Dorothy: [00:00:00] Michelle Sandlin was living a clean, healthy life. She had spent two years working out, six days a week, sometimes two and three hours a day. She didn’t drink, she didn’t smoke, she didn’t do drugs. She ate healthy. She looked great. She felt great. And she was in the best shape of her life. But guess what? Cancer don’t care.
That’s when she found the lump in her right breast. Days later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Unknowingly, Michelle was preparing her body for the fight of her life, and fight she did. Here what kept Michelle going during her treatment, and led her to write the number one bestseller in cancer books, which is titled, Cancer Don’t Care.
When you subscribe to our show, you help us grow. Someone you know may need to hear this story. So please, share with your family and friends, and consider supporting our mission. Your donation can help save the life of an uninsured woman.[00:01:00]
Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. A different kind of podcast presented to you by The Rose 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.
Michelle, we’re so glad to have you here on our show today. I mean, I know you’re this, you know, award winning writer and author and— but you’ve always been a writer, haven’t you?
Michelle: I have. First of all, thank you for having me on. I really appreciate it. I think I’ve been a writer as long as I can remember— when I was old enough to hold a pencil in my hand, I think I became a writer.
Dorothy: You were in that field. I mean, you were a freelancer, a reporter?
Michelle: Yes, so, um, I spent, uh, from 2013 to 2020 as a weekly columnist with the Houston Chronicle, but during that time I did a lot of freelance writing for corporate clients and, and so forth. And [00:02:00] so, I’ve always had that kind of professional, you know, designation, but it’s also been, you know, very intertwined in my personal life as well.
Dorothy: So now we’re going to fast forward a little bit to your diagnosis.
Michelle: Yes.
Dorothy: So, I’m going to just let you tell us because I have read almost through your book, but oh my goodness, what a journey.
Michelle: Well thank you. Well, I, I kind of think that my journey started in 2019, although I wasn’t diagnosed with cancer until 2021. Um, in 2019, very unexpectedly, I lost my mom. Um, and based on just the incredible pain and grief that I was feeling and everything I was going through, I decided to make some really monumental changes in my life, all related to my health. I stopped drinking, not that I was a big drinker, but I cut out alcohol completely.
I focused on eating right, getting to a healthy weight. I started working out. Which turned out to be [00:03:00] working out like a maniac. And, uh, so I, I, you know, continue to say I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke, I didn’t do, you know, recreational drugs. I worked out like crazy six days a week for one to two hours a day and all of a sudden, I’m hit with cancer at the moment that I felt like I was the healthiest I’d ever been. I, I felt, I couldn’t have felt any better than I did the day I got my diagnosis.
Dorothy: Wow.
Michelle: And so, um, basically what happened was, um, I started having this intermittent pain in my right breast that, um, it was It was intermittent, but persistent, and so it didn’t really feel like anything that, you know, should be alarming or, or whatever.
I attributed it to a lot of different things. I’d had, um, a vaccine a few weeks before. I’d read about, you know, lymph node swelling and, and different, you know, side effects that could be attributed to that. I thought maybe I needed a more supportive sports bra. I mean, I went through all of these things in my head [00:04:00] that thought, that I thought, you know, could be, could be, potential reasons.
Um, but then one night I felt like there was just this needle poking, poking, poking at my right breast trying to get my attention. I couldn’t sleep. So I sat up in the bed, started feeling around and I felt a lump. I mean, immediately it wasn’t a big one, but it was enough to get my attention. And, um, you know, I felt left breast, the right breast, left breast, right breast.
I sat up, sat down, laid back, you know, all this stuff and realized that. Hey, it, it’s a lump and so the next morning I told my husband and had him feel and as men often do, he told me very famously the only thing he could feel was a boob. But I don’t know if he, you know, really couldn’t feel it or didn’t want to feel it. And so made an appointment with the OBGYN. Everything moved really fast after that. The OBGYN told me he found a mass. He could feel that there was a mass. That’s the first time I’d [00:05:00] heard that word in, in relation to me. Um, but he did say, I don’t think it’s cancer. Which, you know, I, I had in the back of my head, but he wanted me to have, um, a mammogram, which was a repeat mammogram, because I’d had a normal one four and a half months earlier, and wanted me to have an ultrasound.
And so I got that scheduled just like, you know, two days later, and, uh, the radiologist very clearly said to me, as she’s looking over the results of my ultrasound, um, I think it’s cancer. And four days later, she called me back, well, I should go back a little bit. We had a biopsy too. And then the results of the pathology from the biopsy showed the presence of a tumor. And that’s when I got my diagnosis on June 22nd, 2021.
Dorothy: Okay, Michelle, you covered about 10 things in there that I want to go back to. First of all, I think, I think one of your messages is that you actually paid attention to your body.
Michelle: Mm hmm.
Dorothy: I mean, [00:06:00] supposedly cancer doesn’t hurt. I mean, that is one of the—
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: That is one of the things we say out there in the medical world. But, after being in this stuff for 38 years, I’ve come to believe that it may not hurt, but your body is trying to signal you that something is wrong.
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: I’m just amazed at the number of women who found it themselves, who, just because they were paying attention to what, what was going on. And like you, most of us would say, Oh, it’s this or it’s that, you know, you just had your mammogram.
Michelle: Sure.
Dorothy: That’s another really important message, because there are many cancers that can develop very quickly.
Michelle: Yes.
Dorothy: And you’re a fairly young woman. How old were you when you were diagnosed?
Michelle: Well, I was 57. Yes.
Dorothy: So, in younger women, it can move very quickly, but you didn’t say, Oh. You know, my mammogram was normal. It can’t be [00:07:00] anything. You actually followed up on it. So, big, big, big messages for women to hear.
Michelle: Well, it was an aggressive, fast growing tumor. When they diagnosed me, I was at stage 2B. And, uh, because the, um, the tumor was really, really aggressive and, and quickly replicating, The um, strategy for treatment had to be equally aggressive and I’m an aggressive person too so we were just like, let’s bulldoze, let’s go all in.
Dorothy: And tell me what, what type of cancer it was?
Michelle: So it was invasive ductal carcinoma, triple negative, and because it was triple negative, that’s why we did genetics testing which revealed that I had the BRCA1 gene mutation.
Dorothy: So just for our listeners.
Michelle: Yes.
Dorothy: Triple negative means?
Michelle: Yeah, so it means that the receptors that they test for are negative. It means, um, the estrogen receptor is negative. The progesterone receptor is negative. And HER2 is negative. And so when I [00:08:00] heard negative, triple negative, Well, that must be a great thing because you don’t want to be positive for anything and they’re like, well, it’s not necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. It’s, uh, you know, it means that the way we’re going to treat it is differently. And what I didn’t know is that it kind of reduces the window of things or I guess the cocktails that they’re going to use in terms of chemo to treat it.
Dorothy: It does. It limits some options that you might have if it had been reactive to other things.
Michelle: Right. And what I came to find out, come to find out is that only about 10 to 15 percent of all breast cancer is triple negative. So I’m in this really, you know, small group.
Dorothy: Right. And it’s, it’s uh, one of the trickiest. So you do have to be aggressive.
Michelle: Yes.
Dorothy: It’s not one that you can wait around on.
Michelle: No, definitely not.
Dorothy: So it seems like from day one you started journaling about, What was happening?
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: Now, I realize you’re a writer.
Michelle: Yes. [00:09:00]
Dorothy: But you know, I don’t know that all of us could even have the presence of mind to start journaling and chronicling what was going on.
Michelle: Well, I really didn’t even think about it. Writing to me is just something that, Is it’s part of my day. It’s part of my life. It’s, you know, the rhythm of how I move. And so it, it became, you know, just a natural extension of a way to express myself and what was happening. And so I chronicled, you know, really everything in terms of how I was feeling emotionally, as well as, you know, what the doctors were saying.
I mean, everything, I just, you know, poured it all out because I wanted to be able to save it for later, to, to go back and reflect on it, but also to just, you know, know, you know, A to Z, what, what was going on, but I mean, I also documented it through photos and videos and, you know, everything else. But, um, yeah, writing for me, it was just, that, [00:10:00] that just came natural. I didn’t think about it. It’s just what I do.
Dorothy: What you did. But you know, that’s one of the most important things for many women to hear is because we forget what the doctor said. We forget what we just did.
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: I mean, You know, during this, this time of recovery, you could have anywhere from 150 to 200 visits of some kind.
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: There’s no way to remember all that.
Michelle: So true, and I think one of the smartest things I did is the morning I got the phone call from the radiologist to give me my diagnosis, I told her immediately, I’m, I’m recording this because you’re, you’re, too much stuff is flying at me and I need to be able to think about it and absorb it and, uh, You know, just have a little think on it.
So, um, I transcribed it later and it always helps me to see in writing the words and, and all of this. And of course, there were all these words I didn’t even know what they meant. And one of my first rules for myself was stay out of Google. We’re not Googling anything.
Dorothy: Did you really?
Michelle: [00:11:00] Oh, for sure.
Dorothy: Were you able to do that?
Michelle: I was able to do that.
Dorothy: I just don’t know many that— that are able to do that.
Michelle: There was just no way. Um, I, I knew the pitfalls of, of Googling. And I wanted to make sure that I was following medical advice from my health care team, which I, I trusted more than, I trusted them with my life. I mean, I trusted them.
And that I was also calling on, you know, a handful of women that had either been through the journey or were currently, you know, in the trenches themselves and we, you know, had conversations and discussed things, things that didn’t rise to the level of health care, you know, like what kind of protein powder are you putting in your smoothies? What, what did you take to chemo with you? You know, where can I get a good hat?
Dorothy: How long is chemo?
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: You know, how do you keep your mind—
Michelle: Exactly.
Dorothy: —In a good place while you’re, while you’re having that.
Michelle: Exactly.
Dorothy: So you had chemotherapy.
Michelle: Mm hmm. Sixteen rounds.
Dorothy: And what else?
Michelle: So after the chemo, we, we, that’s [00:12:00] when surgeries happened. So I had a double mastectomy and reconstruction surgery. And then a few months later, I had, um, my ovaries and fallopian tubes removed. I had previously in my thirties had, um, my uterus removed. So I had a partial hysterectomy and the reason for the removal of ovaries and fallopian tubes is because of my BRCA1 gene mutation It meant that I was also at much higher risk for developing ovarian cancer and some other cancers And so I was like take it all. I don’t need any of it and because of the BRCA1 mutation also there was a a higher likelihood of recurrence in the other breast.
So, um, initially they said, you know, it’s either going to be a lumpectomy, a single mastectomy, or a double. And I, I knew in my head, just hearing the words, it was probably going to be a double. So I’d already gone there emotionally, so to speak. But as soon as we got the news that, um, I did test positive for the [00:13:00] BRCA1 gene mutation, the double mastectomy was, that was what was happening.
Dorothy: So you didn’t really even think about it a lot. You just knew.
Michelle: You know, I, I tried to live in the moment. Not live too far out. And that’s one of the best pieces of advice I think I can give anybody going through it. Is you have to go through it, right?
Dorothy: Mm hmm.
Michelle: You don’t have a choice. So, just live each moment as it’s happening. And then try your best to let it go. Leave it in the past and keep just moving forward. I know it sounds, oh, well, that sounds real easy to say, but in practice, it may not be as easy, but, um, I just, I forced myself to do a lot of the things that I did, mind over matter, because I, I just, I knew it would serve me, um, better to do it that way.
Dorothy: But you’re still under surveillance, or you’re still in the process?
Michelle: Yeah, I see the oncologist every 90 days, and I will do so until I hit that five year mark. [00:14:00] The five year mark’s a big one for anyone who’s been diagnosed with triple negative, because that’s when it has the highest likelihood of any kind of recurrence.
Even though I’ve minimized all my risk, you never know, right? So, um, yes, I’ll be under this, surveillance and then I’ll enter some different group where the, their surveillance is less frequent.
Dorothy: Do you ever go to a support group during that time or have one online?
Michelle: Yeah, that’s a good question. I’m not really much of a support group person. Uh, when I lost my mom, I attended a couple of group grief sessions and I found that I left there not just with my grief, but the grief of every other person there, which was heavier than I walked in with. And so from that experience, I knew that, you know, a breast cancer support group really wasn’t for me, but the one on ones that I had, Like I said, with these other women, one who had been, you know, a 10 year survivor, and the [00:15:00] other that was in the trenches along with me, but a few steps ahead.
Dorothy: Were they friends?
Michelle: Mm hmm. Yeah. Friends of mine. Um, and kind of, you know, in the reverse. If I hear from someone who says, Hey, a friend of mine or a sister or whatever has just been diagnosed, I’m like, give her my number. I’m here. Whatever they need. Even if they don’t even think they need to talk to someone right now, if they ever do, I would love to speak with them.
Dorothy: That is so important.
Michelle: Well, and I, I do speak with different women, you know, almost every week. Um, I hate that the list has been growing and growing because there’s, there seems to be such an epidemic of, you know, breast cancer diagnosis right now.
Dorothy: And one of the things that happened during COVID was many of the support support groups just ended.
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: And no matter what it, they never regrouped. They never came back together in person.
Michelle: Right.
Dorothy: And the, the network, uh, you know, going online just never seemed to have that—
Michelle: [00:16:00] Right.
Dorothy: Comfort or that same knowledge. That same support, anyway you go with it.
Michelle: Well, because my diagnosis happened in the summer of 2021, we were still on the tail end of COVID and the pandemic and being isolated and all of this stuff. And while I wasn’t necessarily concerned about COVID as COVID, What I didn’t want was any complication, anything that would stop the trajectory of what needed to happen. I didn’t want, I didn’t want any, you know, anything to stop what needed to happen. And so from that, there’s some loneliness and isolation.
And so, um, I really relished in, you know, picking up the phone and calling people. Unfortunately, a lot of people were calling me and, you know, You know, even if I couldn’t see, you know, my daughter and her boys, we were FaceTiming, you know, whatever the case may be, but I think doing whatever you can to, to maintain that personal connection with people is so important because having cancer is very [00:17:00] isolating.
Dorothy: It is very isolating. Let’s move to your book, and it is called, I think you have a copy with you here.
Michelle: Cancer Don’t Care, and the premise, uh, really was, you know, after everything I’d done to get healthy, You know, cancer don’t care, doesn’t care about me, doesn’t care, you know, what, what my finances are, doesn’t care the plans, doesn’t care about anything.
And so it was just a natural thing for me to say, you know, cancer don’t care the moment I was diagnosed. I think I, I waited about maybe, um, I think it was a little more than a week after I was diagnosed that I, uh, made a, uh, a video and put it out on social media because I thought it was the easiest, best way to reach the most people in my life at one time and to really, you know, deliver something from the heart.
And it was really the first time I spoke the words, cancer don’t care, cancer don’t care. I mean, it’s like, it doesn’t care. And, [00:18:00] you know, I really, um, did not, as far as I knew. have any predisposition for having cancer. My mother didn’t have cancer. My grandmothers didn’t have cancer. There were, you know, some second cousins, third cousins, but that seemed, you know, very distant. So the idea of me getting cancer was the last thing. I thought I ever had to worry about.
Dorothy: So why do you think your book just soared to the top? I mean, there’s lots and lots of cancer books out there several many memoirs, but what do you think was different about yours that moved so quickly?
Michelle: I think it’s kind of personal to me. I um did a lot of pre promotion about the book and talking about the book and I do have a you know pretty considerable following of friends and, and, and, and family members and whatnot. And there was really such an outpouring of support from them from the, the moment, you know, I announced my diagnosis to [00:19:00] talking about the book and, and giving them little snippets that they really came out in full force and they put it over the top.
And it debuted as a number one bestseller and number one new release in the breast cancer category. Um, but now that people have the book, and they’ve read the book, um, I think what, what’s kind of separating it from the pack, maybe, is, is my, my storytelling, um, and the way I, I write is a very, um, I would say very poetically. Um, it’s very personal, um, and I think, you know, the things I hear the most from people who have read it is that, you know, there’s a very inspirational quality to it, it’s full of hope, faith, love, you know, self reflection, uh, you know, staring at adversity in the face and telling them who’s boss, you know, all of this, and that it feels like Like just like you and I are sitting here talking that it it’s it’s written on a very personal level. I really [00:20:00] wrote it from a place of raw emotional honesty.
I didn’t I didn’t hold back I mean I talked about the good the bad the bald, you know, every every little every little thing ugly part of it, but I also try to weave in humor and life lessons and just universal messages that go way beyond cancer I share a lot of my personal, you know life philosophies and you know things like that and I I think that it’s it’s been really well received because um. It met expectations maybe even exceeded them for a lot of people who read it.
Dorothy: What was the most difficult thing you went through during that time?
Michelle: Hmm. Well, I mean, physically, it’s, it’s the change in your appearance and, and that feeling that, you know, you almost don’t recognize yourself in the mirror. I would oftentimes, you know, at night, You know, stare at myself in the mirror as I brush my teeth and go who the hell is [00:21:00] that, you know? Because it seems so, so unfamiliar, um, sometimes the hardest thing was seeing how other people look at you, what they see when they look at you, and, uh, I don’t know.
I think, um, While you are faced with your mortality, I mean, that’s without a doubt. I never thought this would be the thing to get me, but it would be the thing to test me. And I was determined to overcome whatever it was and I did that a lot through adopting an attitude of positivity. I wouldn’t say that before cancer I was, um, a glass half full person, but this has taught me to be, you know, a glass with water pouring out the top person because it just, you know, you have a change of priorities and a change of, you know, how you just see life [00:22:00] and you realize, you know, you’re, you’re not done.
And, and you want to, you want to keep moving and, um, the hard parts were balanced by, believe it or not, really big moments of joy and happiness and laughter. My, my daughter Kendall had me in tears laughing until I cried because she knew I, I needed laughter quite a bit. And so. Yeah, um, there were some really hard parts, but, um, some beautiful parts as well.
Dorothy: So I know you had a wonderful group of folks around you.
Michelle: Yes.
Dorothy: Supporting you and encouraging you. But did you ever find that you had some friends that kind of faded away?
Michelle: Yes. Yes. It’s interesting. When you, when you get a diagnosis like this, You find out pretty quickly, you know, who your, your real friends and, and who your real family is and some of the people that I thought, um, would [00:23:00] show up for me in the most spectacular way possible. We’re spectacularly absent.
Dorothy: Mm hmm.
Michelle: And that’s a very hard thing. But you know as I said before I was so determined to be surrounded by positivity at all times that, you know, it, it causes you to, to pick and choose who is going to be in your orbit. And I didn’t want anybody or anything around me that was going to be negative or bring any kind of toxic element.
So, sort of, because of their reaction, to my diagnosis, it allowed me to clean house a little bit in a very necessary way. Um, but, uh, that part was unexpected. I didn’t know that, um, there would be people that just are like, I’m going to stay away from, from this. I can’t handle it. You know, and I’m like, you can’t handle it. What do you think, what do you think I’m going through? But there are people that can’t handle it.
Dorothy: That can’t handle it. And I think, I think that [00:24:00] part that you talked about eliminating toxicity from your life isn’t just in what you eat or breathe or drink. Is so much about who’s around you.
Michelle: Who’s around you, and also, you know, what, what’s in your head? You know, you have to make sure that, um, you’re clearing your thoughts of, of things that just no longer serve you.
Dorothy: Is there a practice that came about during your treatment that continues to this day?
Michelle: Yeah, um, meditation, for sure. Um, you know, having gone through this, and I, I think talking about meditation kind of goes back to dealing with my grief after my mom died. That’s when I really started meditation, but kind of kicked up a notch after my diagnosis and what it allows me to do because I’m somebody who suffers tremendously from anxiety. I should say I used to suffer tremendously now It’s it’s quite reduced because of the practice of meditation because it allows [00:25:00] you to slow your thoughts. Focus on your breath. Feel your feet on the earth. You know, and not have this runaway, one runaway freight train of emotions that are just, you know, driving you crazy.
And, um, I think it’s, it’s a very important practice in my life. Um, I know it’s not for everybody, but it’s something I would encourage anybody who has any kind of stress in their life or anxiety to try it because, uh, I think you’ll be hooked.
Dorothy: And, you know, there’s different kinds of meditation. I think, I think it’s kind of got a bad rap in, oh, you’ve got to sit on this, you know, pillow for hours.
Michelle: And I don’t make rules around it.
Dorothy: —You can have walking meditations, you could have any time your mind is in that—
Michelle: Yes.
Dorothy: —safe space that—
Michelle: Well, I find working out to be very meditative in itself. Writing for me is meditative. I mean you almost you you go somewhere else you kind of you know, leave your your [00:26:00] present, you know, body in mind for a minute to kind of go somewhere else, but I don’t know it just it just helps center me.
Dorothy: Mm hmm.
Michelle: You know?
Dorothy: So I know we’re going to have a chance to talk with your daughter, Kendall, about some of her decisions, but do you, do you currently, or did you then particularly worry about her and her children and their future?
Michelle: Well, yes, the, as soon as I got, um, the word that, you know, I tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation, part of the counseling that comes with that is that, you know, they want to be able to test, you your immediate family, that would mean siblings, uh, parents, and um, and your children.
And so my brother and Kendall, my daughter, both went through their own genetic testing and both tested positive for the BRCA1 gene mutation. And so while I was still focused on my health, obviously, you know, my, my head is ping [00:27:00] ponging around, you know, thinking about them as well. Um, but something told me that, that they, they can wait a little bit until later and, um, as soon as, you know, I was kind of through the, through the woods, um, we were able to focus on, on Kendall and what she needed to do for, for her health.
Dorothy: So how did, I mean, that’s so hard for women, that focusing on yourself and, you know, tell me why you think self care is so important.
Michelle: Ah, well, when you get a diagnosis like this, I mean, you realize there’s there’s nothing else kind of beyond you. You have to do whatever it takes to fight. You have to, you know go through all these medical appointments and testing and everything and it everyone around you too I mean they’re focused on you know get Michelle better, you know, and so it it becomes [00:28:00] or I guess it did for me. It became easy for me to Have that uber focus on um, just whatever I needed to do to get healthy. And there was there was nothing that, you know, my medical team told me I needed to do that I didn’t do. I mean, they, they were the bosses of me and whatever needed to happen, that’s what was going to happen. And, and that was my singular focus.
Dorothy: And sometimes that’s hard for anyone in treatment because you hear something from someone else that said, I didn’t have to do that. Or, you know, yeah, you can, you can get carried away so quickly into other, other ways of thinking. That is a really good piece of advice.
Michelle: Yes.
Dorothy: Let them be the boss for a while.
Michelle: It is. It is. I mean, you have to, you really don’t, you don’t have a choice. You lose control of so many things when you’re going through cancer. That, you know, you just have to relinquish that control.
Dorothy: Well, and it’s, it’s like you just change control. You know, okay, you’re doing this.
Michelle: [00:29:00] Right.
Dorothy: And I think when we can think of it that way, it helps.
Michelle: Right. For sure.
Dorothy: There’s a lot of us that still want to do it all, but.
Michelle: Right. Well, I’m a control freak, so to, to hand over the keys was not easy.
Dorothy: That’s a good way to put it.
Michelle: Yeah.
Dorothy: All right, so leave us with three things you think any woman who’s facing this needs to do.
Michelle: Oh, gosh. Um, I think the first thing is to understand that you’re not alone, and, you know, whatever it is that, that you may need, whether it’s, you know, one on one support, or, or leaning on your faith, or leaning on your loved ones, or whatever it is that, that you’re not alone. You’re not alone. Um, the second thing is something that I borrowed because I saw it on online and I try to internalize this for myself every single day and it’s, it’s this little thing that says their story isn’t your story. And I think it’s a [00:30:00] good reminder because, you know, it’s real easy to lose yourself in a TV show or a news report and hear about, you know, recurrence of cancer and then all of a sudden go, is my cancer coming back? And then you have to stop yourself and think, wait a second, this is someone else’s story. This isn’t your story. And I think that’s some of the best advice because there’s going to be all kinds of different scenarios out there. And recognizing that just because someone else’s came back once or twice or, you know, or we lost that person doesn’t mean that that’s, that’s your story. Um, and then a third thing which you touched on, um, is that idea of being aware of your body. Nobody knows your body better than you do. And so while I was always very aware of little changes and things that happen, now I’m you know, I’ve got a heightened sense of that and I keep a separate health journal and that I started when I was diagnosed which which really [00:31:00] chronicles, you know, every single doctor’s appointment What happened what the outcome was every medication I took what the side effects were And I still do that to this day because if ever a doctor says to me, well, when did that start? I can say on April 3rd, you know, on this date, I was wearing this, I had this for breakfast, you know, whatever it is, because I don’t ever want to say, well, I started feeling that pain in my breast some weeks ago, but I don’t know when, you know.
Dorothy: Wow. That takes a lot of discipline.
Michelle: But it’s important. I mean, it’s super important.
Dorothy: Yeah. Thank you so much for being with us today for such great advice and, you know, for being an inspiration. You truly are and certainly encourage anyone who’s interested, in this time, to really pick up your book and, and, and they’re going to learn so quickly cancer doesn’t care.
Michelle: Thank you. Thank you for reading it as well.
Dorothy: Oh, of course.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is [00:32:00] 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.
