Dorothy: [00:00:00] Today’s mashup episode was recorded live at Nice Winery during their release party of their special rose wine that was created entirely to benefit The Rose. If you wanna know more about Nice Winery and how for years they have supported and helped The Rose, then we’re gonna put in the show notes a link to the original episode we did with the founder of Nice Winery Ryan Levy. In this episode, you’re gonna hear from people who step in and help when breast cancer is upended their life, their friends, caregivers, and supporters of The Rose. Together we’ll hear about survivors talking about leaning on family and friends, how The Rose makes sure no one chooses between treatment and necessities. And you’ll also hear from a board member, Dale Dodds, who is doing the tough work to support caregivers.
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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.
Claudia: Hi, my name is Claudia Farinola and I am a 17 year breast cancer survivor. I’m honored to sit on the board of Emma Jacobs Breast Cancer Foundation called Taking Initiative to Survive, better known by its acronym, TITS. This is my husband, Brad Dorsey, and he’s my biggest supporter and advocate in [00:02:00] all of my medical concerns.
Brad: I met her on the tail end of recovery. So, uh, she was, she had a couple surgeries left when I met Claudia, and I know that, that it was a sensitive topic for her when we first met. But, uh, she’s such an amazing woman and she needed, needed all of our support, her family support, all of our support, and, um, and she came through it. So we’re very proud of her. She was very strong.
Claudia: Well, I appreciate you, honey. It was a kind of a, I don’t know, a unique time in my life. I was a young breast cancer survivor. I was diagnosed at 43. I met my husband later in life and it was at the tail end of my, uh, reconstructive surgery, if you will. So, needless to say, my confidence and, uh, my femininity felt very weak at that point. And, uh, Brad [00:03:00] certainly made me feel whole, and I’m very, very blessed that I met this man. I won the lottery, honey.
Brad: We also did a few, um, fundraisers for different breast cancer, uh, groups. Um, uh, we own a couple businesses. One of the businesses we, we we’re partners in is, is called Crave Cupcakes here in Houston. And we’ve done a few fundraisers for breast cancer. And when we did it for The Rose, every customer came in to buy a strawberry cupcake. They knew a dollar was going to The Rose for their purchase. And it was by far our biggest fundraiser that we had over the years.
Claudia: And we’re here tonight in support of the incredible work of The Rose. They offer imaging services, uh, diagnostics and treatments to patients and breast healthcare, regardless of their ability to pay. And that’s why we are here in support of this incredible organization as well as to [00:04:00] honor Dorothy Gibbons as she reaches her retirement after nearly 40 years of service. We’re really happy for her in this next chapter of life. We wish her all the well, uh, the best in health. And, uh, we will miss you. But know that your work will carry on in all of us for decades to come. Thank you Dorothy.
Brad: And congratulations to Dorothy. We’ll, uh, keep carrying the torch for you.
Christine: Hi, I am Christine Tabrizi, I’m a good friend of Emma Jacobs. She was my neighbor in Houston. Uh, she’s now in New York and over the years I’ve supported her breast cancer foundation and she’s taught me a lot about The Rose and just everything she knows about breast cancer. And last year my sister was diagnosed and then thankfully she’s still clear today and she had her [00:05:00] lumpectomy. And uh, then after that, my aunt was diagnosed, who’s in her late seventies, and then my husband’s niece was diagnosed, so it’s hitting home closer than ever and it’s important to support women out there and get your mammograms.
Ellen: My name is Ellen and I’m here at Nice Winery supporting The Rose in support of breast cancer. My sister had breast cancer and I understand the importance of uninsured and needing that mammogram, and so I’m happy to be here and buy their nice wine. Family members who are survivors. Just cherish your memories, try and go back and pull those pictures and pull those funny moments and you know, cherish that loved one. And remember the happy times, not always the sad times. Sometimes breast cancer can be, um, hard and sad, but try and after you get through the hard times, go through the happy [00:06:00] times and appreciate those ’cause they are worth it to remember.
Nicole: My name’s Nicole. I am a breast cancer survivor and I’m here at Nice Winery supporting The Rose. This is a really great organization to support women who need mammograms and. That support of making it into breast cancer treatment. Um, you know, 2023 Santa brought me a lump of coal in my stocking and my journey started in January of 2024. So here I am, just a year out from treatment, feeling great, but fully recognizing that I am blessed in what I have and being able to go through this treatment without worrying about my daily life and making sure that my personal needs for my family are me met, and I think The Rose bridges that gap. [00:07:00] No woman should have to determine or decide if they’re gonna get treatment or take care of their family. So I think this is a really great organization.
Dale: Well, I’m Dale Dodds. I’m the new treasurer on the board. So I was invited or asked to become part of The Rose through a former treasurer, Bob Tenzer. Um, actually know Bob from church. And we were talking one day and he was mentioning about this opportunity and I said, man, that’d be fantastic. I actually work at Episcopal Health Foundation, so I had a little bit of knowledge of The Rose.
Um, some of the donations, or the funding that we do through the Episcopal Health Foundation and always heard very positive things about it. The more I begin to learn about The Rose, the, uh, the more intrigued I become. It’s Dorothy’s background and the whole story, the 40 years as a, as the co-founder and CEO to me is very amazing. I was trying to think of anything that would be comparable as far as [00:08:00] somebody else in that position, in that tenure. And I, I, I can’t think of anything of anyone. I had the chance so far of visiting with, uh, Dorothy and the team a couple times now, so far since I just started in August. And great team. Amazing. Uh, it’s been a pleasure to, to be able to work with them and to get to know them as, as members of the employees of The Rose. So a lot of my background is in accounting and finance and really in the healthcare area and part of what’s probably for the last 30 years or so. So one of the ways I like to think of it is that I’m actually helping those that are helping the.
People, I don’t have the skillset to be on the the caregiver side. Part of what I enjoy doing is making it so much easier for those that are actually the caregivers and so they don’t have to think about the various administrative pieces and so they can do their jobs better and not have to worry about some of these things about serving on the rows and being able to assist in that manner as well. The [00:09:00] opportunity to have some expertise or some skills that would be able to assist in this mission, it it, it’s, it’s incredible to be able to think that I can help in some way.
Sarah: Hi, I’m Sarah Davalos and I am a newly breast cancer survivor, and I’m here with Nice Winery wanting to support, um, the support that they give to women who cannot afford treatment, who don’t have the insurance to cover it. I just went through this. My diagnosis was April 29th. I just had surgery July 7th, and in between was a million different tests and screening and x-rays and doctor’s appointments, and I would say it’s gonna be okay.
It’s a journey, but lean on. Your family, lean on your friends for support, definitely always advocate for yourself and, um, positivity. You’ve gotta think [00:10:00] positive during the whole experience, um, that it’s gonna be okay and your outcome is gonna be good. It’s an endorphin to feel positive and to think about positive things and to imagine yourself at the end of the journey and being cancer free.
I think, you know, the days when you’re feeling down. It is really hard. I’m pretty faithful. So I definitely depend on our Lord and Savior. He was with me every step of the way and I’ll get very emotional. But, um, I would call a friend. I would call a friend and they would pick me up and pep me right back up, um, to where I was before because completely normal to have those days and you can’t help it.
But I, I think getting up every day I try to get up and do gratitude, and I did through the whole journey. And that’s puts a really good spin on my day. I understand, uh, the gravity of not having insurance and not having funds to pay for, um, your treatment. So that’s why I’m here today at the Nice Winery to support The Rose.[00:11:00]
Shannon: I’m Shannon McBath. I’m here to support my very glorious friend Emma Jacobs. She’s my heart. I was with her the night we were at an event that she invited me to the night before we got her diagnosed. And then reality hit. And so I was by her side and she was so strong and so brave, and went through everything with all our heart. But what happened to our heart is it lit it on fire because what she wanted was to embrace anyone that has gone through this journey. She wanted to be with them all the way and would help them with resources. Volunteered, and this is where we are today. She just [00:12:00] constantly wants to be with her sisters and brothers that have breast cancer.
She wants to support and be thoughtful and directive. She’s very directive, hmm, by the way. So I’m just here to support her and love her so much. The most important thing Emma remembers when she had breast cancer. I took pictures from the night before and I put ’em all around her room. It’s important to make people feel like they’re at home and they’re surrounded by love because I think the mental is very important to healing. So you want them to feel like they are surrounded by support, and I think that uplifts them and I think that’s important for healing.
Shirley: Hi, I am Shirley Connell and I am a five year breast cancer survivor and I’m here at the Nice Winery [00:13:00] supporting The Rose organization for breast cancer. And I am here because I’m blessed to be a five-year survivor and I wanna help and support other people that are going through this journey. I would say keep positive people in your life. Don’t, uh, I tended to, um, hide away from people when I was going through it. And I had a really good dear friend who made sure she talked to me every single day and she really helped me get through that. And I realized that hiding and avoiding people, ’cause you didn’t wanna bring them down, is actually a mistake. ‘Cause most people really wanna be there to support you and encourage you and be a friend to you. And so let your friends be there for you if you’re going through this journey.
Steph: Hi, I am Steph Pearson and I am a 20 year breast cancer survivor. I’m here at The Rose Fundraiser tonight. Um, I’m friends with Emma Jacobs. We actually had the same oncologist, so haven’t seen her in a while, but I’m also a member here, so I like to come to the event because I wanna support the, uh, The Rose and everything that it stands for to help, you know, other women be able to [00:14:00] get, uh, mammograms, uh, if they don’t have insurance.
So that’s why I’m here. And stay positive, stay strong. It’s gonna be a rollercoaster, uh, a really big rollercoaster. But if you’ve got people in your corner, which I did, you know, I had a really good supportive family, friends, um, coworkers. I was only 32 at the time, so I had, you know, a 2-year-old and a 7-year-old.
So that was a lot. But my husband was amazing and, um, he was probably one of my biggest cheerleaders. But I think going through it, you just, you gotta have people in your corner. You gotta have support. Um. So just be strong and you know you can do it. It’s been 20 years for me and I really never thought that I would see this day back then with, you know, just the treatments and everything and the diagnosis. You just never know what’s gonna happen, but you know, here I am and I’m extremely grateful for that.
Post-Credits: Thank you for joining us today on Let’s Talk About Your Breasts. This podcast is produced by Speke [00:15:00] 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.
