Breast Cancer and Beyond

It was 11 years ago during October and Breast Cancer Awareness month when that on air mammogram brought Amy her own diagnosis. 
 
Today, Amy continues her mission to remove the fear and instead inspire and inform.
 
Actress, producer, Nicole Eggert,  has a powerful message of finding hope and thriving through life's darkest moments.
 
Also, Amy’s close friend Morgan Mitchell returns with an announcement she once thought impossible and surprises us all with a special guest!
 
As we recognize Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October, let this episode remind you to prioritize your health—grab those pumpkins and schedule your mammogram today!

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome everyone to a very special episode of Amy and TJ.
And this is in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
I think many of you probably know my story and
the significance of October first for me, eleven years ago,
I walked in and had my very first mammogram as
an assignment, a work assignment. So I went into a

(00:25):
Mamma van in the middle of Times Square or a
segment on Good Morning America, just to show women that
getting a mammogram isn't that scary, it isn't that painful,
and so much so that I was willing to do
it on live television. And I thought I was doing
it as a public service for other women who might
find their breast cancer. Well, it turns out a few
weeks later, I myself, on October thirtieth, was diagnosed ultimately

(00:49):
with stage two invasive breast cancer, and that led to
a series of doctors' visits and surgeries. But I ended
up with a double mistectomy. I had six months eight
rounds of chemotherapy, I had several reconstructive surgeries, and today,
eleven years later, I can proudly say that my cancer

(01:11):
is in remission and that I've had many many blood
tests over the years, and so far, so good on
those tumor markers. But it is something that I will
always remain vigilant about and certainly something that I will
continue to advocate because other women, all the women out there,
need to know. And this is a great reminder October.
First make those mammogram appointments, check in with your doctor.

(01:33):
Make sure you're taking care of yourself so we can
take care of all the people we love in our lives.
Because I know so many of us women are thinking
about our children, are thinking about the other people in
our family, making sure they're taking care of it. So
often we forget about taking care of our own health.
So please everyone in this month of October, remember to
make your appointments and to keep them and not just once.

(01:55):
This is something that we hope women can do every year.
The recommendation finally is bad down to the age of
forty and that is when women, that is when the
American Cancer Society and other organizations recommend that women start
getting that baseline mammogram. And right now, just to give
you a few statistics at the seriousness of this disease.

(02:15):
Just last year, the American Cancer Society estimates that about
three hundred thousand women in this country were diagnosed with
invasive breast cancer, and many people have heard the statistic,
but one in eight women in this country in their
lifetime will be diagnosed with breast cancer. And among those
of us who were diagnosed with early stage breast cancer,
thirty percent of us will go on to have metastatic

(02:37):
or stage four breast cancer. And these are serious numbers
that women need to be aware of. The Other one
that I always try to let women know. They think, well,
I don't have any family history. No one I know
in my family has had breast cancer. You know what,
it doesn't really matter, because more than eighty percent of
all breast cancer patients did not have family history, and

(02:58):
that was my history as well. Actually come from a
very large family. My mom is one of nine, my
dad's one of six. No one when I was diagnosed
had breast cancer, including all the cousins that I can't
even count at this point. So I really had this
false sense of security that somehow I couldn't possibly become
a breast cancer patient. And so that work assignment I

(03:21):
had eleven years ago saved my life and in a
lot of ways, Breast Cancer Awareness Month and October first
saved my life, so please everyone remember that. And as
we start off on this very special edition of Amy
and TJ, I want to let everyone know that early
detection saves lives and that there have been so many advancements,

(03:44):
so many new drugs, so many new treatments available to women,
that whether you're diagnosed at stage zero or stage four,
not only can you live longer, but you can live better.
So bottom line, this is not your grandmother's breast cancer.
Breast cancer today is so much more manageable. There are
so many advancements in treating and in testing. And get

(04:07):
this statistic right now, after five years, ninety nine percent
of early stage breast cancer patients are still alive. We
have improved survival rates and we have improved the quality
of life. That is a reality for so many breast
cancer patients and survivors. There are options even having a

(04:27):
double mistectomy knowing that you can have reconstruction afterwards. These
are really hard and tough surgeries to have, but thank
god they're available because esthetics are important. How you look
and how you feel are a big part of this
breast cancer journey. And then we have physical therapy options
to help recover from the reconstructive surgeries. And while mental

(04:48):
health support is such an important part of this journey,
and we are talking about it and we are providing
it for women like me and for so many others
who have been diagnosed. So today, what we have with treatment,
it's just so personalized. It's specialized. It's not a one
size fits all.

Speaker 2 (05:04):
You know.

Speaker 1 (05:04):
I was told even when I was diagnosed that if
I had gotten my cancer five years earlier, ten years earlier,
my treatment would have been completely different. I would have
had really, really tough chemo. Instead, I got targeted chemo.
And so we have treatments that are for every individual's
unique needs, and that leads to more effective and more

(05:25):
targeted treatments with a better recovery. And that's just a
remarkable thing. And I've always said that there is a
cure for cancer. It's called cash. You know, we can
encourage and contribute whatever we can to so many incredible
organizations that are doing the work, the research work that
is needed to try and cure this disease. I applaud them,

(05:45):
I support them, and I urge anyone who has a
favorite charity that they believe in that they support to
give when you can, but especially in this month, as
we remember how important it is. We're going to be
speaking with someone who is currently fighting this disease, someone
who you know and probably someone who you love. We're
going to be speaking with actress Nicole Eggert, the beloved

(06:06):
Baywatch star, about her courageous battle with breast cancer. We're
going to talk about her journey of becoming her own advocate,
and she will tell us how facing cancer and fighting
cancer in the public eye has transformed her entire perspective
on life. It happens to so many of us who
have fought this disease and lived with this disease, and

(06:28):
she'll talk about how important it is to normalize this disease,
to talk about it, to remove the stigma around discussing
breast cancer. We want to welcome Nicole Eggert to the podcast.

Speaker 3 (06:41):
Welcome Nicole, Hi, thanks for having me.

Speaker 1 (06:44):
We all fell in love with you in Charles with
Charles in Charge and then with Baywatch later. So your
face is a very familiar one, a beloved one for
anyone of a certain age, for sure, but you have
been obviously in the headlines again with your breast cancer battle.
You announce in December of last year that you have
been diagnosed with a rare form of stage two breast cancer.

(07:06):
So my first question is how are you doing? Where
are you in your journey and just let us know
how you are right now.

Speaker 4 (07:14):
Well, I'm good and a journey it has been. I
will tell you that. Yeah, I was diagnosed with stage
two to then find out later it was much more
advanced than that. So it's been a roller coaster ride,
it really has. I did eight months of treatment. I
just had a mes ectomy six days ago.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
Oh my goodness, Wow, I did.

Speaker 4 (07:39):
And I will go back on treatment and and then
do some more imaging and see where we're at and
make sure.

Speaker 3 (07:45):
That that that that.

Speaker 4 (07:46):
That silly stuff didn't travel anywhere, and you know, that's
just sort of the the hardest part for me anyways,
is that gray area of not really knowing what's going on.
For So when I started chemo, I felt really confident
because it was like, we're taking action, We're doing something.
This is you know, what I've chosen, this is how

(08:07):
I'm going to come at it. And you know, it
was a mission and we were it was war mode.
But when you stop and you're just like waiting and
you know all of that, it's it can really it
can really mess with you. So that's that's when I
have to really rely on like meditation and being happy
and reading my affirmations and you know, really focusing on

(08:28):
living fully and in the moment. And I'm here. I'm
here and I'm fighting and I feel good. So, you know,
it is what it is.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
Day by day?

Speaker 5 (08:41):
How do how do you you kind of hit on
it there, but just daily these days as you sit
around and you wait, how do you feel physically? I
assume some days are tougher than others, but generally speaking, generally.

Speaker 4 (08:53):
Speaking, I feel good. I you know, I changed. I
do a lot of supplements and things that help along,
you know, that help fight cancer. I focus on the
foods that fight and stay away from the ones that
contribute to so I feel good, you know, health wise. Honestly,
going through chemo is tough on the body. It's tough

(09:14):
on the bones and the muscles. So I do get
stuck a little bit and I have trouble sometimes, you know,
getting moving, But I just keep keep going and just
keep I figure the more I move and the more
I do it, the easier it's going to get. And
you know, I just spent time in New York, which
was a huge test because OI did that push me?

(09:35):
You know, I thought I walked and did stairs here
in Los Angeles. I mean, you know, there's nothing like
a day in New York to really put la people
to shame on what they think are stairs and walking.
So you know, and I did great, and I came
back feeling fantastic. And it's I think it's you know,
pushing yourself. For me, it's pushing myself and just seeing

(09:58):
how far I can go every day.

Speaker 3 (10:00):
And I think it keeps me going.

Speaker 1 (10:02):
Oh, I mean, having something to do other than going
to the doctor or worrying about a pet scan or
your latest blood test results is key when you're not
only fighting it, but then living in that gray area,
waiting for it, hoping that it doesn't come back, all
of those things that anyone who's gone through breast cancer
understands intimately and uniquely. But Nicole, I actually wanted, if

(10:24):
you could, to take us back to last year and
how you found your cancer because this month, as you know,
I credit this month was saving my life for sure,
because that's what prompted my mammogram which led to my diagnosis.
But you found your cancer through a self exam, had
you had a baseline mammogram before. Just walk us through

(10:47):
how you found your cancer, because this is so important
for any woman and certainly some men out there who
are listening.

Speaker 3 (10:54):
Very diligent about my mammograms.

Speaker 4 (10:57):
I happen to be somebody who has very dense breast
to shoe, so it was missed in the mammograms. That
does not mean that you should skip the mammograms. Let
me just start there. Mammograms are very important. I was
doing mamograms and ultrasound, but it wasn't detected. I felt
a throbbing one day, and so when I got in

(11:19):
the shower, I did a self exam and I felt
it and it was large, and I my heart stopped.
I just I couldn't believe that I didn't know that
that was there this whole time. Had I been doing
self exams, which I wasn't, I would have known it
was there sooner. So that you know, that is my
message to do it all, to do all of the things,

(11:43):
because different bodies are different. And I know somebody with
dense breast tissue who was just detected early from a mammogram,
so you know, it just depends where it's hiding. Everybody's
different there. Mamograms are super important, All of it is
super important. Going to your gynecology appointments and having them
do a self exam is very important. And the only

(12:06):
reason I hadn't done that in a while. I did
it in the beginning of the pandemic and my doctor
left and I was lazy about finding a new guynecologist,
and I just went for ultrasounds on my pelvic area instead,
and I just kept saying, I'll get to it, I'll
get to it. Had I had done that, they would

(12:26):
have felt it. There's all these you could have, should
have would have. So my takeaway is do them all.
Just do them all monthly. Not the mammograms monthly, obviously,
but the yearly mammograms, the monthly self exams.

Speaker 3 (12:40):
I say, feel yourself up. That's my little reminder.

Speaker 4 (12:44):
Don't forget to fill yourself up, because you have to
get to know your body and be aware.

Speaker 1 (12:50):
And Nicole, I hate that you just called yourself lazy,
because that is what we do, right. We blame ourselves
for what's happened. And I just want to make you
feel a little bit better, because when I got diagn
I'll never forget the radiologist took my two fingers and
when they found one of the lumps, and she put
it onto my breast, and clearly I then felt the

(13:11):
mass that was there, and she said, you've never felt
this before. And I had not ever done a breast
self exam because I didn't think it could happen to me.
And I would just say to you that you sound
like you were way ahead of me and a lot
of other women in terms of the proactiveness you were
taking with your health. And I would just say, I
bet you were busy. I bet it wasn't just that

(13:33):
you were lazy. I bet you were rightly busy, Nicole, right.

Speaker 4 (13:36):
I guess I should choose my words carefully. I procrastinated
on it because of yes, life and other things getting
in the way. And let's face it, the guy inn
ecologist is not the most fun place to go. So
I had procrastinated a bit on it. And yeah, and
you have to. And I didn't do self exams because
I had implants and so that there was scar tissue,

(13:58):
and so I always felt like, oh, my guide in
college is she knows the difference between what's a lump
and what the scar tissue is and you know all
of that.

Speaker 3 (14:06):
So I didn't do it.

Speaker 4 (14:07):
I kind of steered away from it, thinking I didn't
want to freak out about something that wasn't there, and
I'll leave this in the hands of the professionals. But
that is if I could take all of that back.

Speaker 3 (14:18):
I would.

Speaker 4 (14:18):
You definitely need to fill yourself. You definitely do, men
and women.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
I'm curious everyone reacts differently to getting that diagnosis, and
I think it's a shock for just about everybody who
gets it. Can you talk a little bit about what
your emotions were like when you got the diagnosis and
who you relied on for emotional support, because yes, we've
got to take care of the physical when you're dealing

(14:46):
with cancer, but the emotional response is just as huge.

Speaker 4 (14:52):
Yeah, you know, it's the worst feeling I've ever felt
in my life. It was heart stopping, dread, nightmare. This
can't be just going, you know, not being able to
hear or see or focus properly. And at first I
really kind of just went into myself because I suddenly

(15:14):
felt very alone. I felt like, this is it. Nobody
can do anything for you. This is you and your body,
and this is what you have to deal with. It
was I very much felt isolated alone, and then when
I decided to start talking about it, that the entire

(15:38):
the entire community just put their arms around me and
reached out to me. People I don't even know, I
speak to all the time now I haven't even met
in person yet, just lifting me up and letting me
know I was going to be okay, and telling me
their story and really making me not feel lonely, making
me feel you know, surrounded and hugged, and it was.

(16:01):
It made all the difference. It just really changed everything.
It started making me be able to research what I
was dealing with because I couldn't even I wouldn't even
look at the paperwork. I wouldn't go online. I didn't
want to do any of it. I didn't want to
talk about it. I was so scared of it. And
it made me be able to start researching, like what

(16:23):
can I do to help myself?

Speaker 2 (16:24):
What?

Speaker 3 (16:25):
You know, what am I going to go through?

Speaker 4 (16:26):
You know, and asking people their their experiences and sort
of picking certain people and saying I want to have
that experience, so then picking their brains, What did you do?
How did you handle this? And just sort of making
a game plan, And it was a really good distraction
for me to start thinking of all the things I
can do.

Speaker 3 (16:46):
How do you prevent neuropathy?

Speaker 4 (16:47):
How do you you know, not lose your eyebrows and
your eyelashes?

Speaker 3 (16:51):
You know, how do you just all the other things?
What do you eat? What do you not eat? So
sort of like controlling the controllables.

Speaker 4 (16:59):
And that got me into a place of with a
lot of like work with healers and breath work and
meditation and a shaman and my family, I got to
a place where I just really was ready to fight
and go forward. And I knew being negative and I
knew being scared wasn't going to heal me.

Speaker 5 (17:20):
I know you don't like the word and we don't
like the word lazy.

Speaker 6 (17:23):
But what tough love.

Speaker 5 (17:25):
Because a lot of people, a lot of women, are
in that place you were at, possibly to where you're
Sometimes you just think, Okay, this can't happen to me,
or you think, oh my god, I'm so paranoid. This
is going to happen to me. And sometimes you all
have talked about it, and Robot has talk to me
about it. Here plenty that sometimes they women will overcorrect
or take an aggressive action that maybe is not necessary

(17:47):
because they're worried about what may come. But for you,
what was it you said you were diligent about the
mammograms and some of the self exams. Did you have
a family history, did you have friends? What was it
that made you always be so diligent that? And I'm
sure other women would appreciate hearing that.

Speaker 4 (18:04):
Well, both of my parents did have cancer, but neither
was breast cancer, and I don't know, I'm not aware
of any breast cancer history in my family, but so
I've always been slightly paranoid of it, and you know,
dreading it a bit because it not only because both
my parents had it, but because so many people have it.
It's it's one in eight women are getting breast cancer,

(18:27):
so it's it's more common than uncommon, And so I
was always worried about it. Plus having the implants, and
I think that knowledge is key. Those tests are scary.
You have to put your big grown up pants on
and you have to go do it, and you you know,
the scariness of the testing and getting a results is

(18:49):
nothing compared to having to go through treatment and fight
this when it's gone too far and you ignored it
or you know, procrastinated on it, so you know, you
just you have to. It's just one of these things
in life. It's just one of these grown up adulting
things you have to do. You have to go get
it done, and it's worth it, and early detection is everything.

(19:11):
My journey would have been so much easier had I
done the self exam and caught this earlier. But we
caught it and we're working on it, and that's just
you know, it's just what you have to do. You
have to do it, and you shouldn't be over You
have to live in the moment. You have to be reasonable.
You can't overshoot. Like I literally on the operating table,

(19:32):
my surgeon and I were going back and forth about
double misseectomy or single, and I was really pushing for
the double, and he said, I know you want the double,
but we also need to get you back into treatment,
so let's do the single. Let's do the single. It
will keep your immune system up higher than if we
take both. You'll be able to get into treatment quicker,
we have less chance of infection and a quicker healing

(19:53):
time you can get back into treatment, and then when
we reconstruct this one, we will take the other one
and we'll reconstruct them at the same time, and then
you'll have new boobs that aren't trying to kill you.
And you know that's you know, I could have said, no,
do both, do both, and he said you could do both,
and then we find out later it traveled and we

(20:16):
didn't get to it in time, and it's growing and
you know, so you know, you don't want to you
don't want to be hasty, you want to be careful.

Speaker 3 (20:23):
But you have to go with your gut.

Speaker 4 (20:24):
You have to go with your heart. There's no black
and white, there's no yes and right or wrong. It's
it's really like your own personal journey, and everybody's so different,
and you have to believe in your doctors and trust
in your doctors and what you're doing in your journey
and what you've chosen, and you've got to go You've
got to go in and just got to go for it.

Speaker 1 (20:46):
Nicole. You make so many good points, because when you
get diagnosed, it's bizarre how many choices are in front
of you. And you have to be comfortable with who's
guiding you. In those choices, because each choice affects the
next one, as point out, and you're learning all of
this in warp speed while you're dealing with the probably
the greatest trauma you've ever experienced in your life to

(21:07):
this point. So I applaud you for sharing your story
because it's important that other people see the paths that
women choose and they can make the best decisions for
themselves because each cancer is different, one size doesn't fit all,
and so those are all really important things to remember.
But also, you didn't have family history. I didn't have
family history, and it's always worth repeating for women out

(21:30):
there listening. Eighty more than eighty percent of breast cancer
patients have zero family history. People, I think women think
I thought I was protected to a degree because I
didn't have history in my family, and that's just a huge,
huge false piece of information. So I think it's important
to recognize that anyone can have breast cancer, and especially

(21:51):
if you don't have family history, don't think you're immune
to it. That's a really important lesson to learn, I think,
and hopefully you don't have to do it the hard way,
and the earlier you catch it, the better, as you
have of surviving it. I know that you mentioned this
gray area and you had a lot of women go
through this. I did chemo and then I had my surgeries.
I did the mistectomy first, but you now have potentially

(22:14):
more surgeries and more testing to be done. What are
you looking at next? Have you had the pet scan?
Are you willing to share any of your next steps
with us?

Speaker 4 (22:25):
Well, my next step is to get the pathology report
back from my mes ectomy and then meet with my
doctors and see what the next best treatment is. I
will go back into some sort of treatment for three
months and then do the scans after three months of treatment,
see if it's showing up anywhere, hopefully it's not, and then.

Speaker 3 (22:50):
Then we discuss what we do from there.

Speaker 4 (22:52):
You know, it's very much like people ask me about
reconstruction and what are you going to do?

Speaker 3 (22:55):
What size? Which one are you gonna do?

Speaker 4 (22:57):
I'm like, oh my gosh, you know, I'll be lucky
to get to that bridge.

Speaker 3 (23:01):
Like I right now, my next steps are treatment. What
is going to be my next treatment?

Speaker 4 (23:07):
So and for now I have, you know, like a
fifteen dollars fake boo by wear, So.

Speaker 3 (23:12):
That's my reconstruction for now. And I feel good about it.

Speaker 4 (23:15):
I go, you know, so it's very much just one
step at a time. But now it's healing and then
getting back into some sort of treatment, whatever that is.

Speaker 1 (23:26):
And you know what this is the other thing. You know,
your life goes on while you're dealing with all of this,
and you've been very vocal about the fact that you're
a single mom and you have a little one still
at home who relies on you, and you gotta work,
and so your life doesn't just stop when you get
breast cancer, and it can't for a lot of women

(23:48):
who need to pay the bills, and there are a
lot of bills that get wrecked up when you're dealing
with this, and you've been busy. You just were walking
a red carpet after Baywatch. Moment in the sun. Tell
us about your latest project and how you've managed to
keep this all going at the level you've been doing
it at while you're battling breast cancer. That's remarkable.

Speaker 4 (24:08):
Well, I think it gives it gave me a purpose
to get up and do something and to push myself.
My thirteen year old definitely keeps me on my toes
and definitely still has all the same demands as if
I didn't have the diagnosis. The documentary we started before
the pandemic, So it's this labor of love that we've

(24:30):
been doing, and it just was getting so close to
the end, and it was the exciting part. And it
was the wrapping it up and the selling of it
and the premiere of it and all of that stuff,
so and then the promoting of it.

Speaker 3 (24:46):
So it was it gave me life.

Speaker 4 (24:48):
To be honest, I would much rather be busy and
I have my weekly podcast. I think that for me,
keeping myself busy and distracted and living and thinking of
the no thing, it really is much better than sitting
and always researching and always feeling all the pains and

(25:08):
thinking of, you know, the pains. So it really sort
of helps me to just like keep living my best
life through it all, because I think that's what's going
to get me through.

Speaker 1 (25:19):
That's definitely going to get you through. And what do
you want you know, I'm sure when you went back
and you actually watched the labor of love that you
put together over the last several years, what do you
hope viewers take away from the docu series? What do
you want them to remember most about it just give
us a sense of what viewers will get when they
watch it if they haven't already.

Speaker 3 (25:38):
Well, the nostalgia is always great, right.

Speaker 4 (25:41):
It takes you back to a time you can remember it, music, visuals,
it all takes you back to a time and it
was it was a happy time for most of us.
So the nostalgia's there, that escapism is there, But you
get to really meet the people who were just these
spaces in these bathing suits, and you get to hear about,

(26:02):
you know, their real personal journeys and not the same
stories that have been regurgitated over and over in every
magazine and interview to date.

Speaker 3 (26:11):
It's it's different.

Speaker 4 (26:12):
It's not the same pictures, it's not the same stories.
It's just a deeper, more personal conversation and nothing's off
the table with any of the cast. And so I
think you really get to learn who who people are,
for who they are instead of just that beautiful face
of that beautiful body in that bathing suit. And a
lot of people have a really amazing journey that they

(26:34):
have to share, and so it's really work. It's really
great to let them speak and give them the platform
to tell their story.

Speaker 1 (26:44):
You know, it's not lost on me that Baywatch was
so much about boobs. I mean, it just really was right,
the slow mode, the bouncing, the bouncing chest of the women,
and now we're talking about your boobs again, but in
a different way. I don't know if that irony was
lost on you as well.

Speaker 3 (27:00):
I said it so many times.

Speaker 4 (27:01):
Irony was not lost on me that I had no
hair and I'm getting rid of my boobs, like and
I'm promoting Baywatch like life, Life is funny. Life likes
to play jokes, so you know, I definitely found the
humor in that, and it made me laugh. And I
think it was, in a weird way helpful because I

(27:22):
didn't have to like live up to any image. I
didn't have to be like, this is me at fifty two,
completely healthy and just you know, compared to at least
like you know, to me, it was it took a
weird pressure off of like what I look like and
how I was presenting myself because I don't really have
a choice in the matter right now, So.

Speaker 3 (27:42):
I don't know.

Speaker 4 (27:43):
I try to find the humor in everything. But I'm
glad that you that you thought that too. A lot
of people, I think are afraid to say that, well,
I mean maybe a.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
Funny to me.

Speaker 1 (27:54):
No get you get to a point where we're like,
you know, I know, I just being anyone in a
publica You're talking about something that seems so personal and private,
and you're like, well, you know what the good thing
is if the more we talk about it, the more
we make it something that people think about that women
aren't afraid to talk about, because imagine what life would

(28:17):
have been like for you or for me going through
this if we didn't have someone else to look to
to say they did it, and if they can do it,
I can do it the power of one other woman's
story and make it. You do feel alone when you're diagnosed, oddly,
despite the fact that we know the numbers and we
know so many women go through this. Somehow, when it
happens to you, you feel so alone. You feel like
you're the only person in the world going through it.

(28:38):
Has it been hard for you to share your story?
I don't think people realize how difficult it is. No
one wants to be pitied, No one wants to be
thought of as sick or weak or less then, and
when you share your story, those are real fears.

Speaker 3 (28:53):
You're right.

Speaker 4 (28:55):
But for me, I had I kept so much childhood
trauma bottled up inside of me for so long, and
not that long ago if it finally had released it
and really had been working on always sharing and being
open and honest and you know, all of these things,
and when I got the diagnosis, they're just after you know,

(29:18):
after I processed and everything, there was no way I
was going to keep it private or keep it to myself.
I feel like keeping things made me sick, and you know,
that's how I just personally feel about it. And I
wasn't going to.

Speaker 6 (29:32):
Hide it.

Speaker 4 (29:32):
And I didn't want people when they were to run
into me or see me to feel uncomfortable and not
know or feel like should they say something?

Speaker 3 (29:42):
Should they not? I wanted people.

Speaker 4 (29:45):
To know that that's what they were dealing with when
they were going to see me. And I had questions
and if other people high questions, you know, if we
can help each other and just compare stories, you learn
so much that way, you really do. You at least
I learned so much by talking to other women, And

(30:06):
so for me, keeping it private wasn't really an option
because I wanted other people to feel like, Okay, we
can ask her. We can talk, we can listen to her,
and you know she can ask us. And I wanted
it to be on the table.

Speaker 1 (30:21):
I totally get that. I totally get that. And how
you know you mentioned that, Yes, you've lived a lot
of life, You've had a lot of childhood trauma, You've
done a lot of it in front of the entire world.
But getting this diagnosis and going through what you've already
been through, knowing the road you have ahead of you,
how has your life changed in terms of perspective and

(30:41):
how you look at yourself and the world around you.

Speaker 4 (30:47):
So many ways? And I know you can attest to this.
The fearlessness that I have, I just that's what.

Speaker 3 (30:56):
Can bring it. What can you do to me?

Speaker 4 (30:58):
You can't. There's not much you can do to me now.
So I'm not afraid of very much anymore. Whereas before
I was, you know, pretty guarded and insecure, a bit
of an introvert, I'm not that anymore. I'm no longer
afraid to advocate at all about anything for myself, which

(31:19):
I had an issue I had a problem with before.

Speaker 3 (31:23):
I feel like the happiness that I feel.

Speaker 4 (31:29):
Is unparalleled, and I don't I can't really explain that
it's a hard one to put into words of the
happiness you can feel because you begin to appreciate things
so differently. Just I just look at life so incredibly different,
and I don't want to waste moments. I don't want

(31:50):
to waste moments being angry or upset over things that
really just don't matter. I've become And not that I
was judgmental at all before, but I am just so
much more accepting of everything without a second thought. You know,
like everything seems so much more beautiful than it did before.
You know, more things are beautiful than not to me now.

(32:13):
And in a weird way, it has changed my life
for the better and it's really made me stop and
you know, reevaluate what's important here? What what are we
worrying about? What are we doing? What are we enjoying?
And what are we not enjoying? And I think that
that's really like it's been really life changing.

Speaker 3 (32:36):
It just has changed everything.

Speaker 1 (32:38):
And Nicole, it is not weird at all for you
to tell me, you know.

Speaker 3 (32:43):
You know what else I want to say?

Speaker 4 (32:44):
Yeah, you know what else really was a big change
is I love my body, whereas before I really would
have complained about all the weight I put on from chemo.
I'm going to put on like over forty pounds in
a short period of time from the steroids.

Speaker 3 (32:57):
I wasn't mad at it at all.

Speaker 4 (32:59):
I was thinking my body for getting up and working
for me and fighting for me and letting me live
every day. And it really changed my perspective on my
body and my body image. And that was huge for me,
because all of a sudden, I wasn't going, oh my god,
you know, I don't fit into this, I don't fit
into that. I was like just thankful that I had
this vessel, no matter you know what it looked like,

(33:21):
and even now with one boob, you know, it's just crazy.
You just have this new appreciation for it. And I
felt like that was that was something I didn't expect
and was really important.

Speaker 1 (33:33):
I know, the gratitude for all the things that maybe
you would have actually been annoyed about suddenly just it's
it is life changing in every way. And people don't
realize when you're on chemo. People think, you know, not
everyone gets that Gaune. Look, I gained weight. A lot
of women gain weight on chemo because you're you're yes,
the steroids and also you're nauseated and so you're eating

(33:54):
a lot of carbs, and you can't work out the
way you did before because you're exhausted. So you know,
there's so many things that happened that are surprising sometimes
when you're going through this, But I love your perspective
and it is one of those things where you're actually
in a weird way. Well, I will just say this,
I wouldn't be who I am today. I wouldn't be
where I am today without the cancer, and it changes

(34:17):
you for the better in a lot of ways. And
I remember my oncologie is saying this to me when
I first got diagnosed. She said, of all the women
who I have treated, when they come back after they're
in remission, not a one of them, with some perspective,
would give it back because they wouldn't be who they
are today without that journey. And I know that sounds
crazy and weird and bizarre, and I've kind of always

(34:39):
joked them still not in that place where I wouldn't
have given it back, because I think I still would,
because come, you know, you can finish your treatment and
you can be in remission, but you'll always live with
this diagnosis, because there's always the fear of recurrence. So
how have you changed your life for the better? And
what advice would you give women who are going through
who are maybe a year behind you, or who have
yet to be diagnosed. What would you say to them?

Speaker 4 (35:01):
I would say to them to you know, first of all,
just be okay with it somehow. Whatever that is for you.
A lot of people, you know, faith is a big one.
Whatever that is for you. For me, that's you know,
I'm spiritual. I believe you rely heavy on your faith
and believe in the science.

Speaker 3 (35:20):
If you're going to go to the.

Speaker 4 (35:21):
Science route, which I chose to do because it's what
I believe in, you've got to believe in it and
go for it. You have to you have to trust,
and you have to know that you're where you're supposed
to be. And that might not sound fun and it
might not make sense in the moment, but we're all
where we're supposed to be for whatever reason. And like

(35:42):
you said, I think that there's this you'll do.

Speaker 3 (35:44):
It's just it's.

Speaker 4 (35:45):
Life changing and you'll never be the same and there
is no looking back. And yeah, we can worry about
reoccurrence and all of that, but we can also not
have had it and still worry about occurrence. So it's
you know, we're living in a world filled with it.
And I think that technology and the science have progressed
so much that you know, the success rate is much

(36:09):
higher than it used to be. This is not a
death sentence by any means like what it used to be.
And you know, to just try to find that light,
try to find what makes you happy, try to find
whatever it is that works for you. And I know
that everybody's so different. For me, like being bald was amazing,

(36:29):
so I embraced that. I always wanted to be bald.
I thought it would be for like a movie part
or something like that, but not so lucky there was
from this, but I was like excited about that in
a weird way because I didn't have to do my
hair anymore. And it feels so good to drive with
the windows down and no hair.

Speaker 3 (36:49):
Ah, guys, it's amazing. So it's like finding those things
that are just that do make you happy.

Speaker 4 (36:55):
And you know, and believing and choosing how you're going
to move forward, not being afraid of it, taking it
on and.

Speaker 3 (37:04):
Just believing, believing in it and.

Speaker 4 (37:06):
Trying to be as happy as you can through it,
because sad bodies don't heal.

Speaker 1 (37:13):
That's such a good point, Nicole. I just really want
to thank you for being so open and so forthcoming,
as I mentioned earlier, and everyone's got their own level
of comfort in terms of sharing their story, but it
is so powerful when women choose to do so, especially
someone who's as beloved as you are and as well
known as you are. It's just it makes a huge

(37:34):
difference in so many women's lives. You'll never know how
many women you've helped and maybe even helped diagnose, convinced
to go get that mammogram or to do that self
exam whose lives you've actually saved by sharing your message.
So I want to thank you. We want to thank
you for being that person and being willing to be
put in the spotlight and scrutinized in a way for

(37:54):
your choices, because that's all a part of this as well,
when you come out publicly with this disease. But Nicole,
we are wishing you the very best. I know you're
going to have a beautiful, beautiful life, and I know
how you're living is proof right there that you have
You've beaten cancer by how you live. That's how we

(38:14):
beat cancer. So congratulations on all you've done, and we
wish you nothing but health and happiness.

Speaker 3 (38:21):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 4 (38:22):
Thank you, and thank you for everyone that reaches out
and shares their story as well, because it's helped me
immensely and you as well.

Speaker 3 (38:30):
And yeah, we got this, We really do.

Speaker 1 (38:42):
I know a lot of you have followed our podcast
for some time, and if you remember January seventeenth, there
was an episode that if you haven't listened to, I
hope you do. It's titled LFG, which means lets fing
go right kind of yea, let's they're gonna blee me
out anyway, Let's can go. That is the mantra of
the woman who is sitting in the studio with us

(39:03):
right now. Her name is Morgan Mitchell, and she is
one of my best best friends. And I'll sum up her,
uh her journey pretty quickly, and then I'll let her
give you an amazing update that we cannot wait to
share with everybody. My dear friend, Morgan Mitchell diagnosed with
stage four metastatic breast cancer. Did I mention this is

(39:24):
not your grandmother's breast cancer? Diagnosed at the age of
twenty eight. December first, she will celebrate seven years fighting
stage four metastatic breast cancer. And she is not only surviving,
this girl is thriving. She is a badass. She says

(39:44):
LFG every time she goes into her infusion chair, and
she's ready for it. She does million dollar, multimillion dollar
deals from that chemo chair. And she is really one
of one of my heroes, someone who I look to,
Gosh when I think I'm having a tough day or
I don't think I can do something, I think, you
know what what Morgan's doing. And if Morgan can do

(40:09):
what she's doing, all of us can do a little
bit better each and every day. So Morgan, welcome back
to the podcast.

Speaker 7 (40:15):
Ah, thank you guys, thanks for having me back.

Speaker 1 (40:18):
And by the way, Morgan's moving today and she stopped
in the middle of her move to come back into
the iHeart Studios to give us some really amazing news
because so much of so much of what we talk
about with breast cancer. It can be sad, it can
be scary, but there is so much hope and that

(40:39):
is what I love about your story. So tell me,
first of all, how you're doing right now, Morgan, what
your treatments are like, and how you're physically feeling.

Speaker 7 (40:49):
Physically, you know, you just keep rolling with it. Exhausted,
but you put one foot in front of the other
and just get her done. The move's going great.

Speaker 8 (41:00):
We have painters painting the second bedroom a color pink
because my.

Speaker 7 (41:05):
Husband and I are actually expecting. So that is the
big news.

Speaker 2 (41:09):
We're so excited.

Speaker 1 (41:10):
Wait say it again for everyone. You are expecting a
baby girl.

Speaker 8 (41:15):
Yes, when January fifth is her induction date.

Speaker 7 (41:19):
We're so excited.

Speaker 8 (41:21):
Like you had mentioned, Damie, seven years battling this disease.
Every three weeks, I'm going in for immunotherapy and so
things are going great.

Speaker 7 (41:30):
Really excited to actually be on this baby journey with
the surrogate. And who would have thought I would have
been here?

Speaker 2 (41:37):
Right?

Speaker 1 (41:38):
Yeah, so many women And you know, I was told
I had already had two daughters, so it was not
the same. But I was told you were out of
the baby making business the moment I got diagnosed and
I had a couple weeks with it, and I wanted
to harvest eggs and then Chimo began. So a lot
of women in your position are put into a very
tight window. Make your decision. Do you want to harvest
your eggs to give yourself the opportunity to have a

(41:58):
baby because you're by you can't you are it's not advised.
I should say that you can do whatever you want.
And some women have made that choice to go ahead
and get pregnant, but you're told that it's not in
your best interest.

Speaker 8 (42:11):
Yeah, for stage four breast cancer specifically what I have,
it's estrogen positive. The answer is hell no, like you
will not be having a child otherwise you will ultimately
probably meet your demise. So my husband and I when
I was first diagnosed, we had twenty four hours to
make that call of IVF or not, and so really

(42:32):
really excited that. Bob, my husband, pushed me to do that.
So we did freeze eggs. We put that on pause
so that we could have a backup plan. And now
today we made embryos during COVID and really started pushing
ahead to try to create this family for us.

Speaker 1 (42:49):
It's a remarkable thing to think about. You are dealing
with an illness, like a diagnosis, like it's almost like
worst case scenarios. Stage four. You're twenty eight, you're just
starting your life, and now you have twenty four hours
to decide what you're gonna do with your eggs. How
did you What were those twenty four hours like grueling?

Speaker 7 (43:10):
I didn't sleep. I don't know how you don't sleep.

Speaker 8 (43:14):
I mean they immediately put me on letrasol and started
the estrogen treatments, and basically they give you estrogen, but
they suppress your estrogen to basically harvest the eggs within
two weeks. So with stage four, you met or I
met a bunch of different oncologists and they gave me
two weeks. They said, you have two weeks till we
put you on treatment and we get you on a

(43:34):
care plan. So if you can sneak in one round
of IVF, so one shot to get eggs within that
two weeks, we'll let you do it. But it was
super controversial seven years ago, like my fertility doctor and
my oncologists were fighting, and I got off the meds,
then I went back on the meds.

Speaker 7 (43:51):
Then I got off the meds, and I went back on.

Speaker 8 (43:53):
And I'm just grateful that we were able to get
four and a half, which fertility science blows my mind.
But from the four and a half eggs, once they
were fertilized, we were able to get two healthy embryos.

Speaker 1 (44:05):
All right, So we have Morgan here in the studio,
but just as exciting, we actually have the woman who
is making this baby journey possible for you. I'm gonna
let you introduce her because this is a really special
I'm gonna get emotional, special and beautiful relationship that the
two of you have. But I really would like for

(44:25):
you to introduce to our listeners this incredible woman who
is changing your life.

Speaker 7 (44:32):
Yeah, she is truly one of my guardian angels. Prior
to her, my husband and I.

Speaker 8 (44:39):
Actually had two match breaks that were just devastating on
this sergacy journey, and I remember just getting those quiet
moments with Bob and just being like she's around the corner.

Speaker 7 (44:48):
She's around the corner.

Speaker 8 (44:50):
And without further ado, I wanted to introduce Sarah from Wisconsin.

Speaker 7 (44:54):
She is amazing.

Speaker 8 (44:55):
I will let her kind of share a little bit
about maybe why she kind of put her name in
the hat too.

Speaker 1 (45:01):
Yes, Sarah, welcome to the podcast, and congratulations and thank
you for what you're doing. And this isn't your first
time being a Sarahgate for a breast cancer patient. Which
is just a remarkable thing. You're a registered nurse, you're
a mom yourself, tell us, tell us why you're doing this.

Speaker 2 (45:20):
Yeah. So when I first started nursing, I actually met
a nurse that was a second time, Sarahgate, and I
remember just thinking to myself like, wow, like what a gift.
I absolutely love being a mom, and to be able
to share that with somebody that isn't able to accomplish
that the traditional way would just be such a blessing

(45:42):
to myself. So in a way, it was like a selfish,
like I want to do this to help somebody kind
of thing. And then the first time I did it
was back in twenty twenty, and I remember laying there
with my husband and I'm like, hey, remember when we
first started dating and I said that this was going
to be a thing that I do. He's like yeah.

(46:03):
It was like one thirty in the morning. I'm like, okay,
well I'm going to sign up now it's time and
he's like, all right, whatever whatever you do, like I'll
support you through it. And then kind of the same
second time around, it was the same little like intuition.
We were driving down one of our back roads here
in Wisconsin right after we moved, and I'm like, hey,
I think it's time, like I'm ready to jump on

(46:25):
the journey again. And the feeling's right, So the timing's
got to be right there.

Speaker 5 (46:31):
I have to I have to get into this a
little bit more, because, yes, what kind of human being
Like It's hard for most of us to fathom you
being willing to put yourself. It's not just a one
off thing, and it happened. It takes a week in
you are putting yourself, your body, your entire family, your household,

(46:51):
through your family, you have a family of your own,
You're putting everybody has to be along that journey. I
don't completely comford that type of human being, to be
honest with you, I just.

Speaker 6 (47:03):
Don't get what it is about you.

Speaker 5 (47:05):
And you even told your husband now now husband, when
you were dating that you were thinking about this. I
am still trying to understand if you can help expound
a little bit helpless and me, I just don't get
or you just built this way, or because this is
such a sacrifice and to get your entire family to
go along with the sacrifice seems just like a huge

(47:27):
mountain to climb.

Speaker 2 (47:28):
You know what, I have always been like just a
helper by nature. That's kind of how I've always been.

Speaker 6 (47:34):
You can help somebody move, Sarah, Well, you know.

Speaker 2 (47:41):
What, Like I said, the greatest gift that I think
I was ever given was the chance to be a mom.
And I think that anybody who wants that chance should
be allowed to have it, like regardless of a diagnosis
that stops them from doing it the traditional way. So
if I can help, like, yeah, sign me up, let's
figure it out, let's make a plan. And then my

(48:01):
family is kind of the same way. I just with
my daughter. I told her, I'm like, hey, this is
this is something that I'm going to do. And actually
she was so mad. She was like, but I want
a sibling, Like this isn't this isn't okay. And so
we had to have a conversation like no, sweetheart, like
mommy is not going to bring any more babies into

(48:23):
our lives, but I want you to be a part
of bringing babies into other people's lives. And she was
a huge part in my first and my second journey.
She actually came out the for the first journey when
we met the couple and we did the medical screening
and then she gave me majority of my shots throughout

(48:46):
both of the journeys, So she was like super supportive
there and she's just she loves to brag about it.
She is remarkable herself.

Speaker 1 (48:56):
So I don't know, can you put into words what
Sarah is giving you and what it was like to
meet her and to know that this woman is completing
your life and your family.

Speaker 8 (49:11):
Just going straight forward, Amy, No, I can't put it
into words. This was something that I never thought would
be an option for my husband and I. Once we
got diagnosed, it was like, oh, a figment of our
imagination or that would be nice, honey, but no, we've
got to focus on you. And it's just the greatest

(49:34):
gift of all time to be able to become parents.

Speaker 1 (49:38):
What was it like when you met Sarah in person?
Because I know you guys have met face to face.
In fact, you were just on a zoom doctor's appointment
with her.

Speaker 8 (49:45):
Yes, yeah, Oh, Sarah's awesome. I mean when we met,
we met them in New York, so her and her
husband flew out and they came for the screening at
Cornell and we did sushi and we just had a
blast and it was like meeting old friends, but also
a very weird dinner conversation because you're like, I know
everything about you because you're given profiles.

Speaker 7 (50:07):
Of each other.

Speaker 8 (50:08):
But it was a really, really blessing to meet Sarah live.
And then obviously I've met her kids through FaceTime as well,
and we've got a trip planned with her daughter. We're
gonna go make some baby quilts in Texas with my mom.

Speaker 1 (50:22):
Wow, Sarah, Well, first of all, how are you feeling?
And you just had the doctor's visit today, So what's
the latest. What are you hearing about little baby baby Morgan.
We don't have a name for the baby girl yet,
or at least it's not being revealed yet, but tell
us what the doctor's visit's like and how you're doing.

Speaker 2 (50:41):
Sure, I'm feeling great, other than I've caught a cold
from my nine year old that so lovingly shared it,
so I'm fighting that a little bit, but really feeling good.
Like the second trimester is treating me very well. Baby
girl is super strong in there. I think she is
the strongest baby that I've carried. She kicks hard, she

(51:04):
kind of she's feisty. It's kind of funny because like
the ultrasounds that we've gone to and even just today
at the appointment, the doctor was trying to find her
heartbeat and she's got the doppler on my belly and
little girls just moving around the whole time. Like she
was like, no, I was comfortable. I don't want you
poking at me. Yeah, So she's feisty in there is

(51:27):
this kind.

Speaker 5 (51:27):
Of a dating situation to where you all had to
make sure you were write for each other. I know
from your in Morgan you make sure that she gets
screened and have to go through a lot, but also
for you, Sarah, did you have to make sure this
was someone in a family that you wanted to.

Speaker 6 (51:42):
Be on board with.

Speaker 2 (51:44):
Yes, So that is kind of something that I tell
other people that asked me about Sarah Gacy and like
what it's like, what would you recommend for like a
future Saragate. The relationship that you form is very strong
or it can be depending on what, like what you
want what they want. So looking for a match is

(52:06):
like it really is looking like for a relationship. I
describe it sometimes as like a match dot Com, Like
you have a profile, they have a profile. Then you
interview each other and kind of decide like can we
develop a relationship with them. And as soon as I
opened up Bob and Morgan's profile, like I knew I

(52:27):
had actually been sent to profiles that day and I
was opening them both up at the same time. And
as soon as I opened it up, I was like,
I probably shouldn't even look at the other one because
I just had this such a strong feeling that like,
this was it, this was our match. And I read
through the other one, and then I read through Bob
and Morgan's and I called my husband over and I'm like, hey,
you get to look at these two, but I think

(52:47):
I've already made my decision.

Speaker 6 (52:49):
The same with you.

Speaker 5 (52:50):
How was it in picking her? And it can I asked,
as well, is it I assume it's not a lot
of people out there like Sarah. I sure there are some,
but it can't be just the whole host of plethora
of options necessarily out there. And then once you start
whindling down and this person, how many options, how many
Sarah's did you have to choose from necessarily once you

(53:12):
got it down to a small number.

Speaker 7 (53:13):
Yeah, that's a great question. So I went through an agency.

Speaker 8 (53:16):
I had another breast cancer patient actually love her she's
like a day trader power broker and built out a
full Excel spreadsheet. So I just took the three agencies
that she liked the most and we interviewed them and
spoke to them. So the agency served us several matches,
and I think at the beginning I had mentioned a
few match breaks. So Bob and I had matched with

(53:37):
other women that we had liked and for various reasons.
One was a family issue, one unfortunately was a breast
cancer kind of pre diagnosis where she was diagnosed with dcis.

Speaker 1 (53:47):
She actually got the screening in order to become your
Sarahgate and found out then, yeah, I mean, and that's
a remarkable thing to have happened totally.

Speaker 8 (53:57):
And so having both of those experiences, says I wrote
back to our agency and I was like, we need
to find.

Speaker 7 (54:03):
Somebody special, like super special.

Speaker 8 (54:05):
So then we were really open to working with somebody
that had done this before.

Speaker 7 (54:10):
Because the two other women prior, while they were lovely,
I just.

Speaker 8 (54:14):
Was like, I need somebody that I is like a
ride or die, and I met that with Sarah.

Speaker 1 (54:18):
You say, ride or die, I'm curious the relationship is
what it is now, what happens after the baby is
born Morgan with Sarah, I hope she.

Speaker 7 (54:28):
Becomes an auntie.

Speaker 8 (54:28):
I mean, I'm from the Midwest, so I'm like game
on for you know, the cheese Kurds in the Wisconsin
State Fair, like, we're coming to visit. I have two brothers,
and so Sarah's just going to be added into the family.

Speaker 1 (54:42):
You don't have a sister, and so now you're gaining
a sister of swords, Sarah. I mean, how you go
into this, having this conversation ahead of time, how much
the parents to be are willing to have you and
their lives or not? How important was that or is
that to you, Sarah? When you take on a family
and you just to do this.

Speaker 2 (55:01):
So for me, I felt like it would be a
lot more difficult if the family didn't want to be
involved afterwards. It would just feel very transactional. And that's
not what I went into this for. I wanted to
build a relationship. And my first journey ended with we
have an extended family that lives in Boston, and I

(55:23):
am very close with baby's mom. Actually reached out to her.
She was super excited that I was going to be
on this podcast, and the same thing that is It's
the same thing that I want for Bob and Morgan
and us is to have an extension of our family
in New York or New Jersey, depending where they're at.

(55:43):
And I think that I feel like I found that
with Morgan. I absolutely would love to maintain our relationship
and let it continue to grow and blossom. And I
feel just very blessed to be a part of this.
But I also know that going into this, that's that's
their decision. If they want to continue that relationship afterwards,

(56:06):
that's totally going to be up to them. And I
think that that's also an important thing to know, Like
being a surrogate, is there are boundaries like this is
this is a family, Like they may decide that they
they are busy and whatever and thank you so much
for this gift, but that's it, and vice versa. You

(56:26):
can have a whole you can gain a sister, which
is what I hope that we will continue to let
our relationship blossom and grow. And I would absolutely love
to be an anti to a little buddy.

Speaker 1 (56:39):
I mean, with so many tough stories out there, like
this is such a beautiful one. Like I don't think
people realize like how special this is until you've had
to walk this road and when your options are gone
and someone comes in like this, I mean, Sarah, it's
just it's such I know, you know how beautiful it is,

(56:59):
but my god, it's just I'm so happy to be
able to I think people think of sarrogacy and they
it sounds so clinical, but this is so personal and
it's so emotional and it's and it's beautiful. Sarah, I
don't know the answer to this. Do you have a
connection to breast cancer? The fact that you've now you're

(57:22):
now a surrogate for the second woman who's dealing with
breast cancer? Is that just coincidence or happenstance?

Speaker 2 (57:30):
I would say a little bit. I have always felt
like a like a strong desire to try and do
whatever I can to help like fight against that, whether
it be like walking in a five k to help
raise awareness. And I think another strong pool for me
was they've had so much taken away from them that

(57:54):
this is just one more thing and I just I
feel like that's just so unfair and if I could
make it a little bit better for them, I that's
that's my draw to that. Right after my second journey
I actually was pumping and donating milk, and I got
to donate to a mom that found out she had

(58:15):
breast cancer during her during her pregnancy, and I was
able to get her through the last two months of
her baby's first year of having breast milk available to them.
So it's just I just feel like it's I think
that's my draw is. I think it's just so unfair
and something that's while men can get breast cancer too,

(58:38):
like I think it's something very like, very female, and
I just I think it's that That's just it. I
just want to do whatever I can to help support
something that was taken away unfairly.

Speaker 1 (58:53):
Wow, TJ, you want to say out loud what you
just said to Morgan because I was thinking it Sair.

Speaker 6 (58:57):
I I don't know of your I whispered it to her.

Speaker 5 (58:59):
I was trying to to have it on Mike, but
as you were talking, I just lean over to Morgan said,
where did you find this?

Speaker 6 (59:05):
Lady?

Speaker 5 (59:05):
Like, It's just I'm sorry. We deal in news. We're
doing news every single day, and you are out there,
plenty of you and folks like you are out there,
and we, unfortunately all of us fail at night giving
enough of a platform to folks to show that there
are good folks. We know they're good folks. They live
next door to us, we know that, but for some
reason we highlight some of the most negative stories and

(59:27):
it's just a relief and it just feels great to
be able to This isn't a sad No breast cancer.

Speaker 6 (59:33):
It's supposed to. Yes, it's sad.

Speaker 5 (59:35):
It's taking lives and it's changed people's lives, But damn,
this is not supposed to be a sad podcast right now.
This is wonderful. And we love Sarah. We love Morgan here,
and I didn't think about this until we started this,
but we love her, and by extension, you are providing
something to somebody we love that's going to extend our

(59:55):
love and our family here. So for that, we say
thank you, Sarah, and we hope to meet you at
some point down the line.

Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
Oh my goodness. I mean, I knew Morgan had said
so many nice things about you, Sarah, and I had
read your profile, and I you know, you were showing
me things about her from the beginning, but I think
you undersold it. I mean, this woman is a saint,
This woman, Sarah should be canonized. I mean, I am
blown away at your generosity and your I mean, we

(01:00:28):
know nurses are the best. I mean, anyone who's ever
battled any kind of sickness found themselves in a hospital
know the value of nurses. I think a lot of
people learn that during COVID as well. But my god, Sarah,
you take it to a whole other level. I'm just curious.
This is your second time? Is this your last time?
Being as Sarah good? I mean, once is more than enough.

(01:00:49):
Twice is remarkable. Are you done at this point?

Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
So? I have made a clause where this would be
my last journey unless Bob and Morgan or the other
family decide they want siblings, I would carry for them again.
But finding a new family and building that whole relationship again.
My heart is so full with the two families that

(01:01:15):
I will absolutely help them continue to grow their families.
But that would that would be it for me.

Speaker 6 (01:01:22):
Wow.

Speaker 1 (01:01:22):
I mean, that's that's still a very remarkable offer. Morgan.
I mean, I know you're like, yeah, I know her, duh.
I've been telling you about her, But to hear her
say that, and I know she said that's you just
I mean, can you I asked before can you put
into words? But that's I don't have.

Speaker 3 (01:01:40):
Words to say.

Speaker 8 (01:01:40):
How remarkable that is, Saint Hood you said it, But
I just I hope that we can get to that
point to do siblings. My siblings and my family are
everything to me, and I know that we would want that.
But again, with breast cancer and with all this stuff,
it's one step that it's time and it might just

(01:02:01):
be one baby and that's okay.

Speaker 1 (01:02:02):
Yeah, and right now you're painting that room pink. I
love to hear that, you know. And I was telling
Morgan Sarah, I don't know if you follow this at
all either, but kind of cool. Just recently, Olivia Munn,
we all know she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but
she just announced the birth of her baby daughter via asarrogate.
So you're starting to hear these stories where there is
so much hope about how long you can live, how
well you can live, that this is now possible. I

(01:02:27):
don't remember hearing that much about this or these types
of stories even five years ago, certainly not ten years
ago when I was diagnosed, or eleven years ago at
this point. So the advances and the advanced mins that
have been made to allow this to be possible for
so many different reasons. Is such a sign of hope
and there is ho Do you feel hopeful, Morgan.

Speaker 8 (01:02:46):
I'm super hopeful. I know that I'm going to make
it to my daughter's graduation. I know that I'm going
to make it to our wedding, and after that, you
know I'll send her on her way.

Speaker 7 (01:02:57):
But I've never been filled with such hope.

Speaker 8 (01:03:02):
They're now looking at stage four breast cancer like it's
ra or ms, and you go in for your infusions
and you learn to live with it. It is tough,
but I can't wait to have a baby in my
arms and have one more thing and one more child
to be fighting for my life, to stay alive and
really live on to help.

Speaker 1 (01:03:22):
Her as well. TG. I know you probably weren't surprised
to hear when Sarah described what baby girl Odell was
like in utero, kicking, moving around a lot, high energy, just.

Speaker 6 (01:03:37):
To be still.

Speaker 5 (01:03:38):
Morgan, Please, I thought I had the wrong friend when
you first introduced me to her. I'm like, which one
was the one you said had metastatic because it was not, Morgan.
She's got more energy anybody in the damn room. You
are the most. I always say it. You're the most upbeat, positive,
happiest person I have ever been around. Is not despite anything.

(01:04:00):
If nobody had any clue but you were going through,
they would say that about you. And it's just it's
always remarkable. And now here Sarah is and at all
everything is coming together, everything matches. This is wonderful. Looking
forward to graduation, siblings, This is just hopeful. So it's
a breast cancer episode, yes, but man, there is so
much hope and so many stories like yours.

Speaker 6 (01:04:22):
Morgan. I just you are remarkable in this one. Here,
Oh my goodness, is Sarah? This?

Speaker 5 (01:04:27):
Sarah Lady? Where'd you get this one? This is absolutely unbelievable.
So Sarah, really we hope to meet you. No, we
will meet you at some point down the road, for sure,
But this is just wonderful to finally get to see
you and talk to you face to face in this way,
at least via zoom today.

Speaker 1 (01:04:43):
Sarah, we cannot thank you enough for what you're doing
for one of our very best friends in the world
and her husband, Bob, whom we love. And we're going
to run the Chicago Marathon with actually in a couple
of weeks. Yes, so we love Morgan and Bob and
we can't wait to meet the little one that you're
carrying with Sarah. Again, we can't thank you enough for
what you're doing for her and being on a podcast

(01:05:05):
and spreading this important message that there are possibilities, there
is hope. There is so much love out there, and
sometimes it happens and it's learned from something as terrible
as cancer. But there are good things that come out
of bad situations, and this is clearly one of them.

Speaker 5 (01:05:26):
Can I ask both of you all and has to
be talked about. I don't want to act like it's
not there, but should this be a thing that's available
to more women dealing with breast cancer? And that we
have to be real here. This is for a lot
of folks cost prohibitive, right. There's cost involved in everything
you were doing before you even met up with a surrogate.

(01:05:49):
What can you say to folks, or to the industry,
or to even a health insurance company, what should we
be doing to make sure something like this is an
option for more people?

Speaker 8 (01:06:01):
Sarah, I'd love your take as a nurse, specifically for
me on the patient's side, is I'm thankful during COVID,
my husband and I were able to live in the
cat Skills and live well blow our means to safe
and I wish that insurance covered more, especially with a
breast cancer diagnosis. If I were able to prove that,
I wish they would have covered more of my journey

(01:06:24):
in fertility and sergacy and agencies are expensive, they're lawyers,
they're different, you know, program people that you're all paying for,
So it makes sense. And ultimately, like Roebek said, she'd
mentioned Cash's king and there's a solution. So there are
lots of different organizations that you can donate to grant programs.

Speaker 7 (01:06:45):
But I don't think it's enough.

Speaker 8 (01:06:47):
And if more and more young women are getting diagnosed
with breast cancer, which we know unfortunately is on the rise,
it's only going to be kind of the next layer
of advocacy required.

Speaker 2 (01:06:58):
Then I agree wholeheartedly with everything that Morgan said. I
don't think that people should be limited in their options
to grow their families just based off of their income
or their insurances. Luckily, this time around, like my insurance
happened to be surrogacy friendly, but the last time around

(01:07:21):
it was not. And to know that it costs like
two hundred and fifty dollars for me to have my
own child and an astronomical amount of money to deliver
someone else's. Like, nothing was different during my prenatal care.
It was all the same, So why why the differential?

Speaker 1 (01:07:40):
Wow? That is that is significant? I mean, and this
is the good news is more people are being diagnosed
earlier and more women are living longer, and so this
is going to be something that we continue to talk
about and getting your story out there, Morgan, getting Sarah's
beautiful story out there hopefully will raise awareness, get people talking,

(01:08:01):
because this is something among the many things we need
to do when it comes to funding breast cancer, not
just it's not just about early detection. It's not just
about treatment, but it's about how we live and how
we're able to live and live longer in better lives. Sarah,
thank you for being on the podcast. We really appreciate
it was an honor, an honor to meet you and

(01:08:24):
Morgan love you so much. Can't wait to be an aunt.
You know, I don't have a sister either, so I
always will consider you mine and your little girl she's
gonna be like an amy. Enough already enough, like stop,
but I'm going to spoil the heck out of her
and I can't wait. So remember any of you out

(01:08:48):
there who were listening, if you have her too positive
breast cancer, if you have an estrogen positive cancer, if
your doctor told you as mine did to me, that
you are out of the baby making business when you
are diagnosed, Sarah GAC can be a viable option for you.
But if you don't have one of those types of cancers,
you may want to explore IVF or even natural conception.

(01:09:11):
Those are very possible with certain types of breast cancer,
so it's always important to ask your doctor what your
options are and consider them before you start treatment. There
are so many paths to parenthood, and it's important to
make sure you ask and find out which one works
best for you. Thank you all so much for joining

(01:09:31):
us for this very special episode in honor of Breast
Cancer Awareness Month. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks
to our remarkable guests Morgan, Sarah, and Nicole Eggert for
sharing their powerful stories and inside. Sometimes it is tough
to be vulnerable. It is tough to tell your story,
but it makes such a difference, and I really want
to thank these women for putting their heart on the

(01:09:53):
line and for letting you all into and become a
part of their story. Because remember, breast cancer today is
not what it was in the past. There are so
many advancements in personalized, specialized treatments. Of course we've talked
about and we'll continue to talk about early detection because
that saves lives, and then supportive care. Every woman out there,

(01:10:16):
every man out there who has breast cancer needs support.
And we are seeing improved survival rates and improve quality
of life for so many breast cancer patients and that
is something to applaud and to celebrate. And I just
want to remind all of you out there please remember,
unfortunately you have to be your own advocate in some ways,

(01:10:37):
and you need to have open conversations about breast cancer
to help remove this stigma. We need to talk about
these things so we can learn about these things, so
that we can educate ourselves and the women and the
people around us who we love. And part of advocating
for yourself is educating yourself. So just please ask questions,
be curious, bring someone with you to help ask those

(01:10:59):
very important questions about what your options are when you're
meeting with doctors, because one decision has an impact on
the next one. When you're dealing with treating breast cancer,
it's a lot to take in, but there's a lot
of information out there and there is so much support.
So for more information, for more support, here are a
couple places you can visit. You can visit organizations like
the National Breast Cancer Foundation, breast cancer dot org, or

(01:11:22):
even the American Cancer Society. And I just want to
say one of my favorites, I am an ambassador for
this organization. I'm a huge fan of this organization for
the work they do in trying to end breast cancer.
That is a BCRF Breast Cancer Research Foundation. That is
another incredible source for any of you out there for
looking for more information. But the bottom line, together, we

(01:11:44):
can all make a difference.