March 31, 2025 • 29 mins
It's CRC Awareness month and Jessamyn speaks to brave, phenomenal survivors in Brittany and Jodi
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is Jessaman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice, your
community Voice, presented by iHeart Radio Seattle, and today in March,
I have the pleasure of being joined by Brittany Parks.
And this is Coloractal Cancer Awareness Month, and it's something
that is under exposed and can affect and is affecting
(00:20):
many people. So Brittany, first of all, I want to
say thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, thank you for having me. I'm so glad to
be here.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Well, this is a month that I've dedicated to survivors
and those also who are treating this disease. I had
a guest dronetonologist on the first week of the month
who was very informative. But I want to talk to
the people that this cancer CRC, as it is acronymed,
(00:48):
actually effects and I'd like to just start from the beginning.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
If you could share your own story.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Yeah, yeah, I think I was. Let's see twenty twenty three,
so I was thirty five years old and I was
having some I had a lot of changes in.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
My GI symptoms. So it started with a lot of abdominal.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Pain and some changes in my poop, which no one
likes to talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
But that was a big red flag for me.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
But I had also just given birth to my second child,
so I just had a C section.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So in my mind, I just thought, you.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Know, my body's recuperating, things are changing, and then it'll
go back to normal and everything's fine. And then I
went and saw that had been going on for probably
six months and things weren't really improving. So I went
and saw a doctor and I told them what I
(01:52):
was going through, and they very quickly said, well, it's
probably an allergy or so thing. It's not going to
be like a lot of this can be aligned to cancer,
but you're way too young, so it won't be that.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And I was like, okay, that's good to know.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So then they were suggested all my blood works looked fine,
nothing came back as an allergy, and they recommended I
get a colonoscopy, and so I went and got that scheduled,
and very similarly, I went to go meet with the
doctor performing the colonoscopy. I went through all of my
(02:29):
symptoms with with them, and he also very quickly said,
you know, we'll figure out what this is, but there's
no way is cancer. You're you're too young for colon cancer.
I said, okay, well, you know, thank you for that reassurance.
And then unfortunately, when I went to go get my colonoscopy,
(02:51):
I came out from having the colonoscopy performed and he
told me they weren't even able to do the colonoxopy
because it was blocked.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I had a tumor in colon.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yeah wow, and.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
You could tell.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Even for him, he was so I think this was
one of the harder parts.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
But he was so shocked to have found that.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
That's when he delivered the news to me.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
It was very hard for him.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
So I think we were all very.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Surprised to have had that happen.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
And then yeah, from there it just uh, I was
recommended to a specialist at Swedish who if I'm allowed to.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Get shout out doctor Boston Ross at Swedish.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
He was shout out all of them, shout out all
of them.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Yes, she's an angel. I'll never forget calling him or well,
calling his scheduler telling her what happened. And as soon
as they saw my age they got they were like,
you know, he doesn't.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Have openings, but that's point it was. It was November
and they were like, he doesn't have any openings until
March or April, but we are getting you in.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
He will see you this week.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I was like, okay, thank you so much. So I
was able to get in with him and he I.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
He recommended doing a surgery, so removing a small section
of my colon to get the tumor out, and while
they were in there, they would also remove some of
the limp nodes to see what the.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Progression of the cancer was because at that.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Point we still didn't really really know much about it.
And so I did my surgery in November and it
went well. Unfortunately, it took they had there was some
sort of data issue that Swedish.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Was going through at this time, so it took him.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
A month to give me my results, which was not
It was over you know, Thanksgiving and Christmas and we
just really wanted the news so we could.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Figure out what was coming next.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
And he had been also so hopeful we all were
that it would just be you know, localized, it wouldn't
had wouldn't have spread, and that it would just be
surgery and that's that.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
But on December, on New Year's he called me. He
was on vacation again because he's an angel who just
wanted me to get to news as quickly as possible.
They found out that it had spread.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
There were traces of the cancer in my limp notes
surrounding my colon, so unfortunately that meant they were recommending
chemo therapy. So so then I stayed with Swedish and
I had doctor Wall and again just can't speak more
highly of the care that I received and.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
The promptness and the urgency and.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Just how how important and I could tell this was
to them to to to get this under control. And
she called me a right away and said.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I saw this case.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
You know, they submit all the cases all the doctors
to see who has bandwidth to.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Take on new patients.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
And she was like, I saw your name and your
age come across. I thought it's been a month since
you had your surgery, and I could not believe that
this is where we are. And she's like, I'm personally
taking you on. Come in today at four o'clock and
I was like, okay, So my mom and my husband
and I went in and she just broke it all
(06:32):
down for me and said I would be doing two
forms of chemotherapy, so an ivy and a pill, and
I would be doing eight sessions over six months, so
every three weeks, and that she wanted to be more
aggressive with the treatment because she never wanted to see
(06:56):
me again. And we could agree on that. I've never
wanted to see her again.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
There isn't that the nicest thing to say too? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I was like, that's the dream right there.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
I hope we never see each other again when we
get through all of this. Yes, yeah, So for the
next twenty four weeks, I went into Swedish and as
aqua every three weeks to get my ivy drip and
take my take my pills and had some not so
(07:28):
great side effects, as you can imagine with with chemo,
but not what I had expected.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
You know, you hear a lot about.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Like nausea and vomiting and hair loss, and I didn't
have any of that. But I had very bizarre like
neuropathy and cold sensitivity, so I'd have to wear gloves
when I would try.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
To get water out.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Of my fridge and I couldn't drink cold water, so
I had to drink warm water.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
But through all that, it just.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
You know it, it was easy to complain because those
aren't comfortable things. But then I also knew that I
was still so fortunate to be getting the care that
I was getting.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
And to be in the situation I was in.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It could have.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Been so much worse had I, you know, continued to
ignore my symptoms or listen to the doctors who said,
there's no way it's cancer.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So it was I had to try to. It was.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
It was easy to kind of stay positive through all
of it, just thinking if I would have waited six
months more, you.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Know, who knows what stage I would have gotten to.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Or that's a scary thought.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
How much?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yeah, I don't mean to interrupt you, but that is
a scary thought. What if? Right? And you were on
a lucky end of.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
That, exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
And it's hard to say the word lucky when you're
going through all of that, but I was, because I
mean you you were hearing about it more and more
about people my age or younger who who some times
they don't even have symptoms that are all that obvious,
and then other times they have symptoms. But it's so
easy to tell yourself that you're too young for this,
(09:08):
or or it's an old person, you know, older person cancer,
and it's it's not anymore. It's it's just affecting so
many of us who are younger and and it's scary.
But that's why I wanted to get involved with the
Colon Cancer Care Alliance and start.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
In our last year my whole family did. We did
the Walk to.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
End Colon Cancer and raise some money and I was
the top individual fundraiser, which made me feel so great
to be able to give back to such a great cause.
And now I'm helping plan the walk for October this year,
and and just really trying to be super open and
vocal and talk about all the you know, the poop
(09:51):
stuff that no one wants to hear about. It is uncomfortable, right,
it is, it is. I mean when I was going
through it, it was even hard to tell, you know,
my husband, who would never judge.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Me, but it's not something you want to talk about.
But I remember when I told him, I.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Was like, there's you know, there's blood in my poop
and he was like, you need to go this is it?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Like that's the line You're going to the doctor. And
I was like, okay, but.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
It's just it's not a normal topic of conversation. But
it is so important to be comfortable having those conversations.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Brittany Park's joining me Jessamin mcinteer.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Jessaman McIntyre here with Seattle Voice presented by iHeartRadio Seattle
and Brittany, your time and your story are so important.
And we talked off the air a little bit and
I was saying, how this, even though I'm not of age,
I'm actually paying more attention after talking to all of
you survivors, paying attention to the symptoms and the potential.
(10:50):
And you don't have to be of age to get
that test, you know, to get a colonoscopy.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And it seems like some burden, right that.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Okay, you reached this age, or you reach this thing
and you have to get this thing done, going to
the dentist, you know, all these different things that people
have to go through in their regular life.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
You have to pay attention to your body.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
And the other survivors I spoke with last week were
specifically sharing that with Oh, you excuse it away, like
you said you had just had a C section, right, Oh, okay,
that can be explained away, because it's because of that.
It's very important for people to pay attention to their
own bodies. So thank you for sharing all of that.
(11:39):
And you mentioned that walk. Can you share a little
bit more about that. You said you were a top fundraiser.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, So there is the walk and cloth cancer. It
happens at gas Works Park in Seattle this year.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
It is I should notice off the top of my head,
I think October for yes, October four is at Gasworks
Park and it's just a great opportunity for the community
to come together, survivors, doctors, family.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Ally, whoever it is.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
It was such a beautiful My first one was last year,
and it was so beautiful. I had not been surrounded
by other people who had gone through or been going
through what I'd what I'd gone through, and it was
just so incredible to be able to share those stories
and to hear and to just be connected by this
horrible things that is bringing us together but still beautiful
(12:37):
to make these connections nonetheless and to just be reminded.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
That you're not alone going through it.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
And yes, I'm really looking forward to the one this year,
and I encourage anyone who is interested, even it just
wants to be an ally, to come to come walk
with us and hear the stories.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And yeah, it's a great. It's a great that it.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Sounds like one I have had a lot of involvement
with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, and you know, we do
you know, walks and stair climbs and everything too. So
I have had a lot of experiences with those just
community gatherings, and it is absolutely lovely.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
So I encourage anyone who you.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Don't have to be connected to the disease to just
go out and support people.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
And you're so young to have had to go through this.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
You have just given birth, and you had all of
these very monumental life events going on and then this
one just shoves itself in your face. So I just
think support is support, regardless of how you're affected by it.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
So I just thank you, Thank you, is what I'm
trying to say.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Yeah, no, of course, and I'm always happy to talk
about it. I think it's important to talk about it,
and I just appreciate you giving us the platform to
do that.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
So thank you, Brittany Parks, thank you so much. We'll
be joined by Jodie Brothers.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Next.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
This is j Justamin McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice,
your community Voice, presented by iHeart Radio Seattle. And now
Jasmin McIntyre again with Seattle Voice presented by iHeartRadio Seattle.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
This is your community voice. I brought in a closer.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Yay Jody Brother's here with me, Yay girl studio right now.
I can't thank you enough for connecting me with all
of the people that I have talked to, for sharing
their stories. It is cole Rectal Cancer Awareness Month, and
this is why I dedicated every show this month.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yeah to this car.
Speaker 5 (14:42):
I appreciate that so much. It's so important to talk
about this and all the people that you met. Their
stories are harrowing, right, like you can't believe it. But
they're beautiful people and have a really super important story.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
To share, and it can happen to anyone, is what
I've learned. That's that's where I come.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
I mean, I might be closing your month here, but
I have a bit of like survivor's guilt when you
put me in with these people, because my story is
different than theirs, and I'll tell you mine. When I
was forty seven, I was like, oh, I'm two years
late to get a colonoscopy because I do all the tests.
(15:20):
You know, I get a mammogram every year whenever they start,
whenever they tell you to do the testing. I do
the testing. I'm pro testing, so we'll start there. But
I just was late. It was COVID times and going
to the doctor for any reason was a bit of
a hassle and I just didn't feel like doing it.
So I was two years late for my colonoscopy. Then
I finally scheduled one because I thought, and this is
the truth, I thought, having to do the prep for
(15:43):
a colonoscopy will be funny to talk about on the air, right.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I mean better and I are always just for that.
Speaker 5 (15:49):
Yeah, and you talk, you know, it's it's the most
honest you can again, like everybody does, and it's like,
oh poop. But I thought I was like, well, at
least I'll have that to talk about on the air.
My family history is zero cancer. I had zero symptoms.
And I went in for my colonoscopin and I am divorced.
So I have my friend come and pick me up,
(16:11):
because you have to have a friend come and pick
you up. And the talk was what's next? Do you
want me to bring it? Because you know you have
to fast and then you everything comes out of your
body and so you're hungry. Well, so my best friend
was with me and you're coming out of the propofal
haze with a doctor who you've not met except for today,
and she's like, we found something that's a little distracting,
(16:35):
a very worrisome polyp. It looks like it probably has
some cancer. You're gonna have to talk to a colorectal
surgeon and you're gonna have to talk to an oncologist,
and we're going to give you those numbers and you're
just gonna go home now.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
And that's a sobering moment.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Not to say that her bedside matter was lacking, but like,
that was it. That's what happened. So my friend's sitting
in the room with me. I'm barely awake, and I'm like,
what did she just say?
Speaker 1 (17:09):
What?
Speaker 5 (17:10):
Like you said Probovols bro. The car ride home was silent.
I was just beginning to understand what's going on. I'm like,
I have to call an oncologist. I have colon cancer.
This isn't how this is supposed to end. You're just
supposed to do the thing. Yeah, I was supposed to
get a clean bill of health. Like every monogram it's
(17:31):
like you go in squish, You're good to go. Like
I call it squish too. I call it smash.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It's the wor.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
Nobody likes any of this. So the next three weeks
were really bad. It was like among the darkest in
my life because now you're going, Okay, how bad is this?
Where am I at? You're planning all of these scans
and testing or making all these phone calls.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
You don't know what's going on. You're getting all these.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
And in the meantime, you're you know, I have a son,
and I have parents who love me, and this is
scary for everyone. Right, It's like, so now am I
riddled with this stuff? Like you're walking around with colon
cancer and you don't know it with no symptoms, you
don't know it, and so I'm freaking out right, Yeah,
(18:22):
I'm absolutely rausing my mind. I haven't really told anyone
yet because I'm waiting to get the information, like how
bad is this?
Speaker 3 (18:28):
What am I dealing with? Here?
Speaker 5 (18:30):
Luckily for me, it was stage one, like this thing
had just popped out and and we caught it in
the moment that it like came into existence. You just
decided to go to the doctor. Just so happens.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
And so for that for this particular pole up in
this particular location in my colon. I did a surgery
which is called a colon resectioning because your colon is long, right,
like think about well, not miles, but think about pulling
out a tape measure, right, and it just comes out
and out and out and out. You don't need all that.
So if there's a portion where there's some nastiness, they
(19:06):
basically go in, cut that portion out and resection it together.
And this is a surgery that's really easy to recover from.
I was back at work in three weeks and I
was back up and moving fairly comfortably in two weeks.
I hopped on my peloton bike in two weeks. That
was a bad idea, but my surgery was great. And
(19:31):
I just had my year check up in November and
there's no signs of it. And so for me, hopefully
this is where my story ends, you know. And they
were like, we'll see in you're good to go, We'll
see in ten years. I'm like, no, you'll see me
in three yea Because now, I mean, this is what
nobody can really tell you. And you don't want to
(19:53):
know this part, because this is the part that sucks.
You're always afraid.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Now like, I.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Walk around with this pocket full of anxiety that there's
something growing inside me and I don't know about it
because I'm not you know, there's no blood coming out
of anywhere, and I don't have anything visible on my skin.
And I mean if I'm tired or if i have
a headache, I'm just like, oh my God, Like am
I okay?
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And it's scary.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
But the thing about colon cancer is you get the
colonoscopy and you could have a situation like I had,
which is like you've found it, you cut it out,
You're good to go in six weeks.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I mean, the testing's not great, and the fear is there,
you know.
Speaker 5 (20:34):
I mean even when they take the colon resection out,
then they take some area just to make sure that
it had like seeped in further.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
So I was home and I was like getting better
from the surgery, and I still was worrying because if
they call me and they were like, well, it's bread
into your lymph nodes. Now we've got a different path
to grow. Do you remember those childhood books that we
had to choose your own adventure books?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Oh my gosh, yeah, I remember.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
How you know, it's like if you want to go
down this hallway turned to page eight. Yes, if you
want to stay in the mall, keep reading. Everybody's colon
cancer journey is like that. Like it's different. You know,
it's different on you know who you are and what
your biology makeup is and what your lifestyle was like,
and how they proceed with the treatment is different. But
(21:22):
one thing is for sure that testing with a colonoscopy
is the best way to start figuring out whether you've
got something to worry about or not. I mean, imagine
if I would have just been lazy for another year.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yes exactly, you said stage one.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
You called it when it just got like a baby,
baby piece of garbage. I decided to wait like another
year just because I was like, oh, I'm too busy,
I don't have time today, I don't have the days
to take off, or I'm running around or I'm whatever.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I'm sure, I'm fine, I don't have any symptoms. If
I wait another year, I might have been in stage two.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
If I wait another year now, I'd be dealing with
an oncologist, I'd be dealing with radiation. I'd be dealing
with a different section of my colon. Or maybe it
would have gone into my liver or maybe it would
have gone, you know, elsewhere, into my blood, and now
we're talking about something that's much harder to deal with.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
So I think I started.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
This off just by saying that I had some survivors guilt,
and that's because some of the other people that you've
talked to have had horrible, horrible, different circumstances of me.
They're really hard to recover from and impossible choices to
make and a far different, you know, prognosis. But for me,
(22:40):
my message, and I say it from the rooftops whenever
I can, is get your colonoscopy. Yes, like they tell
you to start doing it when you're forty five. No,
so just get one. Most insurances cover it. It's not
a big deal to just do the prep and free diet.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Free diet. Yeah, you allude to pound best I had ever.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
And you don't have to drink the gallon jug because
that does taste like cold snot and it's very hard
to choke down.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I went to Ohio State and I could drink anything,
and that I'm a cougar, so I hear.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
You, it's hard to drink that stuff down. And guess
what you don't have to do that anymore. I mean,
you can do MiraLax and gatorade, you can do the pill,
you can do anything, you know, and it's just the
value in knowing, Like I'm just so grateful.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
I'm grateful every day.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
It's something that continues with me every day that my
story is what it is. And they said, I'll see
you in ten years, like I said, you'll see me
in three, because it's like, you don't you don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
You never know unless you get tested.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
I you know, I know we're talking CRC, but I
like to share my own experience and I just did
with brittany where. I went to my regular lady doctor
appointment because we call it that, and she asked when
my last mammogram was. You know, I had a lump
when I was like twenty yeah, And I was like,
(24:06):
I just don't like booby smash.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
I don't like it.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
It's it's harsh and it's it is not a fun situation.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Kind of the same as.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Those of us who are substantial women. That's a lot
to sandwich. Yeah, and that hurts, and that's hours out
of your day and it's depressing and it just is Yeah,
who wants to choose that comfortable.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
She we were talking about she had these angel doctors
who like really pushed her for stuff and had really good,
forceful messages.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Yeah, and mine said, you know what's way more uncomfortable cancer?
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, and I went yeah, and.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I had two irregularities. Oh you did. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Luckily they were able to wrap to it was non cancerous.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Ever, Yes, snatch to crab. I like that, but I
didn't want to do that.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
You've got the fear, now, you've got Yes, you've got
the pocket full of fear.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Now.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
You know what.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
The thing for me that may be less scared is
they're like, you can go to any of these places
within a day or two. Well, we'll get you closer
to where you live in two weeks. So they gave
me two weeks. It wasn't an emergency, right, It was
like just having that. I'm like, okay, okay, okay, and
(25:30):
nothing happened.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Yeah. So but when you have these.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Doctors who really care for you and actually talk to you,
I think that's a really important message.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Yeah. I mean all the messages are important.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
I think the most important that we've been trying to
say this whole month, and all the people that you've
spoken to. I'm sure at some point mentioned that people
are getting CRC now younger and from families who have
no symptoms. There's no history, there's no no reasoning base
that we could understand. Yet they're trying to understand and
(26:05):
learning more. But the best thing that you can do
is just listen to your body and advocate for yourself.
And if you're forty five years old, your insurance is
going to cover a kolonoscopy.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yes, that's it. Just do it, schedule it now.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
If you're like forty two, yeah, And if you have
any curiosities, if you know, if your stomach hurtz, if
you're exhausted, if the palette of your skin doesn't look right,
it doesn't feel right. If you've got, you know, sharp
pains in your belly all the time, if you see
blood in your stool that looks bright red, or if
your stool is black, like, if your stool is ribbony.
There are all sorts of things where you know, you're
(26:39):
just like, well is that from yesterday? Was I doing
some harsh living over the weekend?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Beats right? Like, just see your doctor.
Speaker 5 (26:48):
Because it's worth it to take a step in the
right direction and just make sure that you cut this
off at the pass because you do not want to
be on the other side.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
And you did it with no symptoms. Yeah, girl, because
it would be a hilarious bit on the show. Well,
talk about it. I get so nauseous. I was on
the toilet all day. It'll be something to talk about.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
The last thing you ever suspect is.
Speaker 5 (27:11):
That someone's gonna be like, you need to call an oncologist,
you need to call a surgeon. We think you have cancer.
I was like, the hell you say, you're not talking
to me?
Speaker 3 (27:19):
No, no, no, no, you got the records wrong there.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Well, it's like the morning show host who did a
mammogram live on Today I think it was the Today Show.
She did a mammogram to say hey, I'll do it.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
She found out she had breast cancer. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
From that, yes, it's the same thing. It's all trying
to get that message out there. Do the testing, do
the testing, Please get your colonoscopy. Please listen to your body.
If something looks weird and feels weird, it's probably weird.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Yeah, just like you said, listen to your body. Yeah,
well you are one of my favorites.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
And thank you so much for this whole month of
amazing programming. Really really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
And also podcasting because it will be posted everywhere. Love that, yes,
and I will send it to you as well. And
congrats on your healthy boobs. Uh, thank you, Like I
want to keep.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
These if I gotta hang on to them.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Oh, you've been listening to Seattle Boys, presented by iHeartRadio
Seattle and Jessamin McIntyre. Everyone out there, please mark your
calendars October fourth.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
It's a Saturday. You can do this.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It's the twenty twenty five Walk to End Colon Cancer
again Saturday, October fourth. If you can't make it, you
can still donate Colorectal Cancer dot org slash Seattle Walk.
I've learned a lot this month, and I mostly learned
that March is not the only time that this could
happen to anyone, and that you don't actually need symptoms.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
To tell you to get checked.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
So me personally, I'm going to pay more attention to
my body and I also will when I get to
forty five one hundred percent and have it on my
schedule to get checked. And this is a reminder to
not be uncomfortable talking to people about what might not
be right before going to a doctor. A lot of
people do want to talk to a trusted person. It
(29:14):
could be a friend, a family member, and also this
is something I'm really bad at checking in on your
family history because that could also be something that we
don't talk about all the time. Depending on your family.
It's a personal matter, but it's important to have the
conversations you don't want to have. I know it sucks,
(29:35):
but if you've listened to everything that the people have shared,
it is very uncomfortable and personal situations that they have
been through.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
So if they can do it, you can too.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Take care of yourself, pay attention to your body, and
don't be afraid to have a conversation.
This is Jessaman McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice, your
community Voice, presented by iHeart Radio Seattle, and today in March,
I have the pleasure of being joined by Brittany Parks.
And this is Coloractal Cancer Awareness Month, and it's something
that is under exposed and can affect and is affecting
(00:20):
many people. So Brittany, first of all, I want to
say thank you for your time.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Yeah, thank you for having me. I'm so glad to
be here.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Well, this is a month that I've dedicated to survivors
and those also who are treating this disease. I had
a guest dronetonologist on the first week of the month
who was very informative. But I want to talk to
the people that this cancer CRC, as it is acronymed,
(00:48):
actually effects and I'd like to just start from the beginning.
Speaker 3 (00:51):
If you could share your own story.
Speaker 4 (00:54):
Yeah, yeah, I think I was. Let's see twenty twenty three,
so I was thirty five years old and I was
having some I had a lot of changes in.
Speaker 2 (01:09):
My GI symptoms. So it started with a lot of abdominal.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Pain and some changes in my poop, which no one
likes to talk about.
Speaker 2 (01:21):
But that was a big red flag for me.
Speaker 4 (01:24):
But I had also just given birth to my second child,
so I just had a C section.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
So in my mind, I just thought, you.
Speaker 4 (01:31):
Know, my body's recuperating, things are changing, and then it'll
go back to normal and everything's fine. And then I
went and saw that had been going on for probably
six months and things weren't really improving. So I went
and saw a doctor and I told them what I
(01:52):
was going through, and they very quickly said, well, it's
probably an allergy or so thing. It's not going to
be like a lot of this can be aligned to cancer,
but you're way too young, so it won't be that.
Speaker 2 (02:05):
And I was like, okay, that's good to know.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
So then they were suggested all my blood works looked fine,
nothing came back as an allergy, and they recommended I
get a colonoscopy, and so I went and got that scheduled,
and very similarly, I went to go meet with the
doctor performing the colonoscopy. I went through all of my
(02:29):
symptoms with with them, and he also very quickly said,
you know, we'll figure out what this is, but there's
no way is cancer. You're you're too young for colon cancer.
I said, okay, well, you know, thank you for that reassurance.
And then unfortunately, when I went to go get my colonoscopy,
(02:51):
I came out from having the colonoscopy performed and he
told me they weren't even able to do the colonoxopy
because it was blocked.
Speaker 2 (03:02):
I had a tumor in colon.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
Yeah wow, and.
Speaker 2 (03:09):
You could tell.
Speaker 4 (03:10):
Even for him, he was so I think this was
one of the harder parts.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
But he was so shocked to have found that.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
That's when he delivered the news to me.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
It was very hard for him.
Speaker 4 (03:21):
So I think we were all very.
Speaker 2 (03:24):
Surprised to have had that happen.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
And then yeah, from there it just uh, I was
recommended to a specialist at Swedish who if I'm allowed to.
Speaker 2 (03:39):
Get shout out doctor Boston Ross at Swedish.
Speaker 3 (03:42):
He was shout out all of them, shout out all
of them.
Speaker 4 (03:45):
Yes, she's an angel. I'll never forget calling him or well,
calling his scheduler telling her what happened. And as soon
as they saw my age they got they were like,
you know, he doesn't.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Have openings, but that's point it was. It was November
and they were like, he doesn't have any openings until
March or April, but we are getting you in.
Speaker 3 (04:08):
He will see you this week.
Speaker 2 (04:09):
I was like, okay, thank you so much. So I
was able to get in with him and he I.
Speaker 4 (04:17):
He recommended doing a surgery, so removing a small section
of my colon to get the tumor out, and while
they were in there, they would also remove some of
the limp nodes to see what the.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Progression of the cancer was because at that.
Speaker 4 (04:35):
Point we still didn't really really know much about it.
And so I did my surgery in November and it
went well. Unfortunately, it took they had there was some
sort of data issue that Swedish.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
Was going through at this time, so it took him.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
A month to give me my results, which was not
It was over you know, Thanksgiving and Christmas and we
just really wanted the news so we could.
Speaker 2 (05:04):
Figure out what was coming next.
Speaker 4 (05:07):
And he had been also so hopeful we all were
that it would just be you know, localized, it wouldn't
had wouldn't have spread, and that it would just be
surgery and that's that.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
But on December, on New Year's he called me. He
was on vacation again because he's an angel who just
wanted me to get to news as quickly as possible.
They found out that it had spread.
Speaker 4 (05:30):
There were traces of the cancer in my limp notes
surrounding my colon, so unfortunately that meant they were recommending
chemo therapy. So so then I stayed with Swedish and
I had doctor Wall and again just can't speak more
highly of the care that I received and.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
The promptness and the urgency and.
Speaker 4 (05:55):
Just how how important and I could tell this was
to them to to to get this under control. And
she called me a right away and said.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I saw this case.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
You know, they submit all the cases all the doctors
to see who has bandwidth to.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
Take on new patients.
Speaker 4 (06:11):
And she was like, I saw your name and your
age come across. I thought it's been a month since
you had your surgery, and I could not believe that
this is where we are. And she's like, I'm personally
taking you on. Come in today at four o'clock and
I was like, okay, So my mom and my husband
and I went in and she just broke it all
(06:32):
down for me and said I would be doing two
forms of chemotherapy, so an ivy and a pill, and
I would be doing eight sessions over six months, so
every three weeks, and that she wanted to be more
aggressive with the treatment because she never wanted to see
(06:56):
me again. And we could agree on that. I've never
wanted to see her again.
Speaker 3 (07:00):
There isn't that the nicest thing to say too? Yeah?
Speaker 2 (07:04):
I was like, that's the dream right there.
Speaker 4 (07:06):
I hope we never see each other again when we
get through all of this. Yes, yeah, So for the
next twenty four weeks, I went into Swedish and as
aqua every three weeks to get my ivy drip and
take my take my pills and had some not so
(07:28):
great side effects, as you can imagine with with chemo,
but not what I had expected.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
You know, you hear a lot about.
Speaker 4 (07:38):
Like nausea and vomiting and hair loss, and I didn't
have any of that. But I had very bizarre like
neuropathy and cold sensitivity, so I'd have to wear gloves
when I would try.
Speaker 2 (07:51):
To get water out.
Speaker 4 (07:51):
Of my fridge and I couldn't drink cold water, so
I had to drink warm water.
Speaker 2 (07:57):
But through all that, it just.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
You know it, it was easy to complain because those
aren't comfortable things. But then I also knew that I
was still so fortunate to be getting the care that
I was getting.
Speaker 2 (08:09):
And to be in the situation I was in.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
It could have.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Been so much worse had I, you know, continued to
ignore my symptoms or listen to the doctors who said,
there's no way it's cancer.
Speaker 2 (08:24):
So it was I had to try to. It was.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
It was easy to kind of stay positive through all
of it, just thinking if I would have waited six
months more, you.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
Know, who knows what stage I would have gotten to.
Speaker 3 (08:34):
Or that's a scary thought.
Speaker 2 (08:35):
How much?
Speaker 3 (08:37):
Yeah, I don't mean to interrupt you, but that is
a scary thought. What if? Right? And you were on
a lucky end of.
Speaker 2 (08:44):
That, exactly. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
And it's hard to say the word lucky when you're
going through all of that, but I was, because I
mean you you were hearing about it more and more
about people my age or younger who who some times
they don't even have symptoms that are all that obvious,
and then other times they have symptoms. But it's so
easy to tell yourself that you're too young for this,
(09:08):
or or it's an old person, you know, older person cancer,
and it's it's not anymore. It's it's just affecting so
many of us who are younger and and it's scary.
But that's why I wanted to get involved with the
Colon Cancer Care Alliance and start.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
In our last year my whole family did. We did
the Walk to.
Speaker 4 (09:31):
End Colon Cancer and raise some money and I was
the top individual fundraiser, which made me feel so great
to be able to give back to such a great cause.
And now I'm helping plan the walk for October this year,
and and just really trying to be super open and
vocal and talk about all the you know, the poop
(09:51):
stuff that no one wants to hear about. It is uncomfortable, right,
it is, it is. I mean when I was going
through it, it was even hard to tell, you know,
my husband, who would never judge.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
Me, but it's not something you want to talk about.
But I remember when I told him, I.
Speaker 4 (10:07):
Was like, there's you know, there's blood in my poop
and he was like, you need to go this is it?
Speaker 2 (10:12):
Like that's the line You're going to the doctor. And
I was like, okay, but.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
It's just it's not a normal topic of conversation. But
it is so important to be comfortable having those conversations.
Speaker 3 (10:23):
Brittany Park's joining me Jessamin mcinteer.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
Jessaman McIntyre here with Seattle Voice presented by iHeartRadio Seattle
and Brittany, your time and your story are so important.
And we talked off the air a little bit and
I was saying, how this, even though I'm not of age,
I'm actually paying more attention after talking to all of
you survivors, paying attention to the symptoms and the potential.
(10:50):
And you don't have to be of age to get
that test, you know, to get a colonoscopy.
Speaker 3 (10:57):
And it seems like some burden, right that.
Speaker 1 (11:00):
Okay, you reached this age, or you reach this thing
and you have to get this thing done, going to
the dentist, you know, all these different things that people
have to go through in their regular life.
Speaker 3 (11:12):
You have to pay attention to your body.
Speaker 1 (11:16):
And the other survivors I spoke with last week were
specifically sharing that with Oh, you excuse it away, like
you said you had just had a C section, right, Oh, okay,
that can be explained away, because it's because of that.
It's very important for people to pay attention to their
own bodies. So thank you for sharing all of that.
(11:39):
And you mentioned that walk. Can you share a little
bit more about that. You said you were a top fundraiser.
Speaker 3 (11:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (11:46):
Yeah, So there is the walk and cloth cancer. It
happens at gas Works Park in Seattle this year.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
It is I should notice off the top of my head,
I think October for yes, October four is at Gasworks
Park and it's just a great opportunity for the community
to come together, survivors, doctors, family.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
Ally, whoever it is.
Speaker 4 (12:14):
It was such a beautiful My first one was last year,
and it was so beautiful. I had not been surrounded
by other people who had gone through or been going
through what I'd what I'd gone through, and it was
just so incredible to be able to share those stories
and to hear and to just be connected by this
horrible things that is bringing us together but still beautiful
(12:37):
to make these connections nonetheless and to just be reminded.
Speaker 2 (12:41):
That you're not alone going through it.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
And yes, I'm really looking forward to the one this year,
and I encourage anyone who is interested, even it just
wants to be an ally, to come to come walk
with us and hear the stories.
Speaker 2 (12:57):
And yeah, it's a great. It's a great that it.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
Sounds like one I have had a lot of involvement
with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society, and you know, we do
you know, walks and stair climbs and everything too. So
I have had a lot of experiences with those just
community gatherings, and it is absolutely lovely.
Speaker 3 (13:19):
So I encourage anyone who you.
Speaker 1 (13:23):
Don't have to be connected to the disease to just
go out and support people.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
And you're so young to have had to go through this.
Speaker 1 (13:31):
You have just given birth, and you had all of
these very monumental life events going on and then this
one just shoves itself in your face. So I just
think support is support, regardless of how you're affected by it.
Speaker 3 (13:48):
So I just thank you, Thank you, is what I'm
trying to say.
Speaker 4 (13:54):
Yeah, no, of course, and I'm always happy to talk
about it. I think it's important to talk about it,
and I just appreciate you giving us the platform to
do that.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
So thank you, Brittany Parks, thank you so much. We'll
be joined by Jodie Brothers.
Speaker 3 (14:09):
Next.
Speaker 1 (14:09):
This is j Justamin McIntyre, your host of Seattle Voice,
your community Voice, presented by iHeart Radio Seattle. And now
Jasmin McIntyre again with Seattle Voice presented by iHeartRadio Seattle.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
This is your community voice. I brought in a closer.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Yay Jody Brother's here with me, Yay girl studio right now.
I can't thank you enough for connecting me with all
of the people that I have talked to, for sharing
their stories. It is cole Rectal Cancer Awareness Month, and
this is why I dedicated every show this month.
Speaker 3 (14:41):
Yeah to this car.
Speaker 5 (14:42):
I appreciate that so much. It's so important to talk
about this and all the people that you met. Their
stories are harrowing, right, like you can't believe it. But
they're beautiful people and have a really super important story.
Speaker 3 (14:55):
To share, and it can happen to anyone, is what
I've learned. That's that's where I come.
Speaker 5 (15:00):
I mean, I might be closing your month here, but
I have a bit of like survivor's guilt when you
put me in with these people, because my story is
different than theirs, and I'll tell you mine. When I
was forty seven, I was like, oh, I'm two years
late to get a colonoscopy because I do all the tests.
(15:20):
You know, I get a mammogram every year whenever they start,
whenever they tell you to do the testing. I do
the testing. I'm pro testing, so we'll start there. But
I just was late. It was COVID times and going
to the doctor for any reason was a bit of
a hassle and I just didn't feel like doing it.
So I was two years late for my colonoscopy. Then
I finally scheduled one because I thought, and this is
the truth, I thought, having to do the prep for
(15:43):
a colonoscopy will be funny to talk about on the air, right.
Speaker 3 (15:47):
I mean better and I are always just for that.
Speaker 5 (15:49):
Yeah, and you talk, you know, it's it's the most
honest you can again, like everybody does, and it's like,
oh poop. But I thought I was like, well, at
least I'll have that to talk about on the air.
My family history is zero cancer. I had zero symptoms.
And I went in for my colonoscopin and I am divorced.
So I have my friend come and pick me up,
(16:11):
because you have to have a friend come and pick
you up. And the talk was what's next? Do you
want me to bring it? Because you know you have
to fast and then you everything comes out of your
body and so you're hungry. Well, so my best friend
was with me and you're coming out of the propofal
haze with a doctor who you've not met except for today,
and she's like, we found something that's a little distracting,
(16:35):
a very worrisome polyp. It looks like it probably has
some cancer. You're gonna have to talk to a colorectal
surgeon and you're gonna have to talk to an oncologist,
and we're going to give you those numbers and you're
just gonna go home now.
Speaker 3 (16:54):
And that's a sobering moment.
Speaker 5 (16:56):
Not to say that her bedside matter was lacking, but like,
that was it. That's what happened. So my friend's sitting
in the room with me. I'm barely awake, and I'm like,
what did she just say?
Speaker 1 (17:09):
What?
Speaker 5 (17:10):
Like you said Probovols bro. The car ride home was silent.
I was just beginning to understand what's going on. I'm like,
I have to call an oncologist. I have colon cancer.
This isn't how this is supposed to end. You're just
supposed to do the thing. Yeah, I was supposed to
get a clean bill of health. Like every monogram it's
(17:31):
like you go in squish, You're good to go. Like
I call it squish too. I call it smash.
Speaker 2 (17:36):
It's the wor.
Speaker 5 (17:37):
Nobody likes any of this. So the next three weeks
were really bad. It was like among the darkest in
my life because now you're going, Okay, how bad is this?
Where am I at? You're planning all of these scans
and testing or making all these phone calls.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
You don't know what's going on. You're getting all these.
Speaker 5 (18:01):
And in the meantime, you're you know, I have a son,
and I have parents who love me, and this is
scary for everyone. Right, It's like, so now am I
riddled with this stuff? Like you're walking around with colon
cancer and you don't know it with no symptoms, you
don't know it, and so I'm freaking out right, Yeah,
(18:22):
I'm absolutely rausing my mind. I haven't really told anyone
yet because I'm waiting to get the information, like how
bad is this?
Speaker 3 (18:28):
What am I dealing with? Here?
Speaker 5 (18:30):
Luckily for me, it was stage one, like this thing
had just popped out and and we caught it in
the moment that it like came into existence. You just
decided to go to the doctor. Just so happens.
Speaker 3 (18:44):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (18:44):
And so for that for this particular pole up in
this particular location in my colon. I did a surgery
which is called a colon resectioning because your colon is long, right,
like think about well, not miles, but think about pulling
out a tape measure, right, and it just comes out
and out and out and out. You don't need all that.
So if there's a portion where there's some nastiness, they
(19:06):
basically go in, cut that portion out and resection it together.
And this is a surgery that's really easy to recover from.
I was back at work in three weeks and I
was back up and moving fairly comfortably in two weeks.
I hopped on my peloton bike in two weeks. That
was a bad idea, but my surgery was great. And
(19:31):
I just had my year check up in November and
there's no signs of it. And so for me, hopefully
this is where my story ends, you know. And they
were like, we'll see in you're good to go, We'll
see in ten years. I'm like, no, you'll see me
in three yea Because now, I mean, this is what
nobody can really tell you. And you don't want to
(19:53):
know this part, because this is the part that sucks.
You're always afraid.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Now like, I.
Speaker 5 (19:59):
Walk around with this pocket full of anxiety that there's
something growing inside me and I don't know about it
because I'm not you know, there's no blood coming out
of anywhere, and I don't have anything visible on my skin.
And I mean if I'm tired or if i have
a headache, I'm just like, oh my God, Like am
I okay?
Speaker 3 (20:14):
And it's scary.
Speaker 5 (20:16):
But the thing about colon cancer is you get the
colonoscopy and you could have a situation like I had,
which is like you've found it, you cut it out,
You're good to go in six weeks.
Speaker 3 (20:29):
I mean, the testing's not great, and the fear is there,
you know.
Speaker 5 (20:34):
I mean even when they take the colon resection out,
then they take some area just to make sure that
it had like seeped in further.
Speaker 3 (20:43):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (20:44):
So I was home and I was like getting better
from the surgery, and I still was worrying because if
they call me and they were like, well, it's bread
into your lymph nodes. Now we've got a different path
to grow. Do you remember those childhood books that we
had to choose your own adventure books?
Speaker 3 (20:59):
Oh my gosh, yeah, I remember.
Speaker 5 (21:00):
How you know, it's like if you want to go
down this hallway turned to page eight. Yes, if you
want to stay in the mall, keep reading. Everybody's colon
cancer journey is like that. Like it's different. You know,
it's different on you know who you are and what
your biology makeup is and what your lifestyle was like,
and how they proceed with the treatment is different. But
(21:22):
one thing is for sure that testing with a colonoscopy
is the best way to start figuring out whether you've
got something to worry about or not. I mean, imagine
if I would have just been lazy for another year.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Yes exactly, you said stage one.
Speaker 5 (21:41):
You called it when it just got like a baby,
baby piece of garbage. I decided to wait like another
year just because I was like, oh, I'm too busy,
I don't have time today, I don't have the days
to take off, or I'm running around or I'm whatever.
Speaker 3 (21:56):
I'm sure, I'm fine, I don't have any symptoms. If
I wait another year, I might have been in stage two.
Speaker 5 (22:02):
If I wait another year now, I'd be dealing with
an oncologist, I'd be dealing with radiation. I'd be dealing
with a different section of my colon. Or maybe it
would have gone into my liver or maybe it would
have gone, you know, elsewhere, into my blood, and now
we're talking about something that's much harder to deal with.
Speaker 3 (22:18):
So I think I started.
Speaker 5 (22:20):
This off just by saying that I had some survivors guilt,
and that's because some of the other people that you've
talked to have had horrible, horrible, different circumstances of me.
They're really hard to recover from and impossible choices to
make and a far different, you know, prognosis. But for me,
(22:40):
my message, and I say it from the rooftops whenever
I can, is get your colonoscopy. Yes, like they tell
you to start doing it when you're forty five. No,
so just get one. Most insurances cover it. It's not
a big deal to just do the prep and free diet.
Speaker 3 (22:57):
Free diet. Yeah, you allude to pound best I had ever.
Speaker 5 (23:00):
And you don't have to drink the gallon jug because
that does taste like cold snot and it's very hard
to choke down.
Speaker 3 (23:04):
I went to Ohio State and I could drink anything,
and that I'm a cougar, so I hear.
Speaker 5 (23:13):
You, it's hard to drink that stuff down. And guess
what you don't have to do that anymore. I mean,
you can do MiraLax and gatorade, you can do the pill,
you can do anything, you know, and it's just the
value in knowing, Like I'm just so grateful.
Speaker 3 (23:26):
I'm grateful every day.
Speaker 5 (23:28):
It's something that continues with me every day that my
story is what it is. And they said, I'll see
you in ten years, like I said, you'll see me
in three, because it's like, you don't you don't know.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
You never know unless you get tested.
Speaker 1 (23:43):
I you know, I know we're talking CRC, but I
like to share my own experience and I just did
with brittany where. I went to my regular lady doctor
appointment because we call it that, and she asked when
my last mammogram was. You know, I had a lump
when I was like twenty yeah, And I was like,
(24:06):
I just don't like booby smash.
Speaker 3 (24:08):
I don't like it.
Speaker 1 (24:09):
It's it's harsh and it's it is not a fun situation.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
Kind of the same as.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Those of us who are substantial women. That's a lot
to sandwich. Yeah, and that hurts, and that's hours out
of your day and it's depressing and it just is Yeah,
who wants to choose that comfortable.
Speaker 3 (24:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:28):
She we were talking about she had these angel doctors
who like really pushed her for stuff and had really good,
forceful messages.
Speaker 3 (24:37):
Yeah, and mine said, you know what's way more uncomfortable cancer?
Speaker 1 (24:43):
Yeah, and I went yeah, and.
Speaker 3 (24:48):
I had two irregularities. Oh you did. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:52):
Luckily they were able to wrap to it was non cancerous.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
Ever, Yes, snatch to crab. I like that, but I
didn't want to do that.
Speaker 5 (25:04):
You've got the fear, now, you've got Yes, you've got
the pocket full of fear.
Speaker 2 (25:09):
Now.
Speaker 3 (25:09):
You know what.
Speaker 1 (25:09):
The thing for me that may be less scared is
they're like, you can go to any of these places
within a day or two. Well, we'll get you closer
to where you live in two weeks. So they gave
me two weeks. It wasn't an emergency, right, It was
like just having that. I'm like, okay, okay, okay, and
(25:30):
nothing happened.
Speaker 3 (25:31):
Yeah. So but when you have these.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Doctors who really care for you and actually talk to you,
I think that's a really important message.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Yeah. I mean all the messages are important.
Speaker 5 (25:42):
I think the most important that we've been trying to
say this whole month, and all the people that you've
spoken to. I'm sure at some point mentioned that people
are getting CRC now younger and from families who have
no symptoms. There's no history, there's no no reasoning base
that we could understand. Yet they're trying to understand and
(26:05):
learning more. But the best thing that you can do
is just listen to your body and advocate for yourself.
And if you're forty five years old, your insurance is
going to cover a kolonoscopy.
Speaker 3 (26:13):
Yes, that's it. Just do it, schedule it now.
Speaker 5 (26:16):
If you're like forty two, yeah, And if you have
any curiosities, if you know, if your stomach hurtz, if
you're exhausted, if the palette of your skin doesn't look right,
it doesn't feel right. If you've got, you know, sharp
pains in your belly all the time, if you see
blood in your stool that looks bright red, or if
your stool is black, like, if your stool is ribbony.
There are all sorts of things where you know, you're
(26:39):
just like, well is that from yesterday? Was I doing
some harsh living over the weekend?
Speaker 3 (26:45):
Beats right? Like, just see your doctor.
Speaker 5 (26:48):
Because it's worth it to take a step in the
right direction and just make sure that you cut this
off at the pass because you do not want to
be on the other side.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
And you did it with no symptoms. Yeah, girl, because
it would be a hilarious bit on the show. Well,
talk about it. I get so nauseous. I was on
the toilet all day. It'll be something to talk about.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:10):
The last thing you ever suspect is.
Speaker 5 (27:11):
That someone's gonna be like, you need to call an oncologist,
you need to call a surgeon. We think you have cancer.
I was like, the hell you say, you're not talking
to me?
Speaker 3 (27:19):
No, no, no, no, you got the records wrong there.
Speaker 1 (27:22):
Well, it's like the morning show host who did a
mammogram live on Today I think it was the Today Show.
She did a mammogram to say hey, I'll do it.
Speaker 3 (27:32):
She found out she had breast cancer. Yeah.
Speaker 5 (27:34):
From that, yes, it's the same thing. It's all trying
to get that message out there. Do the testing, do
the testing, Please get your colonoscopy. Please listen to your body.
If something looks weird and feels weird, it's probably weird.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
You know.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
There you go.
Speaker 1 (27:49):
Yeah, just like you said, listen to your body. Yeah,
well you are one of my favorites.
Speaker 5 (27:55):
And thank you so much for this whole month of
amazing programming. Really really appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (28:01):
And also podcasting because it will be posted everywhere. Love that, yes,
and I will send it to you as well. And
congrats on your healthy boobs. Uh, thank you, Like I
want to keep.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
These if I gotta hang on to them.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Oh, you've been listening to Seattle Boys, presented by iHeartRadio
Seattle and Jessamin McIntyre. Everyone out there, please mark your
calendars October fourth.
Speaker 3 (28:25):
It's a Saturday. You can do this.
Speaker 1 (28:27):
It's the twenty twenty five Walk to End Colon Cancer
again Saturday, October fourth. If you can't make it, you
can still donate Colorectal Cancer dot org slash Seattle Walk.
I've learned a lot this month, and I mostly learned
that March is not the only time that this could
happen to anyone, and that you don't actually need symptoms.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
To tell you to get checked.
Speaker 1 (28:51):
So me personally, I'm going to pay more attention to
my body and I also will when I get to
forty five one hundred percent and have it on my
schedule to get checked. And this is a reminder to
not be uncomfortable talking to people about what might not
be right before going to a doctor. A lot of
people do want to talk to a trusted person. It
(29:14):
could be a friend, a family member, and also this
is something I'm really bad at checking in on your
family history because that could also be something that we
don't talk about all the time. Depending on your family.
It's a personal matter, but it's important to have the
conversations you don't want to have. I know it sucks,
(29:35):
but if you've listened to everything that the people have shared,
it is very uncomfortable and personal situations that they have
been through.
Speaker 3 (29:44):
So if they can do it, you can too.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
Take care of yourself, pay attention to your body, and
don't be afraid to have a conversation.
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