Dorothy: [00:00:00] What would it be like to lose your mother at the young age of eight years old? Well, David Mauk talks to us today about all of the people in his family, five, who have had breast cancer and died of breast cancer, and some have also tested positive for the BRCA gene, including David. He has a lifetime of knowing what it’s like to be in a family that has a lot of cancer and knowing what it’s like to lose your mom at an early age. One of the things he’s determined to do and, and that is to be an advocate, to tell people in Washington how important research is. And he’s also made it his mission to be sure that all of his family knows if or if not they’re carrying that gene and what they can do if they are.
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Let’s Talk About Your Breast, a different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose. A breast center of excellence and a Texas treasure. You’re gonna hear frank discussions about tough topics and you’re gonna learn why knowing about your breast could save your life.
David, it’s so nice to have you with us today. And I, I have to tell you, your story is one of the most unusual I’ve ever heard.
David: It’s very unfortunate.
Dorothy: In all this time that I’ve been in the breast cancer world, and it’s just amazing. First of all, how much you know about your family history, because that is the big gap that we find over and over again. People don’t know, you know, that there could have been something going on in their family. So just take a [00:02:00] minute and share with us how cancer breast cancer has been in your life. All your life.
David: Yes, it has. Um. As far back as we can remember, um, my grandmother on my mom’s side, she passed away at an early age of breast cancer. Um, my mom was still in school and her twin sister was still in school, and, um, so I never met her. They ended up joining the service and that’s where my mom met my father. Uh. Uh, my mom had four kids. I’m the youngest, and when I was about probably four or five years old, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer and she fought it for as long as she could, a few years. Um, she was 37 when she passed away. I was eight years old.
Dorothy: Oh.
David: And so, uh. It was already having a profound impact on our family. [00:03:00] Um, further through the years, uh, my sister, the only daughter at 35 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She fought it a long battle. She made it about 10 years, and at 45 years old, she passed away.
So she had two kids. Um. Oh, and I forgot to mention that my mom’s twin sister died a year before her. So every generation of women in my family has been affected. My niece, who was my sister’s daughter, she, um, had the BRCA test done and she came back positive for the BRCA gene or for the cancer gene. So she made the decision at, I think it was at 27 years old, that she had a double mastectomy. So she is living healthy today and we hope that that breaks some type of cycle. But you know, it’s just, I, it’s just been a tragedy after tragedy for [00:04:00] us.
Dorothy: It sounds like it.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: And there were other types of cancer in your family also?
David: Yes. So my brother, uh, has been diagnosed with colon cancer and he is, or prostate cancer. I’m sorry. And he is battling that. He’s on chemo right now. It’s been about a 10 year, uh, stent for him. My dad passed away. He had a, uh, glioblastoma tumor in his brain. And from the time he was diagnosed till the time he passed away, it was three months. So it was pretty radical.
Dorothy: Oh my gosh.
David: Now I talked to some of his Air Force friends and they told me that it was not uncommon in those days because when you were in an airplane, you were wearing a headset and that headset, the, the Air Force identified that it was causing these tumors, and the first thing they did was had them, every time you would fly, you would switch it from one ear to the other, and they thought that might help. Stop or slow down at least. So that was an occupational [00:05:00] thing. I don’t think it’s a genetic thing.
Dorothy: Genetic, right.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: You also tested.
David: Uh, so I had the BRCA test and I tested positive for several different types of cancer. So, uh, or I’m carrying the gene, so, and I about 15 or 20 years ago, I had ulcerative colitis real bad. And so, uh, my gastroenterologist told me that, you know, it increased my chances for having cancer. So I’m in remission now, been re, in remission for about 10 years, and I have, uh, my colonoscopies periodically to just staying informed.
Dorothy: How, how did it feel when you found out you also carried that gene?
David: Well, it didn’t surprise me, and I think if everyone tested more, people would know more about things that they may be carrying. So, um, I’ve also had a mammogram and it came back negative, so I do that [00:06:00] every five years. Um, and I do the self exams, you know? Yeah.
Dorothy: And. It within your family, did people always talk openly about breast cancer or was it…?
David: Well, so I mean it, you can’t hide from it. And so my mom was very good sister-in-laws. She had two sister-in-laws. And so they always, you know, like to stay in touch with us about, you know.
Dorothy: What’s going on and.
David: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Dorothy: So eight years ago when you lost your mom. How, how in the world did you handle that?
David: Well, so it was difficult. Um, one reason is because my two older brothers were, they’re six and seven years older than me. My sister was, uh, four, four or five years older than me. So, um, my brother took on the role, my oldest brother took on the role [00:07:00] of taking care of the family because my dad was in the Air Force. So he was gone quite a bit. We actually moved in with my grandparents. Um, there was a very sympathetic tone to the family for us kids. Uh, whenever, where there was cousin reunions, every, you could feel it, you know? You could feel the, because we’d lost our mom. Everyone kind of had that sympathy for us.
Dorothy: And kind of looked after you or.
David: Yes.
Dorothy: Or were careful.
David: Yes.
Dorothy: Yes. And at school, did, did kids know all this or did they?
David: Well, so. One of the things about being an Air Force brat is you don’t stay at schools very long.
Dorothy: Well true, true.
David: You move around, so you’re always trying to make new friends. And right after my mom died, my dad, uh, remarried and we moved to Texas. We lived in southern Ohio, so we moved to a whole new environment and nobody knew me, nobody knew [00:08:00] my history, and I didn’t talk about it. Um. I will say that it took me probably till I was about 25 or 30 years old before I could walk into a hospital again. I just, I didn’t like him.
Dorothy: Oh, my.
David: My mom, she went through, back in the day, this is in the, in mid sixties. And at that time, research was, they were trying all kinds of stuff. And there was actually times where they put had so much, uh, radiation that she had big lesions all over her body. And so she had a very painful time with it.
Dorothy: Yeah.
David: And there was times that they wouldn’t take me to see her, ’cause they didn’t want me seeing her like that. But later, as I became an adult and me and my brothers and sisters started talking more about it, my oldest brother told me some stories that it just, I’m glad I didn’t know at the time, you know?
Dorothy: Right, right. It would’ve been too much.
David: Yeah. Yeah.
Dorothy: For a young boy to handle. [00:09:00] Now you’re married?
David: I am.
Dorothy: And you have children?
David: I do. I have a daughter. She’s 37. I have a son. He is 41. My daughter has tested for the BRCA and she came back negative.
Dorothy: Oh!
David: Oh yes. Yeah. And she had already pretty much made the decision that if she was positive, she was gonna have the mastectomy also.
Dorothy: And that is a decision that many women have decided to make. It’s just not worth the surveillance or the worry are all of the things that can happen with breast cancer that we know when you’re carrying it.
David: Yep.
Dorothy: It’s an option. You know, it’s a tough decision.
David: It is very tough.
Dorothy: But it’s an option. And unfortunately that’s what we’ve got right now.
David: Yeah. Well, my niece, she came to grips with it and she, she knew it was what she had to do and did not let it affect her at all. She’s, she’s a very happy young girl. Um. Yeah. It’s, uh, it’s a story I didn’t tell until I became an [00:10:00] adult.
Dorothy: Hmm.
David: And I have a lot of friends that are surprised to hear it. Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Dorothy: Well, now, and you know, you were recommended for this podcast by Charlie, who’s been on our show several times, and he is a male breast cancer survivor.
David: Yes.
Dorothy: When, of course. Charlie’s a person in to my own self. I, I, I can’t, you know, the first time I met him, he, you know, here’s this big burly guy.
David: He’s a character.
Dorothy: He is, yeah. And, and he said, I was telling everybody I had breast cancer and I was going. Charlie, that just doesn’t happen.
David: Right.
Dorothy: I mean, you know, and he said, Nope. I think those men needed to know.
David: Yes.
Dorothy: And so that’s how he knew about you. You all, y’all started talking.
David: Yeah. Yes. At work.
Dorothy: Yeah.
David: Yep. And another thing that kind of opened me up, we started having a team at the Relay for Life, and we did that every year. We were actually on the, uh. Board. And that got me involved with American Cancer Society to some degree. [00:11:00] We were in the Pasadena chapter. We, we, it was an overnight thing. And we took pride.
Dorothy: It was a great, great event.
David: Yeah. It was a great event. Yeah. We took pride in our team and we were the leading fundraisers one year, which was nice. I was asked, me and my wife were both asked to be community ambassadors for the American Cancer Society, and we traveled to Washington DC several times to advocate and they have a relay outside on the capitol grounds. And so we did the all night relay and that is really, really special there.
Dorothy: Wow.
David: Yeah. With all the luminaries and stuff.
Dorothy: Oh.
David: And we met with, uh, congressmen and senators and we would ask them to increase funding for the American Cancer Society. And we asked that the funding be used for, um, educating the public and patient services and a few other things. But, uh, we were. Successful in getting the price of cigarette raised. A dollar a pack.
Dorothy: Congratulations.
David: Yeah. Well, oh my gosh. Not all my friends liked that. But hey, they, the intent was if we could make it unaffordable for [00:12:00] children that maybe they wouldn’t start smoking. And you know, there’s research out there that shows if you don’t smoke as a child, you’re probably not going to smoke as an adult.
Dorothy: Right. Yeah. And that is one of the most, uh. The only cancer probably that we could really make a difference in.
David: Oh yeah, yeah.
Dorothy: When you get down to why it starts and how it starts and all of that. And I know, you know, that’s been a, a real challenge, especially in Texas because it’s just a state that wants to do its own thing. You know? It took a long time to.
David: There’s good and bad with that, so.
Dorothy: Oh, yeah. To get to, to get, uh, the smokeless areas and the, you know, smoke free cities and, and those kind of things. But it has made a difference. It is saving lives.
David: I’ll tell you that. There has been a change in society. Um, there are people that they’re still gonna step outside and smoke. But there’s just not as many. I think it’s, it’s had an positive impact.
Dorothy: Oh yeah.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: Oh yeah. What was it like talking to the Congress? I mean.
David: [00:13:00] So, um, Kay Bailey Hutchison, I’ll, I’ll mention her by name. She was overwhelmed and she a, it brought a tear to her eye and whenever we leave we try to get a commitment from ’em. You know, we try to get them to say, I’m on your side, I’m gonna fight for this. And so it was, it was a different experience and sitting in the chamber and watching them vote and stuff like that. That is. Everybody should do that.
Dorothy: Yes.
David: And it’s open to the public. You can walk in and watch it. Yeah.
Dorothy: Yes. Yes. And, and, uh, I’ve only done it once. At in Washington, but did it several times in at Austin.
David: Okay.
Dorothy: You know, where you’re, you’re testifying and you’re telling your story, but really it is telling our stories that another person hears. And we have to remember our representatives and senators are people.
David: That’s right.
Dorothy: They want to know what’s going on with their constituents.
David: Yes.
Dorothy: And they, and they really do care. I think, you know, [00:14:00] politics has its own little stuff all around it, and we get all very. Tired of hearing some of the things, but we’ve gotta remember, those are the people that can change our world.
David: Yes.
Dorothy: For the better.
David: And you need to make it personal. You need to not show up as a voter, show up as someone that is truly interested in, hopefully you can convince ’em. Um, you know, when I, when I talk about this, it’s gotten easier for me to talk about this, but when up there, when you’re talking about it, it takes on a whole different level.
You feel like, okay. To me, the unfortunate part about cancer is most people have experienced someone in their life that had cancer, and it’s kind of become a norm. But no one really talks about it. You know, don’t, you don’t.
Dorothy: Oh, that’s interesting.
David: Yeah. So it’s one of those things that you hear the numbers, but it’s, it’s not numbers, it’s people.
Dorothy: You know, David, that’s a very important part. I, I, I just, I. [00:15:00] Both things you said, it’s not normal for us to have cancer.
David: Right.
Dorothy: It’s, it’s not normal to have your cells dividing like that and all of those things. And if we don’t address it as something not normal, it can’t be just, oh, well, yeah, yeah. Everybody’s getting cancer these days, so what? ’cause we, we can’t accept that.
David: No.
Dorothy: We, we just can’t.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: And, and anytime that we are sharing our statistics. I’m always amazed at if you just knew the women that make up these statistics, then it, it’s takes on a whole different feel.
David: And in my situation, the sad part is that I never got to know my mom as an adult. There are a lot of things over the years that I would, I just don’t know. I don’t know who her favorite singer was. I don’t know what her favorite movie was. Things that just seemed simple. [00:16:00] And Mother’s Day for me for the longest time, I mean, everybody was doing things with their mother. Now I had a stepmom. But it wasn’t the same.
Dorothy: No.
David: Yeah, no.
Dorothy: And I know she understood that.
David: Yeah. She, she tried hard to fill the role.
Dorothy: So I, I didn’t lose my mother at eight, but I did at 20.
David: Okay.
Dorothy: From cancer and. I think even at that age when I was 20, I really didn’t know what it was gonna be like 10 years later, 20 years later. ‘Cause there’s so much I don’t know about her.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: And so much I wish she knew about me.
David: Right.
Dorothy: You know, that’s, that’s the part I think.
David: The same way about my kids. I wish they knew her and I wish she could see them. ’cause I’m very proud of them. Uh, and I know she proud from above, but. I just, it, it’s a side of my life that it just, it was gone. You know? [00:17:00] And.
Dorothy: Of course that’s why we keep stressing.
David: Yes.
Dorothy: In this day and age, it is a treatable thing. Not like it was in the sixties.
David: No. They’ve come late and bounds. Yes.
Dorothy: Yeah. And my mother was in, uh, the late sixties and there wasn’t anything.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: They could really do. So we really have to stress, you know, that, that mom. That’s our, and that’s what holds us together.
David: And moms are dying every day right now.
Dorothy: They’re, yeah. They really are. And it is so sad.
David: One thing that surprises me is there is a small percent of society that thinks cancer research, that they could find a cure, but then they would lose all this money. You know, that. And it’s, it’s like, so what is your recommendation? Just stop research, you know?
Dorothy: Yeah.
David: No.
Dorothy: No.
David: Uh. You know, with the stem cell stuff that’s happening right now and
Dorothy: immuno– Yes!
David: Yeah. I feel like we’re close.
Dorothy: Oh, we’re so close.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: Yeah. And, and if you have one treatment that can cure [00:18:00] lung cancer, from the immunotherapy. My gosh. That is as close as we’ve ever been.
David: Right.
Dorothy: You know, we should be really, really pushing all this.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: So, uh, no, cutting research monies does not make sense.
David: Oh, no, no, no.
Dorothy: At all.
David: But there is this philosophy by some, you know, conspiracy theory.
Dorothy: Well, and, and I’ve, I’ve heard that. Yeah. It’s, uh, what we’ve gotta realize is nobody really wants another person to have to go through that.
David: Right.
Dorothy: We really don’t.
David: Right.
Dorothy: You know, we’re people first.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: Just like you were saying. Talk from your heart.
David: Right.
Dorothy: Tell your story. You’re a person.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: Not a, not a number. You know, I shared your history with, uh, our genetic counselor. We have Amanda, who is a nurse practitioner, but she started our high risk center and is doing genetic testing now. Very interesting how few people really are jumping to get genetic testing.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: You know? And was that hard for you to [00:19:00] do?
David: No, no. Uh, you know, I, I consider myself fairly healthy. I could lose some weight. I’m sure.
Dorothy: Well, we all could. Yeah.
David: Might. But, um, but I am a firm believer in having tests and understanding where you are. I have a colonoscopy scheduled here in a couple weeks. So to go through life with no idea of what your possibilities are, when it comes to diseases and stuff. Yeah, that’s, that’s not a good plan. Most people, well, I say that if you have good insurance. You should be getting tested. And you should stay on top of yourself.
Dorothy: And so you’re making surveillance a real important part of your life. That’s what, getting those routine tests are, and one of the things, I’m glad you said, if you have insurance, because our genetic testing here at The Rose is open to anyone.
David: That’s amazing.
Dorothy: You, you don’t have to have insurance.
David: That’s amazing.
Dorothy: We have a, a, [00:20:00] a incredible Natera is a company that’s working with us and just as a, a side, David, I can’t tell you how many genetic testing groups came to us and said, we wanna, we wanna offer this to all your insured women. I said, when you offer it to my uninsured, I’ll talk to you. Yeah. Oh no. Well, you know, they have to have insurance. Well, this company stepped forward and said, we’re gonna handle that. We’re gonna take care of your uninsured. So it’s it. It is a very, I still think it’s kind of a scary test to have to find out you have something.
David: Well. Early detection is probably the single most important thing you can do if you are going to be fighting the fight. I mean, for me, I know that every time you go in for any test that the possibility is there that you’re gonna, your life’s about to change.
Dorothy: Right.
David: But if you don’t know and you let it grow inside of you.
Dorothy: Yeah. [00:21:00]
David: It’s, it’s not a good outcome.
Dorothy: No.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: And you know, that’s, that’s a interesting way to put it because knowing is the first step of early detection.
David: You bet. You bet.
Dorothy: It sure is. All right, so Amanda said, I really would love to visit with this, this guy. And, uh, she said did everybody in your family now, has everybody gotten genetic testing?
David: So, no. Uh, my older brothers, they are, they’re staunch, don’t tell me what to do type people, you know, and so I’ve recommended. Um, but no, they.
Dorothy: Yeah.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: Yeah.
David: So I’m the baby brother.
Dorothy: Yeah.
David: You know?
Dorothy: Yeah. And what do you know? Yeah. No, I think, I think as long as you keep telling them, and that’s all we can do. Some people won’t do it. She said, uh, what, what is your family, uh, ethnicity? What do you know?
David: So we came, my [00:22:00] great, great grandfather and his brother came from Germany. And they came in through, uh, east coast port. And then one went south to Texas. We lost contacts with him and we stayed up north. So we, my dad’s family, uh, is from southern Ohio. My mom’s family was from outside of Chicago. And they met in a service in Corpus Christi. Um, I have a brother that was born in Corpus Christi, a brother that was born in Oakland, a sister that was born in Ohio, and I was born in Massachusetts.
Dorothy: Well, there’s no connection there. No, that’s for sure.
David: And then we moved overseas for several years.
Dorothy: Ah, yeah. Where did you live there?
David: France and Germany.
Dorothy: Ooh.
David: I was, I barely remember.
Dorothy: Oh.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: Lost still. You could say you’re international.
David: Yeah. Yeah.
Dorothy: She also wondered for you personally, uh, what were the pros and cons about knowing?
David: Well, I think you live your life, understanding [00:23:00] that at any day you might find out that you are gonna have cancer also. Um, it’s always in the back of your mind, you know? But. I try to live my life, uh, in a positive way. I, I like to think positive. I’m a firm believer in karma, so I don’t, I don’t go through life cheating or dying or anything like that. And I hope that those life choices make a difference in the outcome for me.
Dorothy: Well, I, I think that’s so important how we think and our mental state impacts our health so much.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: How many really older people have you known that are happy and they’re, you know, it’s that happiness that has kept ’em alive?
David: Sure, sure.
Dorothy: Over and over again. I’m just so surprised. I’m thinking you can barely walk, but they’re happy.
David: Yeah. And I’m lucky because I haven’t been told that I have cancer because once you’re told that, [00:24:00] you know, now you’re fighting. You’re fighting a lot of negativity that you have to make yourself positive then, you know?
Dorothy: Yes.
David: It’s not as easy.
Dorothy: Yes. Yeah. So you think your daughter will have her children tested?
David: Um, oh yeah. I’m certain. So my daughter is a, uh, respiratory therapist. She was for 10 years. She, um, she quit her job and got a job as a medical rep. She sells skin grafts, which is very strange.
Dorothy: Ooh.
David: But she’s very in touch with the medical industry and Yes. I’m certain her kids will be tested. Yeah. Yeah.
Dorothy: So what advice would you give anyone who’s had, I mean, here you had how many? Five, six in your family from the same type of cancer?
David: It’s, yeah, it’s genetic. There’s.
Dorothy: Yeah.
David: Yeah. There’s, if you have a history of cancer in your family, that is the first thing you need to do is [00:25:00] get tested. I mean, it’s better knowing than not.
Dorothy: Right.
David: And then early detection, anybody I talk to about it, I always bring up early detection.
Dorothy: Yeah. And you know, we know that this genetic testing is changing so rapidly.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: You know, there was a time we only could tell one or two, uh, mutations, but now we have multiples that we can be looking for and, and changing perhaps, you know, there, that’s, that’s an exciting, uh
David: well, I’ve seen both ways. I’ve seen people that didn’t know they had it until it was too late. And once they found out they died within months. And I’ve known people that caught it very early and treated it, and are still going strong today.
Dorothy: Yeah. And that’s an important point because it is treatable when you catch it early. That’s, that’s gotta be our mantra. We say it over and over. So what else would you tell someone who…
David: I would ask them? Do they know their family [00:26:00] history? Um, recently my wife found out she had a cousin, and that was through the 23 and Me thing.
Dorothy: Okay.
David: He is 50 something years old and he has always wondered about his family. And so, now that they’ve connected and we meet him and we’ve gone, they went to Florida with us to spring training. Uh, you know, it’s important to know your family history. I mean, if you go through, if you have aunts and uncles and grandmothers talk to ’em about family health you know, it’s not a subject that really comes up much, but it needs to.
Dorothy: I remember when my mother was diagnosed, it was, she had a female problem.
David: Right.
Dorothy: They didn’t say the word cancer.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: You know, cancer was contagious and nobody in the family had ever had cancer. So they called it a female problem, I thought, you know?
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: And, and [00:27:00] I’m sharing with you now. I’m 20 years old and she’s gone through a surgery and the doctors have told us it’s cancer and there’s nothing we can do, but sew her up and, Wait. Um, and when she woke up, the sisters were gonna tell her something different. And I thought, she’s gotta know.
David: Yeah. Yeah.
Dorothy: And that was probably the hardest thing for me to ever do. I’m certainly, but you know what, when she woke up, she said, it’s cancer, isn’t it really? And I said, yeah, mama, it’s, yeah. You know, but we, we had six more months and those were…
David: Yep.
Dorothy: Good. Six months.
David: So. It, it’s strange to say that I was with my sister when she took her last breath. I used to, me and my wife would spend days she lived in Dripping Springs. I would go up there for three or four days. My wife would come and take over and I’d come home. [00:28:00] Um, I will tell you the last three months of her life, that was some of the most valuable time I had with her. I had it builts a relationship between me and her that I’d never had in my life, and I appreciate it. It’s unfortunate how it happened, but when someone is dying, it’s a whole different relationship.
Dorothy: Definitely is.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: Well, David, thank you for sharing.
David: Thank you for having me.
Dorothy: Such a personal and intimate story. And I certainly wish your daughter and the rest of your family a little bit healthier life here.
David: Uh, yes. Yes.
Dorothy: And you of course, for sure.
David: Okay, so I have one question.
Dorothy: Okay.
David: This is the very first I’ve heard about the podcasts. How come we don’t have some billboards out there just telling people about these podcasts?
Dorothy: Well, I tell you what, that can be your next advocacy.
David: Okay.
Dorothy: You’ve gotta raise us some money to get this out there.
David: Okay. [00:29:00] Okay.
Dorothy: One of the I and I appreciate that. One of the next steps that we have got to be very intent on is getting it on YouTube. More and more and more, because that’s where the people find these things. But you know, David, this is.
David: Yeah.
Dorothy: This is just one of the things we do here at The Rose.
David: Yes. Yes.
Dorothy: So I, it’s the most exciting thing I’ve ever done because we’ve been able to share people’s stories in ways we never could have. And, and nothing, no one tells the story like you can, you know, no, it’s, there’s story.
David: Sure.
Dorothy: And, and I think we’ve reached so many women, and especially younger women. Who have been told, you’re too young for breast cancer, you’re too young to have a mammogram. You know, we hear that over and over.
David: Right.
Dorothy: So I really feel like this is a, a part of The Rose’s mission that is very important. And, uh, you certainly as a guest can share. And, and I, I guess the other thing [00:30:00] is we can’t stop breast cancer, but the more we know about it, then we’ve got a chance. And so it just feels like this is part of what we’re supposed to be doing on top of
David: Yes.
Dorothy: The mammograms and biopsies.
David: And I think the insurance industry should be promoting testing because it is in their best benefit.
Dorothy: It is.
David: You know?
Dorothy: Absolutely.
David: If they can catch it early, then they’re not gonna have years and years and years of medical expenses.
Dorothy: Right. So we have to keep pushing for that. When are you going to Washington next?
David: Uh, so believe it or not, now that I’m retired, I have a bucket list. Washington’s not on it because I’ve been so many times. Um, yeah, I have a bucket list, so I’m gonna work on it.
Dorothy: Thank you. Thank you for all your advocacy.
David: Thank you.
Dorothy: And thank you for being here.
David: Giving me the opportunity.
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 [00:31:00] 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.
