Dorothy: [00:00:00] Today we’re interviewing Carol Grimaldi, who is the co-founder of Together in Pink, and she has a fascinating background as to how she got involved with this organization. And what they focus on the most is saying that we’re in this together and they show their support for breast cancer patients by bringing a bag filled with needed things when you’re going through chemotherapy. Carol is a Zumba teacher and she does this for fun, and she’s also someone who feels like every moment of every day needs to be lived with much joy. And as a breast cancer survivor, she is the epitome of what it means to be a survivor.
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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.
Carol, thank you so much for being with us today. I’m, I’m just so excited to have you here because of the great work that Together in Pink is doing.
Carol: Thank you.
Dorothy: But first I wanna know a little bit about Carol. You’re in the oil and gas industry?
Carol: I am, I’ve been in the oil and gas industry since 1995 and I continue working in the oil and gas industry till now.
Dorothy: Oh, okay.
Carol: Um, it’s been, it’s been a very interesting roller coaster.
Dorothy: Oh.
Carol: ’cause I didn’t even graduate into the [00:02:00] business administration or engineering or anything like that. I actually graduated in designing graphic arts.
Dorothy: Um, and you ended up in oil and gas?
Carol: And I ended up.
Dorothy: What is your job there?
Carol: So I’m actually in supply chain, so that’s what I do. Ah, okay. So, but I get to travel around the world because of it. I’m actually in customer service, sales, purchasing. I do all kinds of different things in that in my world.
Dorothy: Oh yeah.
Carol: And it gives me the opportunity to travel around the world and meet exciting people. Just everything that’s interesting around the world.
Dorothy: Logistics, learning, different ways of things, everything. Wow. Yes.
Carol: Yeah. Doing all kinds of different things within the oil and gas industry. Just to give you, one of my highlights in the oil and gas industry is doing the survival training, which is where you hop on a, uh, helicopter. There, and then you drop into the ocean.
Dorothy: Oh, goodness.
Carol: So [00:03:00] it’s pretty interesting when you do that sort of things.
Dorothy: That’s part of your everyday life, right?
Carol: Well, it, it used to be in the different roles when I was, uh, traveling a lot with the engineers. And so one of the opportunities was to go and visit one of the platforms. And so in, in the event a fire explosion, you should be able to actually do the survival training and in the event that happens, and I found it so interesting.
Dorothy: Ooh, it was.
Carol: And so I took it. It wasn’t mandatory, but I did it just for the, just to see how it felt. And it was scary.
Dorothy: You’re just an adventurer, right? You love adventures.
Carol: I love adventures. And I think it’s so much about what life can offer.
Dorothy: Ah.
Carol: It’s, it’s about the thrill of how you feel and how strong you are to deal with the different things that life puts in place.
Dorothy: So coming from a breast cancer survivor that has a whole different aspect to [00:04:00] it.
Carol: I wasn’t ready for that.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Carol: You are ready for things that come your way and you’re interested about finding out things, but when you are placed in the moment of being diagnosed with breast cancer, is an unexpected feeling. So, interestingly enough that that day that I went for my first mammogram and I went, because my gynecologist, I was gonna turn 40. And, uh, he says, she said, um, don’t come to my clinic if you don’t have your mammogram at 40. Oh, and then I said, okay, you know, Ryan, I said, I don’t wanna do it, but I guess I have to.
So I remember that I went that day and I had multiple meetings at work that day, and I booked my appointment right in the spot of my lunch hour and giving myself two hours. So I said, [00:05:00] okay, I can get it done in two hours. It will make me to my two o’clock meeting and my four o’clock meeting, so I should be okay.
And I remember I went, I did it. I felt molested for the first time. And then went into the lobby and, um, the technician says, the radiologist needs to see you. And then I went through a, um another test and it hurt. And then at that point is when they said we need to go ahead and do a biopsy. At this point, I didn’t even think much of it, but I could relay a biopsy because my, my dad had just barely gone through a biopsy and I saw how painful he was.
Dorothy: Hmm.
Carol: So I related the pain to that, not so much what was going on with me. I remember I did the test. It didn’t hurt again, I was, I did the biopsy and I still went back to work. And, uh, I remember that I was going a hundred miles [00:06:00] per hour, so I put the Walgreens sticky note on my, on my monitor, and I said, in case my doctor calls me and needs to prescribe something, I’ll have the number right away rather than looking on my phone.
And the doctor said, um. Hey, Carol, we have the results. You, um, can you come to my office? And then I said, no. I said, whatever you need to give me. I said, just tell me now. I said, you know, I don’t have time. Just, I have the number already to Walgreens. Whatever you need to prescribe. Here it is. And she says, it’s more than that. Then I said, okay, assist. Let’s do it. What do I need to do? I, I, I can exercise and I can get it done and over with. Never did I think it was Cancer.
Dorothy: Oh my gosh, Carol.
Carol: Because we don’t have cancer in the family.
Dorothy: Right.
Carol: Because I take care of myself, right? Because I exercise, because I eat well. Because I’m, I’m always, you know, [00:07:00] ready to take on another opportunity to take care of, you know, things in life, right? Enjoy life. And that moment I just paused and I hung up. And for the first time I, I was crying like never before because so many flashbacks came back. And then I said to myself, I haven’t even had the opportunity to take my kids to university yet.
Dorothy: Oh my gosh.
Carol: And then the next thing was, my husband doesn’t know how to make rice.
Dorothy: Oh my God.
Carol: How is he gonna feed the family? Simple things like that just came to mind. And I remember that so vividly because I was assigned to be the key user for a new project, and I had to let go that afternoon. And then of course, the million questions as to, am I dying? How far is [00:08:00] it? Because this was my first mammogram. How? Never did I ask God.
Dorothy: Why.
Carol: Nope. I just said, mm. Okay. Hmm. I feel great. And um, so he has to be in early stages because I feel great. I had no signs, no nothing. And then I remember that day my husband was traveling. He was on his way to New York that day, so I couldn’t get ahold of him. Oh, and my kids were in high school, and so I was like, how am I gonna tell ’em?
That was the first thing, right? How am I gonna tell ’em? But I have to tell ’em ’cause they’re gonna see me all sad. So I remember that night for the first time, I didn’t cook during the week, so I went to Chick-fil-A, so my kids knew something was up. Because they said Mom didn’t cook.
Dorothy: Mm.
Carol: Mom what happened? And then I said, I need for you guys to eat. And I couldn’t swallow, so I was just like, no, I’m not hungry. So [00:09:00] finally I told them, my daughter started crying. And um, I remember that the first thing that came outta my, my son was, okay, mom, you have to look at it positive. And then I said, oh, and I wiped my tears. And he says, so my girlfriend’s mom is going through the same thing and she lost all her hair. And she says that the good thing is that you don’t have to shave.
Dorothy: Oh my gosh.
Carol: And then I looked at him and I giggled, and my, my daughter just said, is that true? And then I said, well, yes, eventually yes, you lose all your hair, that you don’t have to shave anymore.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Carol: So it’s a positive thing. So I’ll be soft and smooth. And we just laughed.
Dorothy: Oh my goodness.
Carol: And then I knew that we were all gonna be okay. So that’s what happened. [00:10:00] And then finally, I, I got in touch with my husband and my husband says, well, I’m turning around and I’m going back to Houston. And I said, what’s the point? There’s nothing you can do. We’re just gonna go with the process of what needs to come our way. And then he says, well, how do you feel? Lost, confused. But I’m not the first one that’s going through this, so I’m not gonna be the last one either. So I’m just gonna deal with it and see what happens. And then of course, the snowball of everything that needs to happen right after that.
Dorothy: Right, right.
Carol: But at that point, I had to make peace with myself and at night I just, I learned to speak to God and normally we pray at night.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Carol: And because it becomes a habit, you just say, thank you, Lord, for, you know, allowing me to finish my day and [00:11:00] this and that, that day it was from the heart.
Dorothy: Oh.
Carol: And so I learned to do that, and I didn’t have my husband, so I was like, no, I need to talk to him. And then from that point on, we just, we just went through the whole process of going through, through that. Then I learned to understand what breast cancer was and what I was made of, because everybody participates in the 5Ks, 10 Ks breast cancer awareness. All kinds of stuff. But you really don’t understand exactly what happens. What are we made of? Oh, I’m made of three elements, two hormones, one protein, who would’ve known.
Dorothy: Right. Right.
Carol: And I had to learn that I wasn’t producing anything. I’m a triple negative stage two cancer survivor.
Dorothy: And how many years now has it been?
Carol: 10.
Dorothy: Oh my goodness.
Carol: Yes. I made [00:12:00] it.
Dorothy: You made it. You made it. For sure.
Carol: I made it. I felt like, um, my, um, surgeon who followed me till last year, she says, I released you to the pong now. Because you’re now back with the rest of the ladies, and I say, yes, I made it.
Dorothy: But Carol, you’ve, you’ve touched on so many things.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: Many, many. 95% of women who are diagnosed with breast cancer, there is none in their family. There’s no history.
Carol: Correct.
Dorothy: And I think the other thing is having that first mammogram. What a wise doctor.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: To insist on that. You probably, now that you’ve been through this journey, you know how much confusion there’s been around what age? So much to start. Think about it, if you hadn’t had it that age, we might not be talking today.
Carol: Correct. Because what I went through, you become more aware of the [00:13:00] silence that women go through. And by that is you don’t speak about your breast, you don’t speak about how you feel, what you should be doing in order to be comfortable in this area. Eating habits, sleeping habits. The whole, uh, wellness part of it. It, it has so much to do, in my case is it was environmental, whatever that means.
Dorothy: Right, right. We hear this, no one knows what causes this.
Carol: No.
Dorothy: No. And you know, unfortunately we don’t have that absolute, we could prevent this forever, correct? No, we’re not there yet.
Carol: No.
Dorothy: But I think it’s also interesting that you talked about you felt molested. Now, you know, some of our viewers are, and listeners have not had a mammogram yet, but that’s a very common.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: If you’re not used to going to the doctor, you’re healthy. Like you said, you [00:14:00] felt great.
Carol: I did.
Dorothy: That’s just not something that, that you do.
Carol: No, you don’t. And I think it’s an uncomfortable feeling to some women and to some, they just have this fear that they don’t want to know that they have something.
Dorothy: Of course for you, it was just the doctor said, don’t come back, so I have to go do this.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: You were very logical.
Carol: Exactly.
Dorothy: I, I love that. I allowed two hours of my day to go to this health thing.
Carol: Because I had a project coming up.
Dorothy: Of course.
Carol: And so then I said to myself, okay, if I don’t do this, then the doctor’s not gonna see me and I don’t have time between September and December, so I have to do it now in September. And, um. And and I could see her face telling me, don’t come back if you don’t have those test results. And it’s like, you know, when you’re growing up, you see, you can hear your mom, don’t do this.
Dorothy: Yeah. Yeah.
Carol: And if you do it, you can get in trouble. So this time it was my doctor.
Dorothy: Ah, yes.
Carol: And I was like, ah, [00:15:00] I need to get it done. I need to get it done.
Dorothy: But your whole life was planned.
Carol: Of course.
Dorothy: Of course.
Carol: Of course. But it became to a halt. And then my whole life turn 360 and, um, so many things went through. I didn’t know what cancer was. I didn’t know what it actually did. I did not know anything about the, the treatments, the side effects, what the outcome would be. I didn’t know anything about it. I had six treatments and at the fourth one I told my husband to let me go. I said, I can’t do it anymore. It’s too painful.
Dorothy: Oh.
Carol: And he says, but you’re a strong spirit. Yeah. My spirit’s there. My body’s not.
Dorothy: Body’s tired. Yes.
Carol: I said, I can’t do it. I can’t sleep at night. I said I [00:16:00] went from 114 pounds to 148. Because they had to put steroids. ’cause my body could not deal with all the changes.
Dorothy: Right.
Carol: And I told my husband, let me go. And he says, okay, I’ll let you go, but you have to tell your kids that you’re giving up.
Dorothy: Oh my gosh.
Carol: And I remember that night and then I said, no, ’cause you’re my pillar. You’re supposed to do it. And he said, yeah, but you’re also their pillar. Oh, so you have to let them know. I’ll let you go ’cause that’s what you’re asking me to do.
Dorothy: Boy, you’re surrounded by wise people.
Carol: So that night I went to sleep crying ’cause I was like, my husband doesn’t have my back. And that night again, I talked to God like I did every night. And then I [00:17:00] said to myself. Mm. I’m always telling my kids don’t give up.
Dorothy: Mm.
Carol: And if I give up, then I’m the one that’s setting the example.
Dorothy: Ooh.
Carol: So then I just had to continue and then I remember I took my last uh, treatment. And at that point I thought I was just gonna die because every bone in my body hurt. By then, I had lost my nails, my toenails.
Dorothy: Hmm.
Carol: And uh, I was still working. Every day I was working, but I went in style. I went and I put on black gloves ’cause I was losing my nails, so I was wearing gloves. While I was typing. I was like in style. And then there was days when I had no meetings that I did not wear my wig. But when I had my meetings, that I was nice and pretty and it was [00:18:00] all made up. No pain, always with a smile. I finished my last treatment. Then I said, God, I made it through. Thank you so much for not letting me give up. Oh, and then I had to stop for a minute and then go into my radiations. Right. Little did I know that that was gonna be more painful than the actual chemos.
Dorothy: Oh.
Carol: And then I was like, okay, how am I gonna get rid of all this shadow? ’cause it was all black. I was changing different colors. And I remember my mom telling me, your house is full of aloe vera. Just cut it in pieces, put it in the freezer and put it all over you at night. I was doing that.
Dorothy: Mm.
Carol: I have no scars, no shadows, no nothing.
Dorothy: Wow. I have not heard that before.
Carol: Yep.
Dorothy: That’s fascinating.
Carol: I look as [00:19:00] normal as that can be.
Dorothy: Hmm.
Carol: And I went through that process. Nobody explained to me that, uh, radiation was gonna be painful. Mm. And I was going to enter in this, um, fatigue mode. And so luckily enough I was taking my radiations at night. So at 7:00 PM I was doing that. So I was done and I was going straight to bed. So, and I was ready for next day work, so I was fine. Then the process of recovering that was unexpected ’cause I could not walk. My pain was so severe that I had to take hydrocodone and um. Yeah, every four hours I was taking those pills and they were not making me sleepy or drowsy or none of that. It was like taking Advil.
Dorothy: Goodness.
Carol: And then I knew that the pain was so intense. [00:20:00] Or what got, I think it got to one point there. I couldn’t deal with the pain anymore. I had to go into the hospital and they gave me, uh, morphine to actually um, bring me back to a normal state of mind. It was, it was quite a rollercoaster ride, but I still listen to music and so I said to myself, okay, I am done with this.
I’m done with the chemo. I’m done with the radiation. So now I need to just bring the flexibility back to my body because if not, I’ll remain with all this weight on me. So I remember I started dancing. I was, uh, I was already doing Zumba. Fitness, but then I couldn’t breathe. Um, I remember it was 30 seconds and I was gasping for air.
So then I just started dancing on the chair, and I would go into the classes and I would just get a chair and I would just move my arms up side, side up, down, all kinds of stuff. And then I said, well, what am I gonna do with [00:21:00] my legs? My legs cannot, I cannot stand for long periods of time. So then I remember that I told my husband, I said, I need a membership to the gym.
And he says, what? He says, you can’t even move. I said, but they have a pool. I don’t have a pool, so I need to just jump in the pool. I need to float ’cause I can’t move. And I remember that for six months I was in the pool and I would just flip over and then I’d just float. And then little by little started moving my legs and my arms.
Dorothy: You got your strengths back?
Carol: I got my strength back. And then after that I got on the pool, on the bicycle, still doing Zumba and just trying to gauge my, you know, my ability to breathe. And then after a year I said, I’m gonna become a Zumba instructor and I’m gonna teach others how to, how to walk.
Dorothy: And you’re still doing that.
Carol: And I still do that. So. I remember that after a year and a half I found a, uh, nonprofit. [00:22:00] It’s IGoPink.org. They were based out of the Woodlands. I remember I joined them and I became their ambassador and I went and I did so many different things and my main focus was to do fitness classes, summa classes. And then every October I would book all my classes and I would tell people, bring me makeup. ’cause uh, they do a, a bang with makeup and, uh, for cancer patients. Covid came, they closed. Then I said, I can’t stop.
Dorothy: Ah.
Carol: And that’s how Together in Pink came about.
Dorothy: I wondered, I wondered what was the prompter and now you’re a co-founder and the, your, your cohort in crime is another breast cancer–
Carol: she’s also another breast cancer survivor. Yes.
Dorothy: Tell me her name again.
Carol: Mirta Leon.
Dorothy: Ah.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: So you two got together and said, we’re gonna do this.
Carol: We got together. She was my student.
Dorothy: Oh my goodness.
Carol: She was my student. And so I [00:23:00] said, listen, I used to do this with, I go pink. I said, uh, I think that if we get together and we do bags where we can give them that comfort, you know, blankie that we need when we’re taking those chemos.
Dorothy: Oh yeah.
Carol: And said you feel that? It is yours, you know? You feel like there’s the comfort and I want that comfort to come from women around the city. And then I said, then I think this is gonna be the way.
Dorothy: Now how long has this been in operation?
Carol: It’s recent, so it, it happened right after Covid, so in 2022.
Dorothy: Okay.
Carol: We started in 2021 with the paperwork and the process, but because Covid it took forever to get that settled.
Dorothy: Of course.
Carol: And then in 2022 is when we started, but it’s little by little because she also is in the oil and gas industry.
Dorothy: Ah, okay.
Carol: So we’re so…
Dorothy: So you’re holding down a full-time job.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: Still. And so as your co–
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: Founder. And you’re starting this other organization.
Carol: [00:24:00] Yes.
Dorothy: And you’re teaching Zumba on this side?
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: Anything else? Any other hat there?
Carol: So I’m a volunteer at the Houston Methodist West.
Dorothy: Ah, okay.
Carol: So I do this and when I’m not doing Zumba and doing Zumba classes at the Houston Methodist and private places where they call me to do different things, then I do the activities that they have at night. Sometimes they’re going at 7:00 PM and I’m there till like maybe 12, midnight.
Dorothy: Oh goodness.
Carol: Doing, because we have the doctors and the nurses.
Dorothy: Right.
Carol: And the technicians that also need care, right? So I do that, um, at night when we have activities as well. So we do that. And then I love to travel with my kids. So at least twice a year we get together and, um, it’s like, okay, home base. Together with my kids, with my family. So that’s what I do.
Dorothy: So one of the times in a breast cancer survivor’s life that can be a little disconcerting is when the doctor does release you to go into the pond.
Carol: [00:25:00] Yes.
Dorothy: Yes. I thought that was such a fascinating way of saying it, but what happens during that time?
Carol: So, during the time, right, because I’m a triple negative, my doctor said that she was gonna follow me. She was gonna be my shadow for 10 years. And every, every year it’s, it’s that done team feeling. Am I gonna get it again or is it gonna appear in a different place?
Dorothy: Mm.
Carol: Mm. The side effects of being a triple negative, um, and going through that chemo was that I could get ovarian cancer or brain cancer as one of the side effects. So a year and a half later, after all my treatments and everything, I remember I started spotting. And I was saying, wait a minute. No, I can’t have this anymore because, um, I no longer have my period.
Dorothy: Right.
Carol: So I called my doctor and then I said, this is what’s going on. And she said, um, where are [00:26:00] you? I said, I’m in Mexico right now. I’m on a business trip. When are you coming back? I said, I’m tomorrow. Okay. You need to come to my office right away.
Dorothy: Hmm.
Carol: I said, okay. I said, as soon as I land, I said, I’ll go straight to your clinic and we’ll see what happens. Sure enough, they did an ultrasound and my endometrium was quadruple, oh the size. And here I go again. She says, um, we need to do a full hysterectomy. We wanna avoid cancer. And I said, okay. I’d rather have it here and not here.
Dorothy: Well, yeah, yeah.
Carol: Let’s do it.
Dorothy: Let’s do it.
Carol: Let’s do it. And um, so every year, um, was that, that fear? And when the doctor says, you’re [00:27:00] released to the pond, then I’m like, yeah, I can get it again. But that’s okay.
Dorothy: It’s not like the like before.
Carol: No. No it’s not. Because, you know, for, for 10 years, I felt like I was that little goldfish in the little bowl. And I have no one to play with, no one to share with. But when you’re releasing to the pond, it’s like, Hey! Yay!
Dorothy: Yay. You’re, you’re okay.
Carol: I’m a normal woman.
Dorothy: Yes.
Carol: I’m a normal person.
Dorothy: Now, you know, you, you talk a lot about bringing wellness into the community, but you’re also bringing breast cancer awareness.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: And into your community.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: Is it. Hard to do that?
Carol: It is hard ’cause a lot of women don’t wanna hear.
Dorothy: Right.
Carol: The fear and I find that, um, and it is not [00:28:00] just the Hispanic community, it’s the Asians, the African-Americans. It is, all the women don’t understand what we’re made of. And they don’t understand when they get diagnosed with breast cancer, what kind of breast cancer do they have or what they have. They just know it’s breast cancer.
Dorothy: That’s it.
Carol: Right. And so my job, my gold, is to make sure that every time I get the opportunity to be in a group with women is to explain to them that breast cancer is not just breast cancer is knowing what you have and what you had.
Dorothy: Right.
Carol: And how can you become more informative so you can help others.
Dorothy: Right. Knowing your pathology.
Carol: Exactly.
Dorothy: Understanding it is, is so important, but you’re right, it’s very important. [00:29:00] We don’t talk about those kind of things. No. It’s just enough to say.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: Yeah.
Carol: And, and, and we, we hug each other as women. We support each other as women, but I think that my main, uh, goal is to make sure that they do understand that we’re made out of three elements and what is the cancer that was diagnosed. So you can understand exactly what it is.
Dorothy: And what you’re up against really. There are
Carol: Exactly.
Dorothy: Yes. And there’s so many variations. We can talk about the 16, 17 different kind of cancers, but go down the list. Go down the list. Every one of those things can make a difference in your treatment.
Carol: Correct.
Dorothy: In your recovery. And, um, and whether or not you’re gonna be a candidate for a recurrence. I mean, all of those things are important
Carol: and he has a lot to do as well of, um, the ability to [00:30:00] stay positive. The ability to accept what came your way and not reject it. Because the minute you start asking questions as to why you is in your brain just shuts down and then the whole body goes along with it.
Dorothy: Oh, that’s an important point.
Carol: And um.
Dorothy: And you found purpose?
Carol: I found purpose. And, um. That’s the reason why I, I believe that 10 years later I’m still here and I’m just dancing like a little jumping bean and it’s like, yeah, nobody can stop me now. But I’ll tell you one thing, Dorothy, understanding what came my way, having a positive attitude, making sure that my body was okay had [00:31:00] a purpose, and one of the biggest purpose was that my mother got diagnosed with ovarian cancer during covid time.
Dorothy: Oh, my.
Carol: Stage four. It was right before Covid. And then who knew about cancer? This gal?
Dorothy: Yes. Yes.
Carol: So I started going through the whole process of understanding, okay, what is the cancer that she had? Um, doctors, how I was gonna tackle that, and, um, making things better for my mother. Well, my mother is still alive.
Dorothy: Oh, that is such good news.
Carol: And she had three. Times reoccurring cancer since the first time.
Dorothy: Mm.
Carol: Yes.
Dorothy: My goodness.
Carol: And I was the one that was after the doctors and telling the doctors, [00:32:00] she’s gonna get chemo this time. She’s gonna get radiation the next time, and then next time, because she’s still under watch. Um, let’s, let’s try pills.
Dorothy: Hmm. Good choices. But you had to know about it and you had to know how to even learn about it, how to research it.
Carol: And that is my message to women. Understand your cancer. Understand your body.
Dorothy: That is a great message.
Carol: Because if you don’t understand, how can you help others?
Dorothy: Well, and how can you help your body exactly. Yes.
Carol: My mother. Now I, I know that we can butt heads. My mother is 76 and as a mother, you need to get into the gym. No, I’m not. I said yes. You are.
Dorothy: Mm. I don’t [00:33:00] know if I’d want you for my daughter.
Carol: I said, you can go to the YMCA. I said, all my instructor, I said, I’m not gonna be your fitness instructor. I’m not. I said, because I’m a tough cookie. I said, you’re gonna go with my friends and that’s where you’re gonna be.
Dorothy: And she did?
Carol: And she has, and she still does it.
Dorothy: Oh, fabulous.
Carol: Twice a week she goes to the gym and she is wearing her fitness gear.
Dorothy: Oh my.
Carol: And she’s doing all kinds of different things. You see her in her garden and she’s doing all kinds of different things.
Dorothy: Well, Carol, if anyone could be an inspiration, it would be you.
Carol: Well.
Dorothy: To get people going.
Carol: I think that once again, right. My message to women is that understand cancer and understand your body.
Dorothy: Right.
Carol: This is gonna be the only way we, The [00:34:00] Rose, Together In Pink. We can give you a hint.
Dorothy: But you have to know.
Carol: But you have to know. Mm.
Dorothy: Best advice I’ve heard in a very long time.
Carol: You have to know.
Dorothy: Thank you so much for being with us today.
Carol: Thank you. Thank you so much.
Dorothy: For sharing your story and for giving us such a positive way of looking at something that is a really tough time to go through, through.
Carol: It is, it is a tough time, but God made us of a different element.
Dorothy: I believe that.
Carol: We, we have the ability to tackle so many different things.
Dorothy: Yeah. And you’re living proof of that.
Carol: So thank you. I really appreciate the opportunity.
Dorothy: Yes.
Carol: I know. I cried and I said I wasn’t gonna cry. I was like, oh no, I’m not gonna cry. But I try my best to stay strong and, and just help others. And I think that if anybody wants to exercise with me [00:35:00] going to togetherinpink.org, you’ll find my information there. And going to a gym when you’re going through this is rough. And so I make myself available. For those that don’t know me, you can just pick up the phone and say, Hey, Carol, you know I’m going through this. Can you come to my house? Yes, I’ll show you how to move.
Dorothy: That is great. Thank you for that. And we’ll be sure and put those links. In our show notes.
Carol: All right. Well thank you so much.
Dorothy: Thank you. Alright.
Post-Credit: 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 [00:36:00] essential.
