Dorothy: [00:00:00] Today, we are delighted to have Courtney Clark return and give us an update on where she is after her two years of being in treatment. You may remember Courtney. She was diagnosed when she was 23 weeks pregnant. And she is our number one downloaded episode in our whole two seasons. So, join me today as we hear what’s happened to Courtney since then. And we so appreciate your feedback, and remember to subscribe. Your subscription means that we can tell more people about our podcast.
Let’s Talk About Your Breasts, a different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose. The Breast Center of Excellence and a Texas treasure. You’re going to hear frank discussions about tough topics, and you’re going to learn why knowing about your breast could save your life.
Courtney, thank you [00:01:00] so much for coming back. You’re one of our returning champions. I mean, you know, you, you are one of the most downloaded guests we’ve ever had on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts, and your story is pretty incredible. So I want you to take us back a year.
Courtney: Okay.
Dorothy: For the first time when you kind of showed up at The Rose, and give us just what was happening to you in your life at that time.
Courtney: Okay. Um, so I, my first time at The Rose was in March of 23. I was 23 weeks pregnant. And I had, um, a lump in my right breast that had been laughed off by a previous physician who told me that it was a clogged milk duck a year and a half prior. And then when I got pregnant with my son, my miracle baby, the lump came back. I told my midwife about it and she sent me straight to The Rose, called The Rose, went through begging to get a appointment because y’all didn’t have any available and then your team worked so well with me and got me an appointment right away, [00:02:00] came, had my um, ultrasound done on my breast. And not even five minutes later found out that it was a lump.
Dorothy: Something they could see on the ultrasound.
Courtney: Yes, it was, the lump was, um, a tumor. And I came back a week later and had my biopsy and we found out that it was cancer. It was breast cancer, stage two. And it was very scary for me because I was pregnant, um, and I had, I had, I knew about it before and then like, they ignored me. So it was, it was scary, but came to The Rose, got what I needed, and I got connected with my oncologist through The Rose and went through 12 rounds of chemo while pregnant. And then I had my sweet baby boy. I came and saw you guys and did the first podcast. And right after that, I had a lumpectomy with a reduction, a breast reduction.
And I. After my lumpectomy, when I went for my follow up, we found out that the cancer was still in my breasts, um, so we had to schedule [00:03:00] radiation, which I did, and then after the radiation, um, they scheduled me for a double mastectomy with, it’s called a DIEP flap, um, reconstruction, and I just had that July 23rd, so I am like, six and a half weeks post op and life has changed a lot. I’m going back to work.
Dorothy: Oh, that is the most exciting news of all. But wait a minute. I want you to go back. You were how old when we first diagnosed you?
Courtney: I was, I just turned, I just made 38 last week. So I was 36.
Dorothy: Yeah. Yeah.
Courtney: 36 years old, 23 weeks pregnant and scared.
Dorothy: And the insurance was not, not functioning.
Courtney: So that’s what I was going to say. Yeah. The insurance, I was, um, so when I was pregnant, I had pregnancy Medicaid. And, um, when I found out about the cancer, I, like I said, I was 23 weeks pregnant. So I did some of my chemo. And then after I had my baby, they give you, um, like two months of extra [00:04:00] Medicaid. And so I had my baby and I still had two months of extra Medicaid, but then I was going to lose my Medicaid because I was no longer pregnant.
And when I found that out, I didn’t know what I was going to do because if I lose my Medicaid I have to stop getting treatment and I wasn’t finished with my chemo yet and I still had to worry about radiation. Um, so I called The Rose and I got connected with Ms. Elizabeth and she got me connected with the Breast and Cervical Cancer, um, Medicaid and as long as I am, like, going through, any type of treatment for breast cancer, I’ll have that Medicaid.
And so that helped me with my surgery. It helped me, my first surgery, the lumpectomy, and it also helped me with my radiation. But, so just recently, like I said, I had my double mastectomy and I was still using the breast and cervical cancer Medicaid. Um, the thing about that is like, it’s kind of, you have to make sure you stay on top of things with them.
Um, they’ll [00:05:00] send you a letter in the mail after three months, and they’ll ask you like, are you still going through it, and you have to get your oncologist to fill out paperwork. And, um, They tell you two different things. So they tell you, you know, you fill out the paperwork, you tell them that you want to keep the same because you have a chance of changing like the service. Like if you want UnitedHealthcare or Community Health Choice. So they tell you when you get the paperwork, fill it out, get your doctor to fill it out, let us know what you want to do. But then I had someone call me from Breast and Cervical Cancer Medicaid, and she asked me, she was like, hey, do you want to keep the same Uh, UnitedHealthcare, and I was like, oh yes ma’am, and she was like, okay, this is a call just to make sure everything is still the same. You may get a paperwork in the mail. Just get your doctor to fill it out and send it back to us, and that’s all you have to do. And I was like, okay, so I was told that once I get that paperwork, I needed to fill it out and also say what Medicaid I wanted to keep, and she was like, oh no, you don’t have to do that.
Um, but me, I, I just like, like, dot my [00:06:00] I’s and cross my T’s, so I still did it. Like, I got the paperwork, got my doctor to fill it out, I said that I wanted to keep the UnitedHealthcare, and I sent it in. Had my surgery, and with my surgery, with my, um, double mastectomy, I had to have drains I had, um, I had two drains, um, coming from my sides from the breasts, and I had a drain from my belly.
Um, I went for my first follow up, everything was fine. And when it was time for me to go for my second follow up appointment, um, I got a call from the plastic surgeon’s office saying, Your Medicaid isn’t going through. I was like, okay. And so the next day I got a letter in the mail that was like dated for like a month before, but I got it a month after saying that if I didn’t fill out this form on, let’s just say June 8th, I would have my Medicaid taken away.
And it was June 9th when I got the [00:07:00] paperwork. I immediately started crying because I’m like, I still have drains coming out. I still have to take this, um, one medication that’s a chemo pill for the next five to ten years to like make sure it doesn’t come back. I still have to like follow up with all my doctors and I don’t have insurance.
This is my only insurance. This is like my guaranteed quote unquote medical insurance. So I called Medicaid, um, couldn’t get anyone on the phone. So, I went to Health and Human Services. They didn’t know what to do. So then I called Trustee Miss Elizabeth. I called her. I was crying. I was like, I don’t know what I’m gonna do.
And so, she immediately called like, the person who needed to like switch, to switch on. And she was like, okay, I just need you to get a letter from your doctor. Just saying that you are still being treated and email it to me as soon as you get it. Went to my doctor’s office, got it, emailed it to her. And this was on a Friday and she was getting off early. She was like, I’ll wait for you. And that’s why I love, I know I always say it, but I love y’all so much [00:08:00] because of the care that your team gives to people. Like it gives, I’m gonna get emotional, but it gives so much hope, like, because that was a really scary situation for me.
Dorothy: Oh yeah.
Courtney: Called her, she waited for me, got the paperwork to her, she called me right back, she was like, okay, Ms. Such and Such turned the switch on, you can go to your appointment on Monday. Went to my appointment Monday, everything was fine. I love that I have that connection with you guys, but the scary thing about that is if I wasn’t who I am, and I say that as far as like, I like to talk to people, I’ll like, you know, I’m kind of bubbly and my husband says I meet, I can make friends with the wall. But if I wasn’t that person, or if I didn’t have that connection, I would have been without Medicaid until they found the paperwork and called me, you know?
Dorothy: And that’s what’s so important and the reason why I especially wanted to get you back when I heard that story, and of course Courtney, we all follow you, so we kind of know what’s happened in your life, , but, but the thing is, this is [00:09:00] one of the issues that has happened to hundreds of women who have been on the, the programs that the state offers. And this is not to disparage the state programs, but to explain that Medicaid is very complicated. It is not a simple process. You do have to continue to renew it, and you have to continue, like you said, to have all the validations. And so many women don’t realize that.
They get that letter that says, It’s no longer valid, and they go, I don’t have insurance, and they stop having any kind of treatment. Now, that will impact their survival. And that’s why we feel it’s so important for our listeners to know that you, you do have other options. I mean, you do, and I loved what you said about yourself.
You said, before the breast cancer, I might not have insisted on certain things. But I’ve learned to be the advocate for myself.
Courtney: I was going to say that.
Dorothy: Yeah, you have. And I mean, I [00:10:00] think about some of the stories you told us and how you are now, you were, you were going to keep at it, but not everybody has your, you know, your gumption. Not everybody has that will. And sometimes we just, I don’t want to say give up, but the system seems so powerful and against us, that we go, okay, that’s it. I just give up.
Courtney: I’ve actually felt like that before. And my husband, who is like my biggest support system, like he’s helped me just to, like you have to keep going. Because, now that I’m like listening to you and thinking about it, this happened while I was going through treatment too. I needed to renew some paperwork and this was at the very beginning when I had like pregnancy brain, chemo brain, you know, it was a lot going on and I, it was on me. I had literally forgot to just like sign the paper and send it in, but I had chemo treatment the next day and I couldn’t, I didn’t have the connection with, like, I didn’t know, it was just, um, the [00:11:00] pregnancy medication.
I didn’t have that connection with Ms. Elizabeth to be like, Hey, can you call? So I really, I went. I went like two weeks without my chemo treatment. I forgot all about that. But I went two weeks without it because I didn’t have the insurance. And then once they renewed it, I was able to get back, you know.
Dorothy: Having that chemo right on schedule is so important.
Courtney: So important.
Dorothy: For survival. So, you know, you have a lot of messages here for women. And the program is there. The program is there for women who are in that. situation where they don’t have insurance. Yours was like compounded pregnancy, breast cancer, all of those things.
And so, you know, what a shame to have a program that you’re not accessing because of some fluke that you didn’t know about. And even if you had forgotten to send it or sign it or whatever, you know, this is one of the barriers of being uninsured. This is one of the situations that to me, it’s just. I get so [00:12:00] upset and concerned.
Insured people don’t have to do that every single time, every three months. You know, that, that doesn’t happen. We, we, we have our own issues and how insurance pays and having to be our own advocate. Everybody has that. But boy, to wake up one day, be going to a treatment, and find out you don’t have it, it’s just a whole different scenario.
Courtney: It’s another obstacle on top of the, the obstacle of having cancer, and like, adjusting to having cancer, and adjusting to not working, because you have this breast and cervical cancer Medicaid because you can’t go to work and you can’t get insurance because you’re not working because your immune system is down or you, you know, you’re not feeling well, you’re sick.
And it’s just another obstacle. And that’s supposed to be the easy part. Like the insurance, getting, it’s a great program. It really is. Like it covers everything, like everything. And you can even offer rides if you need rides. Like it covers… like, I had a [00:13:00] reduction, a lift, now I’ve got, like, I’ve had a double mastectomy, reconstruction, all of that’s covered.
Don’t pay anything for it. They even offer, um, dental. Um, insurance too. Yeah, because there’s something called like chemo teeth, like you start, your teeth start to decay sometimes and they cover all of that.
Dorothy: So you can’t say enough good things about it.
Courtney: Can’t say enough good things about it.
Dorothy: But the system.
Courtney: Yeah, the one obstacle is just like, I’m losing all of that because I forgot to fill out this paperwork or because I was misinformed.
Dorothy: Either way, you’re the one that’s out of it.
Courtney: Exactly.
Dorothy: Right, you’re the one that has to suffer through the not getting the treatment.
Courtney: Yes.
Dorothy: Now, you’ve just had your last surgery, hopefully.
Courtney: Yes.
Dorothy: Yes. You look great.
Courtney: Thank you.
Dorothy: And there’s another really great thing in your horizon that’s just coming up like tomorrow.
Courtney: Yes.
Dorothy: Right. So tell us about that.
Courtney: I’m about to start working again back in the education system. And I’m [00:14:00] so excited about it. Um, my daughter goes to the school that I’m going to go work at and when she goes to the elementary side, I’m going to be working on the middle school side and I am so excited.
It was like, September 3rd, which was my birthday, was like my six week mark. I started filling out applications September 3rd. I was just so ready to get back into the workforce and, um, the school that I’m going to, like, when you walk in, it’s just, it, when we went to the, um, parent night, I was like, I got to work here.
It’s just, it’s the, the, the warmth of it. It’s just like, Oh, I’m home. Like, it’s kind of like when I come to The Rose, honestly, no, for real. I feel like I’m home when I come here and, um, I’m excited. I’m happy to go back to work.
Dorothy: Proud of
Courtney: you. I used to think I wanted to be a stay at home mom. Uh, no thanks.
Dorothy: I think that’s important for, for our listeners to know there comes a time after your [00:15:00] breast cancer experience that you do want to get back.
Courtney: It’s the part of getting back to myself.
Dorothy: When it comes to the insurance part, what other message do you want to tell anyone who’s having to fight insurance of any kind?
Courtney: Advocate for yourself.
Dorothy: And what does that mean? I mean, we talk about that a lot, but does it mean making another phone call? Does it mean staying on the line? Does it mean insisting? Does it mean getting help from a patient navigator?
Courtney: It means all of the above. So I would say, um, when I say advocate for yourself, I mean, if they tell you. Like, for me, the lady on the phone told me, Oh, you don’t have to fill it out, but then if you look at the form and it seems like you need to fill it out, just do it, because if you fill it out and you didn’t need to, okay, it’s just extra paperwork that they have. If you fill it out and you did need to, it’s you getting your insurance and not losing it.
Or, if, for insured people, like if you have a co pay and they tell you that it’s supposed to be 70 and then you get to the appointment and it’s [00:16:00] 170, then you need to like, no, it was 70. And this is, you know, like find out where it is and why is it more and like really, really put your foot down and I’m going to pay you this 70 because that is what my insurance said.
Um, I just think it’s so important because we as women, we have to take care of us. And like sometimes, and I know it’s not just women that have breast cancer, but I’m just speaking like for me because it’s me that I know. Um, sometimes people don’t take you seriously, or they feel like, well, I said this, and this is what it’s going to be, and it’s like, well, no, that is not the policy.
Let’s go by the policy, and even with me too, when I got the paperwork for the renewal, the reason why, um, it came late was because of the hurricane. And I’m like, well, that’s not my fault. I, it’s not something that I could.
Dorothy: I didn’t know that part of the story.
Courtney: That’s not something that I can control. And so if I had not had Miss Elizabeth, I thank God that I did, but I [00:17:00] would have had to like, really go for it with them. Like, Hey, I got it on the 8th.
Dorothy: Right.
Courtney: You said it was, I got it on the 9th. You said it was due by the 8th. How can I turn in something that I didn’t have access to? And so I just think it’s so important to like, be informed. Um, when you know what you know, don’t let anyone tell you that it’s not that.
Um, and bring proof, like this is the proof and this is what I need. And this is what I want, because your life is so much more important than giving up. You know, like this is your life and I’m so grateful that I’m here for myself, for my kids, for my family. And when I talk about everything that I’ve been through, I always think about how I was literally like knocking on death’s door.
It didn’t look like it on the outside because I handled it so well, but on the inside, like I was really like dying. You know, like that’s the, a word that we don’t like to use, but that’s what it was. And. By the grace of God, [00:18:00] by medicine, by The Rose, I’m here.
Dorothy: You are.
Courtney: And my shirt says that. You know the last time I came I had on a shirt and my shirt says by the grace of God, I’m a survivor.
Dorothy: Love it. Love it, Courtney. Thank you for being with us and helping us to educate women on what they need to do.
Courtney: Thank you for having me.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke Podcasting and brought to you by The Rose. Visit therose.org to learn more about our organization. Subscribe to our podcast. Share episodes with friends and join the conversation on social media using #LetsTalkAboutYourBreasts. We welcome your feedback and suggestions. Consider supporting The Rose. Your gift can make the difference to a person in need. And remember, self care is not selfish. It’s essential.
