:15:20.080 her pancreas and uh and so you know, we've we've 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:23.200 also gathered in the way that you have and have 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:24.440 been supportive. 0:15:25.160 --> 0:15:27.360 And it's her third third bout with cancer. 0:15:27.400 --> 0:15:29.200 You know, she had breast cancer in ninety eight, and 0:15:29.280 --> 0:15:31.200 it came back after my dad passed a couple of 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.960 years ago, and then and then and then the third time. 0:15:35.160 --> 0:15:39.440 So so I you know, I I sympathize with you 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:42.240 and and and very aware of what what you must 0:15:42.280 --> 0:15:45.120 have went through. But but he was saying that that 0:15:45.120 --> 0:15:50.000 that the journey has been also you bringing awareness to 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:53.960 to that, how has that awareness, what's what's been what's 0:15:53.960 --> 0:15:56.600 that journey been like for you? Just shining a light 0:15:56.680 --> 0:15:56.920 on it. 0:15:58.480 --> 0:16:02.240 I think the biggest thing is just talking about it, 0:16:02.400 --> 0:16:07.080 because there really is no preventative measures as far as 0:16:07.080 --> 0:16:12.560 overing cancer goes, So it's really just talking about it. 0:16:12.600 --> 0:16:16.600 And like there's the one test that's like kind of 0:16:16.680 --> 0:16:22.040 preventative is the Brucket one and two like gene mutation tests, 0:16:22.080 --> 0:16:26.720 so people can test for that. If they're positive for that, 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:31.760 then you know that they kind of know whether or not, 0:16:31.880 --> 0:16:35.160 like that's something that could increase their chances of getting 0:16:35.200 --> 0:16:38.640 either breast or of airing cancer. I actually had a 0:16:38.680 --> 0:16:43.080 friend who tested positive for it because I think her 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.800 mom tested positive for it. So she's like, oh, now 0:16:46.840 --> 0:16:48.800 that I know that it's something that's in my family, 0:16:48.840 --> 0:16:49.200 I'm going to. 0:16:49.240 --> 0:16:49.840 Test for it. 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:54.920 She tested positive, and she thought she was doing her 0:16:55.080 --> 0:16:57.400 you know, routine checks for it to make sure that 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:02.280 she wasn't, which is like either to do that test 0:17:02.520 --> 0:17:05.080 or like a vaginal ultrasound. Other than that, there's not 0:17:05.080 --> 0:17:07.760 a whole lot of like other tests that you can 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:13.080 do preventatively. So she decided to get a surgery done 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:17.720 to a hysterectomine and found out that when she woke 0:17:17.800 --> 0:17:20.640 up from surgery she ended up having over in cancer 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:23.760 and she had no idea and there was no way 0:17:23.800 --> 0:17:30.200 of them telling until they actually removed her ovaries. So yeah, 0:17:30.240 --> 0:17:33.000 it's a really scary cancer to have because of that reason, 0:17:35.160 --> 0:17:38.080 and just by talking about it, because it's not something 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:39.560 that's super obvious. 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:40.640 Finding community too. 0:17:40.880 --> 0:17:45.439 But I was very taken by your passionate about prevention 0:17:45.720 --> 0:17:49.400 because you know, that's something in the Latino families. It's 0:17:49.480 --> 0:17:52.600 such a hard thing to push her families to just 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:54.960 go to the doctor and just like just check it out. 0:17:55.000 --> 0:17:57.240 I know you don't feel anything. I know you feel. 0:17:57.040 --> 0:18:00.840 Perfect, but like let's go and check it out. And 0:18:00.880 --> 0:18:04.240 you had a really strong opinion about, you know, the 0:18:05.480 --> 0:18:11.040 prevention conversation versus what's allowed and when it comes to 0:18:11.160 --> 0:18:14.720 testing and the when is allowed for you to be tested? 0:18:15.400 --> 0:18:17.000 Do you mind talking a little bit about that, Like 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:20.639 all those parameters that basically tell doctors telling you know, 0:18:20.680 --> 0:18:22.679 I'd come back in like ten years to come back. 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:25.959 And yeah, it's tough because they have these these age 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.040 you know, where they think that this is when you 0:18:29.040 --> 0:18:31.520 should go and get these tests done, like whether you're 0:18:31.560 --> 0:18:36.440 forty five or fifty. So I have to really advocate 0:18:36.440 --> 0:18:39.680 for myself on these tests, and you know, they are 0:18:39.760 --> 0:18:42.399 starting to realize like, oh, you know, women are getting 0:18:42.400 --> 0:18:44.960 diagnosed a lot younger. So when you're pushing for these 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:48.560 things or starting to realize like okay, you know, being 0:18:48.600 --> 0:18:51.199 a little bit more understanding about it. But when I 0:18:51.280 --> 0:18:54.520 first started asking for these tests, it was it was 0:18:54.560 --> 0:18:56.760 really hard because they're like, oh, it's not you're healthy, 0:18:56.840 --> 0:18:58.200 you don't have to worry about it right now. 0:18:58.240 --> 0:19:00.280 And I was like, no, I do need to worry 0:19:00.280 --> 0:19:00.600 about it. 0:19:01.080 --> 0:19:02.639 How old were you when you were asking for it? 0:19:03.440 --> 0:19:07.400 So when my mom got diagnosed, I was twenty two, Yeah, 0:19:07.440 --> 0:19:12.560 twenty two, twenty three, and so yeah, around that age 0:19:12.600 --> 0:19:14.679 is when I wanted to figure out like where my 0:19:15.119 --> 0:19:18.080 like blood markers were at, where I like my starting 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:19.000 points were. 0:19:20.240 --> 0:19:21.920 And what would they tell you when you would ask 0:19:21.920 --> 0:19:22.119 for it. 0:19:22.960 --> 0:19:25.320 They would just tell me, well, because I have a 0:19:25.440 --> 0:19:27.840 history of it, Like they were like okay. But at 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:30.640 the same time, you know, I had a history of 0:19:30.680 --> 0:19:34.080 like my grandfather died of colon cancer, and so when 0:19:34.080 --> 0:19:36.679 my mom was sick, I was all messed up, like 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:40.080 I had all kinds like my body was not okay, 0:19:40.160 --> 0:19:41.760 and so internally. 0:19:42.320 --> 0:19:44.600 You were stressed, very stressed. 0:19:44.720 --> 0:19:47.480 Yeah, and so then I started asking for a khnoscopy 0:19:47.520 --> 0:19:49.600 because I was like, maybe I'm not okay, like maybe 0:19:49.640 --> 0:19:55.440 something's wrong because of how my body was managing the stress. 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:58.520 And so when I asked for a Kolenosophy and there 0:19:58.560 --> 0:20:04.160 was reasons why, they were like no, like and even 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:07.440 I fought for it, and then finally when they gave 0:20:07.480 --> 0:20:09.320 it to me, they still like gave me really hard time. 0:20:09.359 --> 0:20:10.840 While I was there, they were just like, why are 0:20:10.920 --> 0:20:13.639 you here. You're the youngest person here. You don't need this, Like, 0:20:14.320 --> 0:20:16.600 no one here your age is getting this done. And 0:20:16.680 --> 0:20:20.920 so and like I had to get some things removed 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:23.120 and it's something that I have to. 0:20:23.080 --> 0:20:26.280 Do, Like yeah, of course, and I'm so by the way, 0:20:26.680 --> 0:20:30.600 thank you profoundly for being so open and vulnerable to 0:20:30.640 --> 0:20:35.160 talk about these things, because you know, most of our generation, 0:20:35.359 --> 0:20:37.840 a specific our age group, you know, we're entering a 0:20:37.920 --> 0:20:41.640