July 12, 2022 • 28 mins
Michelle and Pasha are checking in with their health. The ladies discuss what Pasha thought was simple allergies turning into a rare cancer diagnosis. Pasha also talks about what life after cancer looks like, how to support loved ones who are battling cancer, the importance of going to the doctor and speaking to family about medical history. CHECK IN to this episode if you needed a push to make that doctor’s appointment!
Follow Pasha on Instagram: @pasha4bedroc
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
My Heart Radio and The Black Effect. Hey y'all, Hi,
y'all doing today? Thank you all so much for checking in.
(00:22):
I have a truly, truly special guest who is so
open with sharing her journey as it relates to a
very rare cancer diagnosis. She just continues to bring awareness
to us and within the hip hop and music culture.
So stay tuned for this next episode of Checking In
with Michelle Williams. Y'all, welcome to another week, another episode
(00:50):
of Checking In. I'm just really, really really happy that
I get to check in with y'all weekly and that
you guys give me y'all's time by tuning in and subscribing.
But this week, I'm really really intrigued, curious, and I'm
excited about our next guest. She is an author and
(01:11):
cancer advocate, bringing cancer awareness to the community after her
own personal experience with cancer, and she continues to bring
cancer awareness to our community, especially within the hip hop
and music culture. Please welcome Pasta Cheney. Thank you Michelle
for that awesome, awesome introduction. Thank you for having me
(01:34):
on your podcast. I'm just really honored and humble thank you. Yes, y'all.
Before we officially started recording, she was a girl. I
met you at Greenbrier Mall and that's here in Atlanta,
and so I'm just like, wow, wow, wow, that's been
a long time. So I'm glad that we had that
(01:56):
connection those years ago. But now we have this connect
and today, and I want to share something with my
audience that cancer is the fourth leading cause of death
behind accidents, suicide, and homicide in individuals between the ages
of twenty to thirty nine. Now, Passion, after your own
(02:19):
cancer experience, you learned that some individuals don't show the
early signs or the symptoms of cancer, or if we do,
we feel like it's just something normal and that will pass,
or will google something and it's the worst thing that
could possibly happen. So can you share with us, I
(02:42):
guess just your journey and background, and then we'll get
into those signs and symptoms of course, of course, So
not only am I an author after my cancer diagnosis,
and I am also recording artists, so I do hip
hop music, and I was right in the middle of
(03:04):
doing music and recording and all of those things. And
I remember the latter part of two thousand, nineteen, I
started to have these really allergy like symptoms. So I
didn't think much of it. Again because I'm here in Arizona.
There's a lot of dust. I get running eyes and
(03:24):
sniffle y. No, so I didn't think much of it.
You know, I was taking over the counter allergy meds,
and then my throat started to get a little sore,
and you know, the drainage started going down my throat,
and my mom kept saying, you know, you don't it
sounds so great. You know, it's been a while since
you've had these allergy symptoms. You know, I think you
should go and get it checked. And I said, I
(03:45):
think it's just something minor, So I didn't think much
of it. But eventually those symptoms turned into one of
my eyes bulging, and so that's how I knew something
was definitely wrong. And I first I was looking it
up myself. I'm like, maybe it's my thyroid, maybe it's this.
Is that because you know, a lot of diseases or
(04:06):
other things have crossover symptoms, so you could read something
and then you think, oh, well is this or is
that you know, trying to diagnose yourself. But when you
even said the eye bulging. That is a thyroid and
some people do have that from thyroid disease. So I
just thought, Okay, my doctor would probably put me on
some thyroid medication, no big deal. But once I actually
(04:30):
went to my optometrist, I asked him to send me
to an ophthalmologist, a specialist, and that's when they did
the m r I and noticed the tumor in my
name's cavity. It was in the back of my eye orbit,
so it was pretty large and it was aggressive. So
I'm talking about in a matter of several months, the
(04:51):
doctors predicted that it would have grew into that size
and then that detrimental Wow. You know. I had actress
y Linda Ross on my podcast and we were just
talking about how people go into their doctor's appointment. But
I like how you said you went to see your optometrist.
(05:12):
Then you said, hey, I want to go see an optimologist.
Yalanda and I were talking about how some women period,
we just don't even go in and make those types
of request because the environment does not make you feel
that you can even ask those types of questions. What
made you just even say, hey, I want to go
see an opthalmologist. Well, I kept saying, if something is
(05:35):
wrong with my eye, I need to go to more
than just a general practitioner, which is you know, your
basic optometrists. I said, I need someone to actually do
a skin and look inside of my eye and see
what's going on. And so that's when the m R.
I discovered the tumor. And thank god for the Mayo
(05:56):
Clinic here in Phoenix. They saved my life because my
first operation was twenty two hours long and they put
a metal flat right before my brain because the cancer
almost reached my brain. And they told me if it
would have reached my brain, it would have been nothing
that they would have been able to do. So it
just threw me back. It was totally unexpected, and it's
(06:18):
all happened in a matter of a few months, from
me having allergy like symptoms to me finding out I
had cancer and then having major surgery and additional surgeries.
Oh yeah, like you said me, what started out being
allergy like symptoms, watery eyes, running nose, and you even
mentioned drainage, which we know to be what is it
(06:38):
called post nasal DRAINA. I feel like I'm gonna just
take some use the next and get it going. And
then you found out that you had a particular cancer diagnosis.
But even at that time, you were a single mother, Yes,
in your thirties when you were a diagnosed, and you
(06:58):
had some incredible difficulty with the removal of the tumor.
I believe, yeah, I did. I didn't think that the
surgeon would be so intrusive and so invasive, but it was,
and it took me a while to recover. I had
to go to rehab. I was in rehab for quite
some time. I had to gain my strength back. When
(07:19):
you have cancer in the head or neck, you have
to do a lot of therapy, and so that was
the challenge and the struggle for me. I had my daughter.
You know, I'm single. I'm trying to navigate that. I'm
trying to navigate, you know, working in my creative space.
I'm trying to do all these different things. But thank
God my faith and character was strong, because without that,
(07:44):
I wouldn't have been able to make it through. I
wouldn't have been able to have the will and the
strength to go through that entire process. And it's extremely
important for young people. You know, I had square myself
carcinoma which is a form of skin cancer, but was
particularly different with this type of square and cell that
(08:06):
I had. It was in the nasal cavity, and nasal
cavity cancer is extremely rare. Maybe only two thousand people
in the United States get that a year out of
all the people that get cancer. So it was very rare,
very aggressive. And so what I want younger people, especially
in our community to know is that it doesn't matter
(08:27):
your age, it doesn't matter how you look or what
you think your status is. If you don't feel right,
if something feels wrong, go and see the doctor. Go
and see the doctor. And please don't be afraid to
ask questions, because, like I said, I was telling you
about talking with you, wanna row Sometimes when you go
to the doctor, they're just rushing you in and out,
(08:48):
and it's not necessarily their fault, but it's like, even
though you feel like they're rushing you, but like, uh,
you're gonna take these sixty extra seconds and I need
to ask you and talk to you. So that that's
why I was very courageous of you to even first
of all, even to have the knowledge to be like, listen,
this is gonna be beyond the general practitioner and for
(09:09):
you to say, hey, I'm gonna also need to see ophthalmologist.
You also figured out about the disparities in the health
care system. Was it just as it related to you
as a woman, or was it compounded with being a
black woman or someone with health insurance coverage no health
(09:29):
insurance coverage getting the help that they needed. That was
one of your discoveries. Of course, there are a lot
of disparities, especially when it comes to cancer treatment. So
I remember before I went to the Male Clinic Care
in Phoenix, and they're superb, you know, they specialized in
and diseases and cancer treatment. But I went to a
(09:50):
different doctor before I landed at the Mail doctor. That
doctor wanted to just cut on my face. He didn't
care about how I would look after the surgery. He
treated me like a number. I. I didn't feel comfortable
with him operating on me, and so that was one thing.
And then I had proton radiation. So I had chemo
(10:12):
and radiation after surgery. So proton therapy is a little
more specific. It targets right on the tumor instead of
all the areas around. And because my tumor was close
to my brain, They did not want me to have
damage to my brain and that type of area. That's
a very sensitive area. I was denied at first for proton. Yes,
(10:34):
I was denied through my insurance, and so my doctors
had to get together and you know, they had to
fill an appeal and they said, no, she's young, she's
a mom. We want to keep her alive and do
everything possible. You know. So people fight through that, they
fight through denials, through insurance, they fight through denial, you know,
(10:55):
being a minority, and you know, people not caring, and
so it's very very important to get with the doctor
or team of doctors that really care. They don't rush you,
they take the time, they give you the pros and
the cons and all of that. Faith is your foundation.
(11:17):
What was there any point where you were like why me? Oh?
Of course, of course. I think when you first get
diagnosed with cancer, that's one of your first questions, why me?
Why did this happen? God? Why did this happen? Why
am I in this situation? Why me? Why? Now? I
had those questions and then I did the work honestly,
(11:39):
because I knew that this was a big burden for
me to carry. So I made sure I went through therapy,
talk therapy, I had some feelings about cancer, and then
of course the second biggest thing, and for most people,
is right along with why me, Am I going to die?
You know? What's gonna happen to my child? And all
(12:00):
of these different questions you have about life. And so
I tried to be very proactive and get all the
support around me that I needed, my family, therapy, everything
that I could to keep me going and keep me uplifted.
And of course I kept that spiritual aspect to just
you know, praying and and really holding on to God
(12:22):
at that time. And this happened in I was diagnosed.
So I'm two years and remission. Thank god, I've come
a long way. Yes, yes, y'all. She's got a book
called Living in Remission, a Survivor's Story. You share that
cancer remission is so complex and takes years of recovery.
(12:47):
So you are in year two since you're diagnosis. I'm
glad that you're checking in with us because the podcast
the foundation is mental health. With the cancer diagnosis is
I can't imagine anxiety, maybe some depression, and maybe it
being a result of the chemo, the radiation. It all
(13:09):
just takes such a big toll on your body, and
I'm just glad that you say that you have the family, help,
the support. Did you find yourself having to be the
support for other people fighting cancer if they didn't have
the same support that you did? I did, you know?
When it comes to my books, and I want to
(13:30):
show and I was going to get to through the scars,
the scars and then living and remission a survivor story.
So I think for me, when I wrote my first book,
I wrote it during radiation and chemo. It was important
for me to relate to other people going through cancer
(13:51):
because I couldn't find no one in my age group
that had went through this. So I needed an outlet.
I needed to share my story and I needed to
link with other people who have went through similar things,
you know, with cancer, and so that was very therapeutic
for me. And I wanted people to understand what goes
through the mind of a person when that first diagnose
(14:13):
with cancer. Now with living in remission, I needed people
to understand you don't just bounce back from cancer physically, mentally, emotionally.
Every day your work and your work in progress. You
have to accept your body. Some people lose limbs, some
people lose organs. So you have to accept the physical
(14:34):
changes of your body. You have to accept the emotional
changes that come with it. All of those things, and
you're right, the anxiety, the depression, it all comes and
it's like how do you manage that? How do you
handle that? So you have to have some solutions and
some things in place in order to combat those negative
(14:54):
feelings and emotions to keep going. What is your advice
for loved ones or caregivers having to care for someone
with cancer. I would say, just be patient and be
understanding the person going through the situation. They just need
love and support and say to them I'm here for
(15:16):
you whatever you need. You know, you don't have to
have give a long, drawing out speech. But I think
it comes to the action. It comes down to the action.
People who are going through this type of situation and trauma,
they want to know that you'll be there, that you
won't judge them, that they won't hear negative words or
things that may discourage them. Because sometimes you know, out
(15:37):
of ignorance, some people you know don't know what to say.
You know, so if you don't know what to say,
just say I'm here for you. Whatever you need, I'm
here for you, you know. But I think it's important
to just be supportive and show that through your actions.
What was maybe one of the most side eye or
as they say, cringe worthy things someone has possibly said
(16:00):
to you during this time. Oh, someone was like, a girl,
you didn't lose no weight when you had cancer, because
people think when you have cancer you have chemo, that
you'll lose weight. I didn't lose weight. I gained a
little bit, and then I stayed at that weight, and
I thought that was extremely rude, you know. And then
(16:20):
of course after my surgery with my eye, and people
were like, what happened to your eye and what happened
with this? And what happened with that? And it was
so intrusive. It wasn't compassionate sometimes the things what people
would say. So I was very particular about just talking
to my immediate circle and family and close friends when
(16:40):
I was going through and then they knew everything. But
as I started to get better and you know, make progress,
then I was able to open up more. But I
shared so much in my book. I mean, I really
put it out there. I can't be any more honest
than what I was in my book, So you know,
I want able to check it out even if you're not,
(17:02):
if you've never been diagnosed with cancer, if you know someone,
or if you just want to know what it's like,
how to recognize symptoms. It's a good tool to have.
And then the support of your child. How old was
your child? She was seven, and it was it was
oh my gosh. She didn't understand. She kept asking my mom,
(17:23):
as my mom gonna be okay. You know, she was worried.
She was there, she waited some time there at the
hospital when I had my first surgery, my twenty two
our surgery. You know, she was scared of the way
I looked and and how things were with the effects
of my initial surgery because I look different. You know,
I wasn't the person that she was used to. So
(17:47):
she had to get over that and deal with that
and also be concerned and scared, just worried about me
and if I was gonna make it, if I was
going to survive. So that was a lot on her shoulders,
being a seven year old, just seeing me go through
these different stages. Yeah. Yeah, especially when you're so young,
(18:07):
you want to do everything you can to help you know,
be helpful and she's probably not knowing you were probably
weak at the moment. My mother had breast cancer, so
we know the thing with radiation, the weakness, the irritation. Yeah,
the naga. Your body is just people even explain your
(18:29):
body just feels like it's heat. There's so much, you know,
going on and passion. You are here showing us how
strong you are. Did you have guilt because of being
in remission and surviving what someone else probably didn't. Yeah,
(18:52):
it's it's survivor's guilt. A lot of people experienced that
after they go into remission because pol that you've seen
along your journey, that you've talked to, and people that
I've connected with, Some of those people didn't make it
in my support groups, you know, some of those people
online who are connected with they lost their battle to cancer.
(19:14):
And I found myself asking God, will I made it?
And they didn't make it? And then I felt bad
and I'm like, I just felt the weight, you know,
of their family and how they probably were in pain
and warning. So I think when you are connected to
other people through experience like this, you feel you have
that empathy and sympathy you know, for their family especially
(19:38):
if you know they didn't make it out of the experience.
So yeah, there there is a guilt that comes there,
and that's something that you also have to work through
as well and figure out, well, how can I be
a help now to those who have survived who are
still here? You know, how can I share my story?
M hm? And you are sharing your story, y'all. In
(20:01):
she released Through the Scars Rising from Cancer That was
but Living and Remission of Survivor's Story is the follow
up to the book that she released in t and
we are thankful for you, were thankful for your strength,
encouraging bravery to tell your your story. Some people is
(20:22):
their call, which I believe it's yours. Like I want
my mom to talk about her story, but even years later,
she's not ready to scream it from the mountaintop, even
though I just kind of screamed it for her. But
every now that she knows that I share pieces of
her story. You are in Phoenix, which I love Phoenix
absolutely and I know it's hot, it's beautiful. But out there,
(20:48):
have you been able to travel or is it just
best that you just not travel at the moment to
share your story? What does it look like, what would
you like to do. Of course, when I was diagnosed,
pandemic was going on, so that was a whole challenge
within itself. And then I just wanted to stay safe.
For a period of time, I traveled for very important things,
(21:11):
and I make sure you know I'm available for those
type of things. I just try to be safe. I
try to be cautious. I try to keep my immune
system up and healthy as possible. But I had a
period where I didn't travel. So now I'm thanking God
and I'm thankful that I'm able to move around a
little bit more. So that's so good. Thank That's so good.
(21:34):
In black families, we don't talk about ailment. Did this
run in your family at all? Did you kind of
have to dig and see I did. This type of
cancer didn't run in my family, even though I've had
My grandmother had breast cancer and so did my aunt's
app breast cancer UM and they both survived. But I didn't.
(21:57):
I didn't have anyone in my family UM that has
one and self carcinoma and have a nasal cancer. I
couldn't find anyone until I started to be a part
of some of these support groups. You know, and then
reach out to some other people online. So that was
very important because I was dealing with totally different symptoms
(22:18):
than say my grandmother or aunt wood when it came
to the type of cancer okay, because I was wondering,
did this make you and your family have conversations about
what's in our bloodline? You know, you ever go to
the doctor, you gotta fill out all this paperwork, and
does this run in the family? Does this run in
(22:39):
the family? But we sweep so much under the rug,
and maybe we feel like if you talk about it,
you give power to it, or you acknowledge something that
you don't want to be there. But I'm just wondering
for our health, we should be talking about things. Oh yes,
I talked about it. Matter of fact. The Mayo Clinic,
(23:01):
they're so great. They allowed my family to be tested
while I was getting treatment for any other type of
cancer free of charge. So I was grateful for that,
and I told all my family, you know, all you
have to do is give them my name and you're
able to get tested. So of course I brung it up,
(23:21):
you know, I let my family know, Hey, this is
this can't be a taboo subject, you know, I know
people have experienced cancer in our family, but we have
to talk about it and we have to really put
it to the forefront and do everything that we can
to prevent it and then if it comes, know what
to do and how to handle it if it does come. Okay, wow, Passion,
(23:43):
Thank you so much for checking in. Welcome your Rooms
week this week. Where can we find you? Your website? Facebook?
I g my books Through the Scars, Rising from Cancer
and Living and Remntion of Survivor Story It. They're available
on Amazon. You can just type the title in, or
(24:04):
you can type my name Pasha p A s h
A and then my last name Cheney c h A
any y mr So. On Instagram, you can follow me
at Pasha p A s h the number four and
then B E D R O C pastor for bed rock.
Same thing for Facebook, Twitter and everything. Now so h
(24:25):
yes question, Yes, new music. Yes, I just dropped a
single not too long ago called Loyalty. It's a really
urban type street record. But I do all types of
hip hop interpretation music, so I'm just excited to be
back to doing what I love. And I want to
say to people, if you have a talent, use it,
(24:49):
use whatever God gave you to reach people regardless of
what your story is. You know, I didn't plan on
becoming an author. I didn't plan on becoming a two
time author, but it had has been a blessing and
not being able to touch people all over the world
and talk about my book. And I'm so thankful for
you allowing me to be on your podcast and check
(25:11):
in with you, and thank you to the producers and
the staff. This has really been a blessing. Passion you
come back any time, any time, even if it's just
to do a check in, like, hey, y'all, this is
what's going on, this is an update, whatever, You're welcome,
you are cemented in the checking in family passion. Okay,
(25:33):
thank you so much. Thank you to all your listeners.
Thank you. Wow wow wow wow. You just never know
what people deal with and what they go through. Not
only that, how we can possibly take certain things for granted. Now,
(25:54):
I don't want y'all feeling like you gotta google every symptom.
If you gotta hangnail, that doesn't mean it's cancer, but
it almost makes you want to make sure that if
there's something that's been lingering on a little too long,
maybe more than what is probably typical for certain symptoms.
Nothing is wrong with getting it checked out. And y'all listen,
(26:16):
we get to go into these hospitals and clinics and
ask questions as it relates to your body, especially if
our body is a temple, right and if there's something
going on in my temple and I am required to
care for my temple, then we gotta make sure that
we can ask questions for the maintenance of our temple
(26:39):
because it could save your life. Again, I'm very thankful
for Passia for checking in with us today. She's just
so sweet. Her spirit is just so so sweet, and
I'm just gonna keep her in my prayers as I
keep all of y'all in my prayers. It's something about
my checking in podcast family. Y'all are absolutely amazing, and
(27:02):
I gotta give a shout out to everybody in the
Black Effect Podcast network, to every podcaster, and to everybody listening.
We cannot do this without you, and so I'm thankful
for every time you download or tell a friend y'all
are so funny. Um, I get some d m s
and y'all are like, Hey, I sent this episode to
a friend of mine and y'all be dropping hints to
(27:24):
people by sending a certain episode. So I'm very, very
very thankful for y'all. I can't stress it enough. You
will always know that I'm thankful for you. Not only that,
I know that you are loved. I love you so much,
And really, I mean, I don't know what you're gonna
do about me loving you. You can't do anything about it.
So thank y'all for loving me and supporting me throughout
the years. All Right, we'll take care of See you
(27:46):
again next week. H Checking In with Michelle Williams is
(28:18):
a production of I Heart Radio and The Black Effect.
For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I
heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to
your favorite shows.
Welcome to Checking In with Michelle Williams, a production of
My Heart Radio and The Black Effect. Hey y'all, Hi,
y'all doing today? Thank you all so much for checking in.
(00:22):
I have a truly, truly special guest who is so
open with sharing her journey as it relates to a
very rare cancer diagnosis. She just continues to bring awareness
to us and within the hip hop and music culture.
So stay tuned for this next episode of Checking In
with Michelle Williams. Y'all, welcome to another week, another episode
(00:50):
of Checking In. I'm just really, really really happy that
I get to check in with y'all weekly and that
you guys give me y'all's time by tuning in and subscribing.
But this week, I'm really really intrigued, curious, and I'm
excited about our next guest. She is an author and
(01:11):
cancer advocate, bringing cancer awareness to the community after her
own personal experience with cancer, and she continues to bring
cancer awareness to our community, especially within the hip hop
and music culture. Please welcome Pasta Cheney. Thank you Michelle
for that awesome, awesome introduction. Thank you for having me
(01:34):
on your podcast. I'm just really honored and humble thank you. Yes, y'all.
Before we officially started recording, she was a girl. I
met you at Greenbrier Mall and that's here in Atlanta,
and so I'm just like, wow, wow, wow, that's been
a long time. So I'm glad that we had that
(01:56):
connection those years ago. But now we have this connect
and today, and I want to share something with my
audience that cancer is the fourth leading cause of death
behind accidents, suicide, and homicide in individuals between the ages
of twenty to thirty nine. Now, Passion, after your own
(02:19):
cancer experience, you learned that some individuals don't show the
early signs or the symptoms of cancer, or if we do,
we feel like it's just something normal and that will pass,
or will google something and it's the worst thing that
could possibly happen. So can you share with us, I
(02:42):
guess just your journey and background, and then we'll get
into those signs and symptoms of course, of course, So
not only am I an author after my cancer diagnosis,
and I am also recording artists, so I do hip
hop music, and I was right in the middle of
(03:04):
doing music and recording and all of those things. And
I remember the latter part of two thousand, nineteen, I
started to have these really allergy like symptoms. So I
didn't think much of it. Again because I'm here in Arizona.
There's a lot of dust. I get running eyes and
(03:24):
sniffle y. No, so I didn't think much of it.
You know, I was taking over the counter allergy meds,
and then my throat started to get a little sore,
and you know, the drainage started going down my throat,
and my mom kept saying, you know, you don't it
sounds so great. You know, it's been a while since
you've had these allergy symptoms. You know, I think you
should go and get it checked. And I said, I
(03:45):
think it's just something minor, So I didn't think much
of it. But eventually those symptoms turned into one of
my eyes bulging, and so that's how I knew something
was definitely wrong. And I first I was looking it
up myself. I'm like, maybe it's my thyroid, maybe it's this.
Is that because you know, a lot of diseases or
(04:06):
other things have crossover symptoms, so you could read something
and then you think, oh, well is this or is
that you know, trying to diagnose yourself. But when you
even said the eye bulging. That is a thyroid and
some people do have that from thyroid disease. So I
just thought, Okay, my doctor would probably put me on
some thyroid medication, no big deal. But once I actually
(04:30):
went to my optometrist, I asked him to send me
to an ophthalmologist, a specialist, and that's when they did
the m r I and noticed the tumor in my
name's cavity. It was in the back of my eye orbit,
so it was pretty large and it was aggressive. So
I'm talking about in a matter of several months, the
(04:51):
doctors predicted that it would have grew into that size
and then that detrimental Wow. You know. I had actress
y Linda Ross on my podcast and we were just
talking about how people go into their doctor's appointment. But
I like how you said you went to see your optometrist.
(05:12):
Then you said, hey, I want to go see an optimologist.
Yalanda and I were talking about how some women period,
we just don't even go in and make those types
of request because the environment does not make you feel
that you can even ask those types of questions. What
made you just even say, hey, I want to go
see an opthalmologist. Well, I kept saying, if something is
(05:35):
wrong with my eye, I need to go to more
than just a general practitioner, which is you know, your
basic optometrists. I said, I need someone to actually do
a skin and look inside of my eye and see
what's going on. And so that's when the m R.
I discovered the tumor. And thank god for the Mayo
(05:56):
Clinic here in Phoenix. They saved my life because my
first operation was twenty two hours long and they put
a metal flat right before my brain because the cancer
almost reached my brain. And they told me if it
would have reached my brain, it would have been nothing
that they would have been able to do. So it
just threw me back. It was totally unexpected, and it's
(06:18):
all happened in a matter of a few months, from
me having allergy like symptoms to me finding out I
had cancer and then having major surgery and additional surgeries.
Oh yeah, like you said me, what started out being
allergy like symptoms, watery eyes, running nose, and you even
mentioned drainage, which we know to be what is it
(06:38):
called post nasal DRAINA. I feel like I'm gonna just
take some use the next and get it going. And
then you found out that you had a particular cancer diagnosis.
But even at that time, you were a single mother, Yes,
in your thirties when you were a diagnosed, and you
(06:58):
had some incredible difficulty with the removal of the tumor.
I believe, yeah, I did. I didn't think that the
surgeon would be so intrusive and so invasive, but it was,
and it took me a while to recover. I had
to go to rehab. I was in rehab for quite
some time. I had to gain my strength back. When
(07:19):
you have cancer in the head or neck, you have
to do a lot of therapy, and so that was
the challenge and the struggle for me. I had my daughter.
You know, I'm single. I'm trying to navigate that. I'm
trying to navigate, you know, working in my creative space.
I'm trying to do all these different things. But thank
God my faith and character was strong, because without that,
(07:44):
I wouldn't have been able to make it through. I
wouldn't have been able to have the will and the
strength to go through that entire process. And it's extremely
important for young people. You know, I had square myself
carcinoma which is a form of skin cancer, but was
particularly different with this type of square and cell that
(08:06):
I had. It was in the nasal cavity, and nasal
cavity cancer is extremely rare. Maybe only two thousand people
in the United States get that a year out of
all the people that get cancer. So it was very rare,
very aggressive. And so what I want younger people, especially
in our community to know is that it doesn't matter
(08:27):
your age, it doesn't matter how you look or what
you think your status is. If you don't feel right,
if something feels wrong, go and see the doctor. Go
and see the doctor. And please don't be afraid to
ask questions, because, like I said, I was telling you
about talking with you, wanna row Sometimes when you go
to the doctor, they're just rushing you in and out,
(08:48):
and it's not necessarily their fault, but it's like, even
though you feel like they're rushing you, but like, uh,
you're gonna take these sixty extra seconds and I need
to ask you and talk to you. So that that's
why I was very courageous of you to even first
of all, even to have the knowledge to be like, listen,
this is gonna be beyond the general practitioner and for
(09:09):
you to say, hey, I'm gonna also need to see ophthalmologist.
You also figured out about the disparities in the health
care system. Was it just as it related to you
as a woman, or was it compounded with being a
black woman or someone with health insurance coverage no health
(09:29):
insurance coverage getting the help that they needed. That was
one of your discoveries. Of course, there are a lot
of disparities, especially when it comes to cancer treatment. So
I remember before I went to the Male Clinic Care
in Phoenix, and they're superb, you know, they specialized in
and diseases and cancer treatment. But I went to a
(09:50):
different doctor before I landed at the Mail doctor. That
doctor wanted to just cut on my face. He didn't
care about how I would look after the surgery. He
treated me like a number. I. I didn't feel comfortable
with him operating on me, and so that was one thing.
And then I had proton radiation. So I had chemo
(10:12):
and radiation after surgery. So proton therapy is a little
more specific. It targets right on the tumor instead of
all the areas around. And because my tumor was close
to my brain, They did not want me to have
damage to my brain and that type of area. That's
a very sensitive area. I was denied at first for proton. Yes,
(10:34):
I was denied through my insurance, and so my doctors
had to get together and you know, they had to
fill an appeal and they said, no, she's young, she's
a mom. We want to keep her alive and do
everything possible. You know. So people fight through that, they
fight through denials, through insurance, they fight through denial, you know,
(10:55):
being a minority, and you know, people not caring, and
so it's very very important to get with the doctor
or team of doctors that really care. They don't rush you,
they take the time, they give you the pros and
the cons and all of that. Faith is your foundation.
(11:17):
What was there any point where you were like why me? Oh?
Of course, of course. I think when you first get
diagnosed with cancer, that's one of your first questions, why me?
Why did this happen? God? Why did this happen? Why
am I in this situation? Why me? Why? Now? I
had those questions and then I did the work honestly,
(11:39):
because I knew that this was a big burden for
me to carry. So I made sure I went through therapy,
talk therapy, I had some feelings about cancer, and then
of course the second biggest thing, and for most people,
is right along with why me, Am I going to die?
You know? What's gonna happen to my child? And all
(12:00):
of these different questions you have about life. And so
I tried to be very proactive and get all the
support around me that I needed, my family, therapy, everything
that I could to keep me going and keep me uplifted.
And of course I kept that spiritual aspect to just
you know, praying and and really holding on to God
(12:22):
at that time. And this happened in I was diagnosed.
So I'm two years and remission. Thank god, I've come
a long way. Yes, yes, y'all. She's got a book
called Living in Remission, a Survivor's Story. You share that
cancer remission is so complex and takes years of recovery.
(12:47):
So you are in year two since you're diagnosis. I'm
glad that you're checking in with us because the podcast
the foundation is mental health. With the cancer diagnosis is
I can't imagine anxiety, maybe some depression, and maybe it
being a result of the chemo, the radiation. It all
(13:09):
just takes such a big toll on your body, and
I'm just glad that you say that you have the family, help,
the support. Did you find yourself having to be the
support for other people fighting cancer if they didn't have
the same support that you did? I did, you know?
When it comes to my books, and I want to
(13:30):
show and I was going to get to through the scars,
the scars and then living and remission a survivor story.
So I think for me, when I wrote my first book,
I wrote it during radiation and chemo. It was important
for me to relate to other people going through cancer
(13:51):
because I couldn't find no one in my age group
that had went through this. So I needed an outlet.
I needed to share my story and I needed to
link with other people who have went through similar things,
you know, with cancer, and so that was very therapeutic
for me. And I wanted people to understand what goes
through the mind of a person when that first diagnose
(14:13):
with cancer. Now with living in remission, I needed people
to understand you don't just bounce back from cancer physically, mentally, emotionally.
Every day your work and your work in progress. You
have to accept your body. Some people lose limbs, some
people lose organs. So you have to accept the physical
(14:34):
changes of your body. You have to accept the emotional
changes that come with it. All of those things, and
you're right, the anxiety, the depression, it all comes and
it's like how do you manage that? How do you
handle that? So you have to have some solutions and
some things in place in order to combat those negative
(14:54):
feelings and emotions to keep going. What is your advice
for loved ones or caregivers having to care for someone
with cancer. I would say, just be patient and be
understanding the person going through the situation. They just need
love and support and say to them I'm here for
(15:16):
you whatever you need. You know, you don't have to
have give a long, drawing out speech. But I think
it comes to the action. It comes down to the action.
People who are going through this type of situation and trauma,
they want to know that you'll be there, that you
won't judge them, that they won't hear negative words or
things that may discourage them. Because sometimes you know, out
(15:37):
of ignorance, some people you know don't know what to say.
You know, so if you don't know what to say,
just say I'm here for you. Whatever you need, I'm
here for you, you know. But I think it's important
to just be supportive and show that through your actions.
What was maybe one of the most side eye or
as they say, cringe worthy things someone has possibly said
(16:00):
to you during this time. Oh, someone was like, a girl,
you didn't lose no weight when you had cancer, because
people think when you have cancer you have chemo, that
you'll lose weight. I didn't lose weight. I gained a
little bit, and then I stayed at that weight, and
I thought that was extremely rude, you know. And then
(16:20):
of course after my surgery with my eye, and people
were like, what happened to your eye and what happened
with this? And what happened with that? And it was
so intrusive. It wasn't compassionate sometimes the things what people
would say. So I was very particular about just talking
to my immediate circle and family and close friends when
(16:40):
I was going through and then they knew everything. But
as I started to get better and you know, make progress,
then I was able to open up more. But I
shared so much in my book. I mean, I really
put it out there. I can't be any more honest
than what I was in my book, So you know,
I want able to check it out even if you're not,
(17:02):
if you've never been diagnosed with cancer, if you know someone,
or if you just want to know what it's like,
how to recognize symptoms. It's a good tool to have.
And then the support of your child. How old was
your child? She was seven, and it was it was
oh my gosh. She didn't understand. She kept asking my mom,
(17:23):
as my mom gonna be okay. You know, she was worried.
She was there, she waited some time there at the
hospital when I had my first surgery, my twenty two
our surgery. You know, she was scared of the way
I looked and and how things were with the effects
of my initial surgery because I look different. You know,
I wasn't the person that she was used to. So
(17:47):
she had to get over that and deal with that
and also be concerned and scared, just worried about me
and if I was gonna make it, if I was
going to survive. So that was a lot on her shoulders,
being a seven year old, just seeing me go through
these different stages. Yeah. Yeah, especially when you're so young,
(18:07):
you want to do everything you can to help you know,
be helpful and she's probably not knowing you were probably
weak at the moment. My mother had breast cancer, so
we know the thing with radiation, the weakness, the irritation. Yeah,
the naga. Your body is just people even explain your
(18:29):
body just feels like it's heat. There's so much, you know,
going on and passion. You are here showing us how
strong you are. Did you have guilt because of being
in remission and surviving what someone else probably didn't. Yeah,
(18:52):
it's it's survivor's guilt. A lot of people experienced that
after they go into remission because pol that you've seen
along your journey, that you've talked to, and people that
I've connected with, Some of those people didn't make it
in my support groups, you know, some of those people
online who are connected with they lost their battle to cancer.
(19:14):
And I found myself asking God, will I made it?
And they didn't make it? And then I felt bad
and I'm like, I just felt the weight, you know,
of their family and how they probably were in pain
and warning. So I think when you are connected to
other people through experience like this, you feel you have
that empathy and sympathy you know, for their family especially
(19:38):
if you know they didn't make it out of the experience.
So yeah, there there is a guilt that comes there,
and that's something that you also have to work through
as well and figure out, well, how can I be
a help now to those who have survived who are
still here? You know, how can I share my story?
M hm? And you are sharing your story, y'all. In
(20:01):
she released Through the Scars Rising from Cancer That was
but Living and Remission of Survivor's Story is the follow
up to the book that she released in t and
we are thankful for you, were thankful for your strength,
encouraging bravery to tell your your story. Some people is
(20:22):
their call, which I believe it's yours. Like I want
my mom to talk about her story, but even years later,
she's not ready to scream it from the mountaintop, even
though I just kind of screamed it for her. But
every now that she knows that I share pieces of
her story. You are in Phoenix, which I love Phoenix
absolutely and I know it's hot, it's beautiful. But out there,
(20:48):
have you been able to travel or is it just
best that you just not travel at the moment to
share your story? What does it look like, what would
you like to do. Of course, when I was diagnosed,
pandemic was going on, so that was a whole challenge
within itself. And then I just wanted to stay safe.
For a period of time, I traveled for very important things,
(21:11):
and I make sure you know I'm available for those
type of things. I just try to be safe. I
try to be cautious. I try to keep my immune
system up and healthy as possible. But I had a
period where I didn't travel. So now I'm thanking God
and I'm thankful that I'm able to move around a
little bit more. So that's so good. Thank That's so good.
(21:34):
In black families, we don't talk about ailment. Did this
run in your family at all? Did you kind of
have to dig and see I did. This type of
cancer didn't run in my family, even though I've had
My grandmother had breast cancer and so did my aunt's
app breast cancer UM and they both survived. But I didn't.
(21:57):
I didn't have anyone in my family UM that has
one and self carcinoma and have a nasal cancer. I
couldn't find anyone until I started to be a part
of some of these support groups. You know, and then
reach out to some other people online. So that was
very important because I was dealing with totally different symptoms
(22:18):
than say my grandmother or aunt wood when it came
to the type of cancer okay, because I was wondering,
did this make you and your family have conversations about
what's in our bloodline? You know, you ever go to
the doctor, you gotta fill out all this paperwork, and
does this run in the family? Does this run in
(22:39):
the family? But we sweep so much under the rug,
and maybe we feel like if you talk about it,
you give power to it, or you acknowledge something that
you don't want to be there. But I'm just wondering
for our health, we should be talking about things. Oh yes,
I talked about it. Matter of fact. The Mayo Clinic,
(23:01):
they're so great. They allowed my family to be tested
while I was getting treatment for any other type of
cancer free of charge. So I was grateful for that,
and I told all my family, you know, all you
have to do is give them my name and you're
able to get tested. So of course I brung it up,
(23:21):
you know, I let my family know, Hey, this is
this can't be a taboo subject, you know, I know
people have experienced cancer in our family, but we have
to talk about it and we have to really put
it to the forefront and do everything that we can
to prevent it and then if it comes, know what
to do and how to handle it if it does come. Okay, wow, Passion,
(23:43):
Thank you so much for checking in. Welcome your Rooms
week this week. Where can we find you? Your website? Facebook?
I g my books Through the Scars, Rising from Cancer
and Living and Remntion of Survivor Story It. They're available
on Amazon. You can just type the title in, or
(24:04):
you can type my name Pasha p A s h
A and then my last name Cheney c h A
any y mr So. On Instagram, you can follow me
at Pasha p A s h the number four and
then B E D R O C pastor for bed rock.
Same thing for Facebook, Twitter and everything. Now so h
(24:25):
yes question, Yes, new music. Yes, I just dropped a
single not too long ago called Loyalty. It's a really
urban type street record. But I do all types of
hip hop interpretation music, so I'm just excited to be
back to doing what I love. And I want to
say to people, if you have a talent, use it,
(24:49):
use whatever God gave you to reach people regardless of
what your story is. You know, I didn't plan on
becoming an author. I didn't plan on becoming a two
time author, but it had has been a blessing and
not being able to touch people all over the world
and talk about my book. And I'm so thankful for
you allowing me to be on your podcast and check
(25:11):
in with you, and thank you to the producers and
the staff. This has really been a blessing. Passion you
come back any time, any time, even if it's just
to do a check in, like, hey, y'all, this is
what's going on, this is an update, whatever, You're welcome,
you are cemented in the checking in family passion. Okay,
(25:33):
thank you so much. Thank you to all your listeners.
Thank you. Wow wow wow wow. You just never know
what people deal with and what they go through. Not
only that, how we can possibly take certain things for granted. Now,
(25:54):
I don't want y'all feeling like you gotta google every symptom.
If you gotta hangnail, that doesn't mean it's cancer, but
it almost makes you want to make sure that if
there's something that's been lingering on a little too long,
maybe more than what is probably typical for certain symptoms.
Nothing is wrong with getting it checked out. And y'all listen,
(26:16):
we get to go into these hospitals and clinics and
ask questions as it relates to your body, especially if
our body is a temple, right and if there's something
going on in my temple and I am required to
care for my temple, then we gotta make sure that
we can ask questions for the maintenance of our temple
(26:39):
because it could save your life. Again, I'm very thankful
for Passia for checking in with us today. She's just
so sweet. Her spirit is just so so sweet, and
I'm just gonna keep her in my prayers as I
keep all of y'all in my prayers. It's something about
my checking in podcast family. Y'all are absolutely amazing, and
(27:02):
I gotta give a shout out to everybody in the
Black Effect Podcast network, to every podcaster, and to everybody listening.
We cannot do this without you, and so I'm thankful
for every time you download or tell a friend y'all
are so funny. Um, I get some d m s
and y'all are like, Hey, I sent this episode to
a friend of mine and y'all be dropping hints to
(27:24):
people by sending a certain episode. So I'm very, very
very thankful for y'all. I can't stress it enough. You
will always know that I'm thankful for you. Not only that,
I know that you are loved. I love you so much,
And really, I mean, I don't know what you're gonna
do about me loving you. You can't do anything about it.
So thank y'all for loving me and supporting me throughout
the years. All Right, we'll take care of See you
(27:46):
again next week. H Checking In with Michelle Williams is
(28:18):
a production of I Heart Radio and The Black Effect.
For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the I
heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to
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