October 24, 2025 • 35 mins
When Anne Tankersley decided to make 2023 her "self-care year," she had no idea how profoundly that decision would change her life. A mammogram revealed triple-negative breast cancer, launching her into an intense journey of treatments, career transitions, and personal transformation.
With remarkable candor, she describes attempting to maintain her professional momentum through 20 weeks of chemotherapy, only gradually learning to adjust her expectations and accept support. Her story powerfully illustrates the delicate balancing act many face when serious health challenges collide with career ambitions.
Whether you're personally affected by breast cancer or supporting someone who is, this conversation offers both practical guidance and emotional resonance. And the message remains clear: early detection through regular mammograms saves lives, perhaps even yours.
Guest Bio:
Anne completed her bachelor’s degree in economics and French studies. For the first few years of her career, Anne worked for a small family-owned construction company. During that time, she found her love for accounting and decided to move into public accounting to get exposure to a variety of industries and clients. Anne started with Geffen Mesher in 2008 and worked in both tax and assurance departments until finally deciding to focus on the assurance practice. Over the last 15 years, she has worked with a variety of clients, primarily focusing on real estate, hospitality, investment companies and employee benefit plans (EBPs). She found her passion in auditing EBPs. Anne enjoys working with clients to navigate the complex regulatory environment and being part of our client’s benefit process by helping plan sponsors meet their fiduciary responsibilities, providing guidance on best practices for operating a plan and knowing at the end of the day, participants are able to retire.
Connect with Anne:
Connect with Theresa and Ivana:
Theresa, True Strategy Consultants: tsc-consultants.com
LinkedIn @treeconti, Insta @tscconsultants
Ivana, Courageous Being: courageousbeing.com
LinkedIn @ivipol, Insta @courbeing
SITP team, Step Into The Pivot: stepintothepivot.com
LinkedIn @step-into-the-pivot, YouTube @StepIntoThePivot
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:04):
Hello everybody.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Step Into the Pivot.
Um, as you may guess, we arestill in October.
We're still in breast cancerawareness month.
So one of our uh one of ourtimes of year where we talk to
amazing women who've had abreast cancer journey.
And today we have AnnTankersley.
(00:25):
And Anne, we're so happy to haveyou here today.
And thank you so much forsharing your story.
Thank you.
I'm glad to be here.
Awesome.
Well, I'm gonna go ahead and letuh Evie talk a little more about
Anne, but I personally amexcited to hear the story of
your journey with breast cancer,knowing how much that impacts so
(00:48):
many of our listeners.
So, Evie.
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
Yes, thank you, Teresa.
Hi, Anne.
So good to see you here.
It's always, you know, withmixed emotions that we say this,
particularly when we're doing anepisode dedicated to, you know,
raising awareness around adifficult topic.
Um, and it is, it is so good tobe here and bravely look at some
of these, you know,considerations.
(01:12):
And um I uh would love to sharewith our audience about my
experience finding out aboutyour breast cancer journey.
And it was um we were at one ofthe events that we frequent.
This is how we met as uh membersof the Whippin community here in
(01:36):
Oregon.
We we got to know each other byattending the events, and I go
fairly regularly, so do you.
And um, I think it was lastyear, I saw you at one of the
coffees, morning coffees, lovelyexperience.
You show up, and I get reallygiddy and excited to see you
(01:59):
because I haven't seen you in alittle while.
So it's been a little while, andyou are sporting this wonderful
pixie haircut, and I give you,you know, our like traditional
like semi-hug, and like, hi,it's so great to be here with
you.
What an amazing haircut thisreally becomes you.
And you just tell me, you goahead and you tell me.
(02:23):
You tell me what happened,what's happening for you, and
you just bravely presence itwithout missing a beat.
And that really was soimpactful.
I think before we know it, wefound ourselves in the
conversation about hey, wouldyou come to the pivot and tell
us more?
So please, you know, I inviteyou to do that.
Tell us, tell us more.
SPEAKER_02 (02:42):
Yeah, you know, I uh kind of going off of that, I um
for a long time didn't want totalk about it and I didn't
mention it um or bring it up.
And I found that uh the more Idid, the more I made connections
and realized how much uh how howmany people have been impacted
(03:03):
by breast cancer.
And um and it just made italmost more comfortable.
It became more comfortable forme to just say it and and get it
out there and and know that umI'm not alone and I could I
could almost work through myexperience by sharing.
SPEAKER_00 (03:21):
You know, it was a moment, it was quite a moment
because um our first guest,well, I think actually our first
guest ever on the podcast show,and our first guest speaking
about uh her breast cancerjourney was um Andrea Anita, who
was standing right next to you.
And so then she turned aroundand we ended up having, you
know, a conversation about thethe depths of it all.
(03:45):
Very quickly, both of you were,I wouldn't call it ease, but but
this like willingness, you wereboth really willing to keep the
conversation going.
So um would you mind telling usabout how you found out?
What was that beginning like?
SPEAKER_02 (03:59):
Yeah.
Um, so I I found out in um youknow, November of 2023.
And uh it was actually kind of23, I decided was going to be
kind of a self-care year for me.
Um, I was realizing that Iwasn't doing a good job of any
(04:20):
of that.
And so I actually started doingthings.
So I got a new doctor, I startedjust eating well, you know,
doing all like the self-carethings.
And my doctor said, Oh, well,you're getting ready to turn 40.
Um, you're now eligible to umyour, you know, your mammogram
will be covered.
Um, you should go do that.
And I said, Oh, okay.
And so it was the first time I'dever done it.
(04:41):
And I got um my mammogram, andthey said, Well, there was
something that looks a littlebit strange, so we want to do an
ultrasound.
I said, Okay, you know, not notreally thinking anything of it,
of you know, um, and so I didthe ultrasound and they said
they couldn't see anything, theycouldn't see what they saw in
(05:03):
the mammogram.
Um, but just to be sure theywanted me to do a biopsy.
And again, I just I don't knowwhat I don't know if I was in
denial or what, but I justdidn't it didn't really phase
me.
And I said, okay, I was actuallymore nervous about just getting
a biopsy than like the resultsof the biopsy.
(05:23):
Um anyway, so I I did take sometime.
So I think um just because I hadwork going on, I prioritized
that.
Um, and so I think between whenI got the mammogram and when I
did the biopsy, it had been afew months.
Um, and but I did the biopsy andit came back that I had had uh
(05:44):
triple negative breast cancer.
And um it was I found out uh ona in the car on a road trip up
to um Court Elaine, Idaho, uhfor a cross-country event and
found out about it on a on myyou know, my my chart um thing
(06:06):
online.
And and so uh yeah, it was umpretty overwhelming.
SPEAKER_00 (06:12):
For those of our listeners who may not be
familiar, can you just quicklyshare what does triple negative
mean in this context?
SPEAKER_02 (06:20):
Yeah, so triple negative breast cancer is when
it's not hormone-based.
Um, so it's it's a different,it's not reacting to like
estrogen or progesteroneprogesterone in my body.
It's um it's being caused bysomething else.
SPEAKER_01 (06:36):
Yeah.
And I wanted to add in theretoo, you know, for those who
know my story and uh severalhave heard my story, mine was
discovered on a routinemammogram as well.
And that's always one of themessages I have during breast
cancer awareness month is thatis so important.
That saved lives, that savedmine, that probably saved yours
and so many other women,especially in today's world
(06:58):
where it's I think the statisticis still one to eight women have
breast cancer at some point intheir lives.
So, you know, I I, you know,just doing that can sometimes
really help that.
Can you go on to talk about alittle about um I think you were
working, you know, you said thatyou kind of put it off a little
bit because you were working andyou know, those kind of things.
(07:21):
Can you kind of take us throughwhat happened next, what you
decided to do, how thataffected, you know, your job and
and what you were what you weredoing there?
SPEAKER_02 (07:30):
Yeah, so I um I found out, so when I found out,
I ended up what was also kind ofgoing on for me at that time was
I was trying to get promoted atwork.
So I was trying to become ashareholder at my my accounting
firm.
And um, so really pushing onthat.
And so it was pretty um uh whichis why I sort of talked about
(07:53):
kind of having a little bit of adelay, was that I was just
really focusing on that.
And uh what was interesting iseven I still even once I found
that news, I still found myselftrying to do that.
So um I ended up having a uhport placement uh to help with
the chemo infusions and uh didthat on like a Wednesday, and I
(08:18):
was back to work on likeThursday or Friday or something,
you know, like right away, andum ended up getting that
promotion.
So that's why I went.
I went to the event that waslike a Friday night event, um,
feeling very uncomfortable, verytired.
Um, and then that Monday Istarted chemo and I did um 20
rounds or 20 weeks of ofchemotherapy um in
(08:42):
immunotherapy.
And um that was basicallythrough our, you know, our
busiest time of year for anaccounting firm.
And so I felt like I had to bethere and engaged.
Um it was also my first year nowas a as a shareholder of the
firm.
And so I just wanted to reallystep up and and be in that role.
(09:03):
And um, and it was really hardto get to get kind of my head
wrapped around like, no, youhave to switch gears, you've got
to do something differently.
Um and so it yeah, it took along, it took actually quite a
bit of time for me to reallyfigure it out.
I had a really good schedule,you know, they they lay it out
(09:25):
for you very well, like here'swhat you're gonna do, here's
what it's gonna be like.
Um, and I was everything waskind of going according to plan.
And so then I just kind of fitmy work in where I could around
it.
Um, I ended up uh probablyworking about half as much time
as I normally do.
So um that time of year, and umand then just focused on uh a
(09:49):
lot of the, you know, I walked alot and I tried to move.
I had a nurse who was veryadamant about getting up even if
you were tired and and moving.
And so I tried to do that, butum, but trying it really was
challenging trying to find thatbalance.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Yeah, and you know, and and working I I think can be
good, right?
Because it can take your mindoff some of the other things
that are going on, but you alsohave to give your body like it's
being pumped with, you know,this chemo, right?
That that it needs time to to dothat.
So, you know, I I I'm happy youonly worked part-time.
So I I think there's good andbad in the, you know, and the
(10:25):
movement I think is totallytrue.
Well, the eating well, the themoving, those kind of things.
There's all kinds of studies onthat now, how that really is
beneficial when you'reundergoing treatment like this.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:39):
And giving myself a little grace around, I I took,
you know, I take naps.
Like I would, I might be at mydesk for a full day, but I that
like I said, it was, you know, Iwould work for a couple hours,
then I would lay down, or Iwould go for my walk or do
something.
And so it was just likethroughout the whole day, I
would get, you know, a few hoursin.
But um, but it definitely took alot of effort.
SPEAKER_01 (11:01):
Well, and Evie, you mentioned Andrea Vita right
early on.
And and I remember when weinterviewed her for the podcast,
she was like, just take the napif you need it, just do it.
I remember her saying that.
So I love I love that you talkedabout that.
And I love that you talked tooabout giving yourself some
grace, right?
Because you do need to allowyour body that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:18):
So yeah.
I think this is also really umgood moment to take a pause and
remember that we can all be giveeach other some more grace when
we notice something.
Let's say we're in the worksetting and it's the coworker
seems tired.
You don't have to ask anyquestions, they don't need to
(11:40):
share anything, but consider thepossibility that maybe it's
bigger than just one one badnight of sleep because we had a
lovely movie that we werewatching last night, and so we
went to bed a little later.
Perhaps the person is tiredbecause they're really walking
something very significant, youknow, and um, you know, giving
(12:01):
each other that, you know,benefit of grace, not benefit of
doubt, but you know what I mean.
So I think it's really nice toalso hear you self-reflect that
way and say, I did um, I didgive myself as much grace as I
could have.
I also noticed how you talkedabout I worked half as much as I
normally do.
(12:22):
And having seen you in our youknow context here and you know
the professional setting inPortland, I would bet that that
was still a lot.
So you work half as much as younormally would.
You know, I think here we could,you know, enter the rabbit hole
of the conversations about youknow, women were feeling like
they have to contribute 150% inorder for that to kind of count.
(12:46):
And as a matter of fact, likeyou even if you scale that down
to you know 75, maybe even 65,55% of what you think is, you
know, adequate.
Turns out it's uh quite goodenough.
Do you have any thoughts onthat?
You know, just the Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (13:01):
What actually me what I was thinking about was
just my my firm was reallysupportive um through that too.
So I felt like I could take um Icould take more time uh than
maybe I was comfortable uhgiving up.
You know, I could have I couldtake that time and knew that
(13:22):
someone was there to helpsupport me and kind of come in
if needed.
And I had people checking on mequite a bit um to make sure that
I was okay through that process.
And so um I really truly didactually work less uh and felt
okay about it.
Like I felt like it, I was, Iwas okay stepping away and
(13:44):
knowing that my clients weretaken care of, my teams were
taken care of.
Um uh and it was actually areally good feeling.
And it it was the support that Ihad from work was um was
amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (13:58):
So it's it does bring us back to the
conversation at the verybeginning about letting people
know, right?
So that did so, in order to getthere from this first moment of
like, oh, okay, I have thediagnosis, and I also have this
important opportunity, and Iwant to give it my all.
I want to give it my best.
I do my best, my best may changedepending on you know, chemo or
(14:20):
not, right?
Um, you did have to actuallycommunicate and share with
people about what was going on.
SPEAKER_02 (14:26):
I did, and I I at the beginning, I actually um did
not, so I shared with a ahandful of people, um, one
person in particular that I thenuh realized I was really
struggling to share it early on,and so I asked him to share for
me.
And and he was able to let youknow the other partners in the
(14:49):
firm, people that I worked withknow, um, so that I didn't have
to take that on for myself,which was a huge release at the
beginning.
SPEAKER_01 (14:58):
Yeah, there's a lot going on, right?
You know, there's a lot you'retrying to mentally manage,
right?
Um, you know, the disbelief thatyou have cancer, you know, what
the treatment's gonna look like,how that's gonna feel, um, you
know, both during it and afterit.
And and then the the thing abouttelling people, right, is is
(15:19):
really hard because I also keptit in for such a long time and
told only who I felt reallyneeded to know for for many
reasons.
But, you know, it it also is anemotional thing, right?
It's something that you have toreally think about.
So you go through these 20 weeksof chemo, you know, talk about
recovery a little bit, right?
(15:40):
You were you were on this in2023.
You already talked about how youwere kind of on this journey
with your, you know, trying toself-care.
Talk a little about therecovery.
What was that, you know, becausebecause once you have the
treatment, there's still more.
There's still more to come.
Yeah, there's still a lot more.
SPEAKER_02 (15:57):
And yeah, there's still a lot more.
So um I did the chemo.
I ended up I ended my chemo inearly April, and I had a month
break, and then I did a mysurgery.
And um to be honest, I actuallydidn't feel too bad at the end
of chemo.
Like I was tired, but thatwalking really helped, and so I
(16:20):
actually felt like not terrible.
Um, and uh then I had thesurgery, and the surgery uh was
really hard.
It was really hard on me, and Iended up uh not recovering very
well.
Um, so I ended up having uh uh Idid a double mastectomy and had
(16:43):
uh from that I ended updeveloping what's called adrenal
insufficiency, um, where my bodyno longer produces cortisol.
Um and cortisol is used in a lotof different ways, but it's
basically your fight and flightuh response.
And so um it was making it sothat all of my my body was
(17:05):
basically shutting down.
Um and so I ended up gettingadmitted to the hospital um
where they actually where theyfound out about it, um, and now
um taking that.
But in addition to that, I hadyou know, I had an infection, I
had um I got COVID, I got all ofthese things that you know were
(17:27):
not on the plan that I initiallyestablished, right?
And so I think at that point therecovery from about so that was
so my surgery was in May, andthen until I was kind of done
with all of the just one thingafter another was probably about
in August.
And um, and that was when Ireally uh had to uh I kind of
(17:51):
came to terms with the the lossof control.
I felt like I had things undercontrol, and even though I
couldn't really control a lot ofit, I felt like I still had
control.
And I realized at that point umthat I had no control at all.
And I just had to kind of, youknow, do what I could, whether
(18:11):
it was, you know, advocating formyself or just making sure I was
getting the right treatment orthe right care, having my family
do the same, um, or uh orwhatever that looked like, but
just knowing that I just whatwhat happens next is out of your
control.
SPEAKER_01 (18:27):
Yeah, I I love that you actually talked about that.
I'm sure Evie, we were, we werekind of, I saw us both like kind
of react when you said thatabout the loss of control.
And you you can't, right?
There's just things you can'tcontrol that you have to like do
what you can do and manage whatyou can manage and you know move
forward, whatever that lookslike, but you can't, you
(18:51):
unfortunately you can't controleverything, right?
EVM, I know, I know you yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (18:58):
Yeah, you can't, and then it becomes about, you know,
actually a piece of advice thatI got uh from someone in the
well, from my financial advisor,um in a different context, but
during the time when I wasdealing with my own health
situation, which you know bothof you are aware was happening
earlier this year.
(19:18):
So different different bodyparts, but some some similar
considerations, nothing to thisum level of intensity.
However, the piece of advice wasreally, really useful, which was
when you then have to surrendercontrol, what you still can keep
asking is he calls it what's thenext play.
I've for me the word thatlanded, what's then the next
(19:41):
move?
Sometimes I'll say it, what'sthe next loving action?
The very next one.
And it really is about like thevery next one.
Okay, so now I have COVID andthis hurts, and this is a and I
really don't know, and I'moverwhelmed.
The next move is cup of tea.
And then asking, you know, canyou bring me a cup of tea?
(20:02):
And so, like that.
And then I find that there is alot of power in, you know, this
like loss of control, but thentaking control taking control
over something that is reallyso, you know, I get it's really
at the root of that wholequestion of self-care, but we
don't really go down there.
We think, you know, some ofthese bigger concepts of massage
and and uh, you know.
(20:24):
Um how does this land for you,Ann, when I'm talking about all
this?
Like just bringing it back downto this, like in this very
moment, what could help?
What does my system need?
SPEAKER_02 (20:34):
Yeah, I think what I what I started thinking about
for me was that I, you know, Ilike to say that I knew what was
going on, but I had a lot goingon.
And I had my husband with methrough everything.
He came to every chemotreatment, every appointment.
And so um, you know, when youhave chemo, when you're going
(20:54):
through chemo, you've got thislike brain fog that um just
makes it hard to remember thingsand uh, you know, you feel like
you're in the moment, but thenafterwards you're like, I don't
remember talking about that.
Uh and so having him there withme uh really helped to know that
like someone was there listeningand making sure that I was being
(21:17):
taken care of.
And so when I had those momentswhere I was like, I was out of
control and or loss of control,I had didn't have like my
footings.
Um, I felt like he was able tokind of ground me and make it so
that I we could make it to that.
Yeah, like you said, that nextstep.
What's the next thing we've gotto deal with?
What's the next, what's the nextmove?
Um, whether it be I just need tolay here and I can't do
(21:40):
anything.
Um, or to, yeah, what's the nextmedical decision we've got to
make?
Um yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:49):
I say it to people all the time because I I feel
the same way you do.
And I didn't even have chemo.
So, but I still have that brainfog.
I think just because there's somuch going on in your mind, and
um, and that's what I was sayingbefore.
You have to have somebody therewith you.
I've talked to people who try tonavigate it entirely on their
own.
And I was like, you can't dothat.
You you have to have somebodythere who has a clear head,
(22:12):
who's working in your bestinterest with your doctors,
right?
To make these decisions becausethere's there's so many things,
there's so many different types,there's so many treatment
options, or so like you have tokind of navigating all that is
hard enough with a clear brainand you know, not having to deal
with that, right?
So, not to make light of it, butit totally is true.
(22:35):
And and I love that you talkedabout your husband being there
because mine was there for methe entire time too.
So, but even if you don't havethat, you have somebody who can
be there for the system.
That's huge.
Absolutely, absolutely.
So that was Evie, were you gonnaadd something?
I was gonna say, like that wasprobably close to a year ago,
right?
But but Evie, go ahead.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (22:55):
No, I was just gonna, I was going to comment
on, you know, we we had it's itis wonderful.
It's such a blessing to hearabout wonderfully supportive
partners.
And I think it's been reallygreat.
We've had, you know, several ofyou on the show who were in that
position.
And then we had this one otherguest last year who is a single
woman and really walk through itfrom this other perspective.
(23:16):
The principle of it is the same.
So you're pointing to the sameprinciple.
I have to, I have to learn toask for help, and there's gotta
be, you know, an openness toreceiving the help because you
know that is the next move inthis.
I guess you mean to use thetired metaphor, like this is a
marathon.
When you get that diagnosis inthe beginning, you know, I I
(23:37):
I've noticed with a few of myfriends who got the diagnosis,
then what happens, whether it'sbreast cancer, but also with
other diagnoses, there's thistendency to be like, all right,
I'm gonna sprint.
I'm gonna sprint through this.
And I think this is what, youknow, then the veterans of the
experience, like you guys now,can help do the ones who are at
the beginning of the journey, ishelp a little a little bit with
(24:00):
these like expectations of likethis is a marathon.
So setting a set kind of like adifferent pace as early as you
can seems to be, you know,helpful.
SPEAKER_02 (24:10):
And yet, you know, I kept asking, I was like, so how
long for the folks that werealready done?
I was like, so how long was thisan issue?
Like, how long were you dealing?
Like, when can I be done?
You know, like when and that'syou never are, is what I was I
realized, but I realized thatvery late in the process.
I kept very much having thislike, yeah, you have a you've
just got to keep going throughthe process.
(24:30):
And it is, it's a marathon, andit's a marathon that is it's
very long, and you never know,and you're probably always gonna
be running it.
SPEAKER_01 (24:39):
You do like honestly, I'm you know, more
than 10 years, and and not thatI have any, but it's still
something you think about, stillsomething you have to follow up
on, still something you have tobe aware of.
I mean, you had it, you know,you hate to say that, and and
most people never get it back,but you know, you have to just
be aware of who you are in yourown body and you know what what
(25:02):
that looks like.
So you're like a year-ish outfrom kind of ending that end of
that.
How how's everything going now?
You know, how how's that feelingfor you?
How are you feeling now?
SPEAKER_02 (25:18):
Yeah, so I um I guess the part of one of the
things I didn't mention was thatI also had the BRACO one uh gene
mutation.
So I actually was uh basicallymeans that I had a higher chance
of developing uh breast cancerum as well as some other
cancers.
And so August um was kind of theend of sort of the more I don't
(25:42):
want to say traumatic, but someof the more like bigger things.
Um and then I I did go throughreconstruction and so I've had a
couple more surgeries earlierthis year.
So it's still very much um uhrelevant as far as where I'm at,
you know.
Uh um, but I had my last surgeryin in at the towards the end of
(26:05):
February, probably need maybeone or two more.
Um but uh uh you know what'swhat's interesting, and I think
we kind of touched on it, but isthis idea of survivorship?
And uh, you know, you you hearthat and you, you know, I've
I've always kind of, you know,you see all of that sort of
(26:26):
survivorship and all thesethings out there.
And I don't really it I neverreally knew what that meant
until more recently.
Um, so I am still doing like Imeet with my oncologist um every
three months.
Um, I get my blood checked, andevery time I think, oh my gosh,
is something gonna show up?
You know, and if something isabnormal, you're like, is that
(26:49):
okay?
Like, what's going on?
And you just there's always thisworry that comes with it, or
like that that new ache in yourback, or um, you know, a
headache or something that youthink, is this something else,
you know?
And um, so that's where I'm atright now, where I'm having a
lot of these feelings aroundsurvivorship and what does that
(27:10):
look like, and how to balanceout, you know, I can't be
worried about things that Idon't that I don't know can come
that I don't know what the whatit is or if it's um anything,
but um so trying to trying towork my way out of that worry
that I'm current I'm actuallylike currently in.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Um it's fair, it's what you do like I still worry,
but it does lessen.
It's not something you now worryabout every day or you know, but
it is uh I need to listen towhat my body's saying to me, you
know, type thing.
So it it it it it never, I mean,I'd love to be able to tell you
it totally goes away, but youknow, it doesn't, but it does
(27:52):
lessen.
It does, it's not something youthink about and worry about
every single day, probably likeyou still are today.
I uh uh, you know, I you know,just just for full disclosure
and honesty with that.
SPEAKER_00 (28:05):
So I would say having talked to you, um, you
know, um Teresa now for anextended period of time about
the topic and then us talking toother women about it uh in the
way, you know, just abouteveryone brought this up.
I think to from my, you know,that's like humble observation
standpoint, I'm starting to seethis when you all bring it up
(28:30):
almost as one of the symptomsthat also needs to be included
in the conversation of what theprocess is gonna be like.
So I feel that what you're doingby sharing this, and you're
really contributing to thebigger picture, like normalizing
some of these experiences, andthen also saying, you know, like
this is gonna come up becauseit's a natural response to what
(28:53):
you're going through.
So then it's both like it sucksto feel it and for this to come
up, but it's you know, it's partand parcel of it's it's an it's
another ache.
It's like it's like a you know,and a response to what you're
you're walking through.
So then, you know, just my heartgoes out to you.
And also, you know, if there'sanything that you know our
(29:15):
community can do for you asyou're walking through the
process, I really feel, youknow, like extra celebrating
you, given the fact that you'veraised your hand to do this,
being so deep in the processright now.
So we're like we're right herewith you, and you know, hand on
the heart, really saying thatwith deepest love and
encouragement.
SPEAKER_02 (29:36):
Yeah, no, I think that's been the best is having
so many, so much support and indifferent ways, and from
sometimes from people youwouldn't even expect it.
And I think that's been the mostum meaningful part of this whole
journey, truly.
So thank you for that.
SPEAKER_00 (29:57):
Maybe that's a beautiful way to wrap up, you
know.
We asked this question, how isthis pivot a step forward?
And you know, that doesn't meanyou are at the end of the
journey or that there is a, youknow, that's all an illusion,
always, anyways.
I mean, everything is alwayscontinuing to transform and
transmute.
But up until this point, andmaybe even particularly with
regards to that whole self-caredecision that you made, how can
(30:21):
you help us uh essentiallysummarize the conversation?
How has this been so far?
A step forward.
SPEAKER_02 (30:31):
I think uh the main shift has been how you know the
it's that work-life balance thatyou always try to achieve.
And I feel like I've gotten to apoint where I'm um I'm able to
find that time and to find thebalance and just really
prioritizing.
Um, but with that, I'm also feellike I've got a perspective that
(30:55):
I've been able to talk to folksthat, you know, I've got I've
got people that report to me atwork, and I can share, maybe not
the same experience, but I canshare like how how do you
balance, how do you sort ofjuggle things, what's really
important that you need to beworking through versus things
that maybe you can let go or youcan do later, or um, you know,
(31:16):
shift and and rethink how youkind of think about um your life
and your priorities.
And I think that's been umreally huge for me.
And then also just like I said,the support that I've had.
Um I have developed some reallyamazing relationships out of
this that um I'm so incrediblygrateful for.
(31:36):
And uh and so it's been justthat that sort of pivot forward
of sort of continuing andleaping into those relationships
and recognizing that yes, wecame from a place of um we we
only know each other or we'veonly met because of breast
cancer, but that doesn't meanthat has to be it, and we can
keep those relationships in soyeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:03):
Beautiful conclusion.
I also really appreciate thevery practical piece of advice
that you gave in the episode,um, Teresa, that part where Anne
is saying.
So I just want to reiterate itfor our listeners.
Um, it is okay to ask somebodyelse if you empower them with
the information to share theinformation on your behalf.
(32:24):
That's not an approach thatwould work for everybody, but it
is a really valid approach.
So here's, you know, a verytangible way in which, you know,
one can move through a situationsimilar to yours with more grace
and ease.
SPEAKER_01 (32:40):
Yeah, and um, I just really wanted to say, like,
you're still in the thick ofthis, right?
You're still, you know, it andit's so amazing that you would
come on and share this storywith others.
So um, for me, I reallyappreciate that.
It took me a long, long time toshare my story.
So um I really um love that youshared yours um when it's still
(33:02):
so close to you.
So thank you so much, Anne, forsharing this.
It's important for other womento hear it.
So, you know, that that means somuch, honestly.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (33:14):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
This has been uh reallywonderful and um so happy to
finally meet you, Teresa, andalways great to see you know.
So awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (33:24):
Yeah.
And thank you to all of ourlisteners.
Thank you for contributing yourattention and your care and
helping us uplift each otherduring this important month of
breast cancer awareness.
Yes, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (33:40):
Yeah, and don't forget to get your mammogram.
Don't forget to get yourmammogram if you have not.
Um, that is so important.
And uh thank you again to all ofour listeners.
Thank you to Ann and Evie.
And uh remember if you have apivot, step into it.
Hello everybody.
Welcome to this week's episodeof Step Into the Pivot.
Um, as you may guess, we arestill in October.
We're still in breast cancerawareness month.
So one of our uh one of ourtimes of year where we talk to
amazing women who've had abreast cancer journey.
And today we have AnnTankersley.
(00:25):
And Anne, we're so happy to haveyou here today.
And thank you so much forsharing your story.
Thank you.
I'm glad to be here.
Awesome.
Well, I'm gonna go ahead and letuh Evie talk a little more about
Anne, but I personally amexcited to hear the story of
your journey with breast cancer,knowing how much that impacts so
(00:48):
many of our listeners.
So, Evie.
SPEAKER_00 (00:51):
Yes, thank you, Teresa.
Hi, Anne.
So good to see you here.
It's always, you know, withmixed emotions that we say this,
particularly when we're doing anepisode dedicated to, you know,
raising awareness around adifficult topic.
Um, and it is, it is so good tobe here and bravely look at some
of these, you know,considerations.
(01:12):
And um I uh would love to sharewith our audience about my
experience finding out aboutyour breast cancer journey.
And it was um we were at one ofthe events that we frequent.
This is how we met as uh membersof the Whippin community here in
(01:36):
Oregon.
We we got to know each other byattending the events, and I go
fairly regularly, so do you.
And um, I think it was lastyear, I saw you at one of the
coffees, morning coffees, lovelyexperience.
You show up, and I get reallygiddy and excited to see you
(01:59):
because I haven't seen you in alittle while.
So it's been a little while, andyou are sporting this wonderful
pixie haircut, and I give you,you know, our like traditional
like semi-hug, and like, hi,it's so great to be here with
you.
What an amazing haircut thisreally becomes you.
And you just tell me, you goahead and you tell me.
(02:23):
You tell me what happened,what's happening for you, and
you just bravely presence itwithout missing a beat.
And that really was soimpactful.
I think before we know it, wefound ourselves in the
conversation about hey, wouldyou come to the pivot and tell
us more?
So please, you know, I inviteyou to do that.
Tell us, tell us more.
SPEAKER_02 (02:42):
Yeah, you know, I uh kind of going off of that, I um
for a long time didn't want totalk about it and I didn't
mention it um or bring it up.
And I found that uh the more Idid, the more I made connections
and realized how much uh how howmany people have been impacted
(03:03):
by breast cancer.
And um and it just made italmost more comfortable.
It became more comfortable forme to just say it and and get it
out there and and know that umI'm not alone and I could I
could almost work through myexperience by sharing.
SPEAKER_00 (03:21):
You know, it was a moment, it was quite a moment
because um our first guest,well, I think actually our first
guest ever on the podcast show,and our first guest speaking
about uh her breast cancerjourney was um Andrea Anita, who
was standing right next to you.
And so then she turned aroundand we ended up having, you
know, a conversation about thethe depths of it all.
(03:45):
Very quickly, both of you were,I wouldn't call it ease, but but
this like willingness, you wereboth really willing to keep the
conversation going.
So um would you mind telling usabout how you found out?
What was that beginning like?
SPEAKER_02 (03:59):
Yeah.
Um, so I I found out in um youknow, November of 2023.
And uh it was actually kind of23, I decided was going to be
kind of a self-care year for me.
Um, I was realizing that Iwasn't doing a good job of any
(04:20):
of that.
And so I actually started doingthings.
So I got a new doctor, I startedjust eating well, you know,
doing all like the self-carethings.
And my doctor said, Oh, well,you're getting ready to turn 40.
Um, you're now eligible to umyour, you know, your mammogram
will be covered.
Um, you should go do that.
And I said, Oh, okay.
And so it was the first time I'dever done it.
(04:41):
And I got um my mammogram, andthey said, Well, there was
something that looks a littlebit strange, so we want to do an
ultrasound.
I said, Okay, you know, not notreally thinking anything of it,
of you know, um, and so I didthe ultrasound and they said
they couldn't see anything, theycouldn't see what they saw in
(05:03):
the mammogram.
Um, but just to be sure theywanted me to do a biopsy.
And again, I just I don't knowwhat I don't know if I was in
denial or what, but I justdidn't it didn't really phase
me.
And I said, okay, I was actuallymore nervous about just getting
a biopsy than like the resultsof the biopsy.
(05:23):
Um anyway, so I I did take sometime.
So I think um just because I hadwork going on, I prioritized
that.
Um, and so I think between whenI got the mammogram and when I
did the biopsy, it had been afew months.
Um, and but I did the biopsy andit came back that I had had uh
(05:44):
triple negative breast cancer.
And um it was I found out uh ona in the car on a road trip up
to um Court Elaine, Idaho, uhfor a cross-country event and
found out about it on a on myyou know, my my chart um thing
(06:06):
online.
And and so uh yeah, it was umpretty overwhelming.
SPEAKER_00 (06:12):
For those of our listeners who may not be
familiar, can you just quicklyshare what does triple negative
mean in this context?
SPEAKER_02 (06:20):
Yeah, so triple negative breast cancer is when
it's not hormone-based.
Um, so it's it's a different,it's not reacting to like
estrogen or progesteroneprogesterone in my body.
It's um it's being caused bysomething else.
SPEAKER_01 (06:36):
Yeah.
And I wanted to add in theretoo, you know, for those who
know my story and uh severalhave heard my story, mine was
discovered on a routinemammogram as well.
And that's always one of themessages I have during breast
cancer awareness month is thatis so important.
That saved lives, that savedmine, that probably saved yours
and so many other women,especially in today's world
(06:58):
where it's I think the statisticis still one to eight women have
breast cancer at some point intheir lives.
So, you know, I I, you know,just doing that can sometimes
really help that.
Can you go on to talk about alittle about um I think you were
working, you know, you said thatyou kind of put it off a little
bit because you were working andyou know, those kind of things.
(07:21):
Can you kind of take us throughwhat happened next, what you
decided to do, how thataffected, you know, your job and
and what you were what you weredoing there?
SPEAKER_02 (07:30):
Yeah, so I um I found out, so when I found out,
I ended up what was also kind ofgoing on for me at that time was
I was trying to get promoted atwork.
So I was trying to become ashareholder at my my accounting
firm.
And um, so really pushing onthat.
And so it was pretty um uh whichis why I sort of talked about
(07:53):
kind of having a little bit of adelay, was that I was just
really focusing on that.
And uh what was interesting iseven I still even once I found
that news, I still found myselftrying to do that.
So um I ended up having a uhport placement uh to help with
the chemo infusions and uh didthat on like a Wednesday, and I
(08:18):
was back to work on likeThursday or Friday or something,
you know, like right away, andum ended up getting that
promotion.
So that's why I went.
I went to the event that waslike a Friday night event, um,
feeling very uncomfortable, verytired.
Um, and then that Monday Istarted chemo and I did um 20
rounds or 20 weeks of ofchemotherapy um in
(08:42):
immunotherapy.
And um that was basicallythrough our, you know, our
busiest time of year for anaccounting firm.
And so I felt like I had to bethere and engaged.
Um it was also my first year nowas a as a shareholder of the
firm.
And so I just wanted to reallystep up and and be in that role.
(09:03):
And um, and it was really hardto get to get kind of my head
wrapped around like, no, youhave to switch gears, you've got
to do something differently.
Um and so it yeah, it took along, it took actually quite a
bit of time for me to reallyfigure it out.
I had a really good schedule,you know, they they lay it out
(09:25):
for you very well, like here'swhat you're gonna do, here's
what it's gonna be like.
Um, and I was everything waskind of going according to plan.
And so then I just kind of fitmy work in where I could around
it.
Um, I ended up uh probablyworking about half as much time
as I normally do.
So um that time of year, and umand then just focused on uh a
(09:49):
lot of the, you know, I walked alot and I tried to move.
I had a nurse who was veryadamant about getting up even if
you were tired and and moving.
And so I tried to do that, butum, but trying it really was
challenging trying to find thatbalance.
SPEAKER_01 (10:03):
Yeah, and you know, and and working I I think can be
good, right?
Because it can take your mindoff some of the other things
that are going on, but you alsohave to give your body like it's
being pumped with, you know,this chemo, right?
That that it needs time to to dothat.
So, you know, I I I'm happy youonly worked part-time.
So I I think there's good andbad in the, you know, and the
(10:25):
movement I think is totallytrue.
Well, the eating well, the themoving, those kind of things.
There's all kinds of studies onthat now, how that really is
beneficial when you'reundergoing treatment like this.
So yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (10:39):
And giving myself a little grace around, I I took,
you know, I take naps.
Like I would, I might be at mydesk for a full day, but I that
like I said, it was, you know, Iwould work for a couple hours,
then I would lay down, or Iwould go for my walk or do
something.
And so it was just likethroughout the whole day, I
would get, you know, a few hoursin.
But um, but it definitely took alot of effort.
SPEAKER_01 (11:01):
Well, and Evie, you mentioned Andrea Vita right
early on.
And and I remember when weinterviewed her for the podcast,
she was like, just take the napif you need it, just do it.
I remember her saying that.
So I love I love that you talkedabout that.
And I love that you talked tooabout giving yourself some
grace, right?
Because you do need to allowyour body that.
SPEAKER_00 (11:18):
So yeah.
I think this is also really umgood moment to take a pause and
remember that we can all be giveeach other some more grace when
we notice something.
Let's say we're in the worksetting and it's the coworker
seems tired.
You don't have to ask anyquestions, they don't need to
(11:40):
share anything, but consider thepossibility that maybe it's
bigger than just one one badnight of sleep because we had a
lovely movie that we werewatching last night, and so we
went to bed a little later.
Perhaps the person is tiredbecause they're really walking
something very significant, youknow, and um, you know, giving
(12:01):
each other that, you know,benefit of grace, not benefit of
doubt, but you know what I mean.
So I think it's really nice toalso hear you self-reflect that
way and say, I did um, I didgive myself as much grace as I
could have.
I also noticed how you talkedabout I worked half as much as I
normally do.
(12:22):
And having seen you in our youknow context here and you know
the professional setting inPortland, I would bet that that
was still a lot.
So you work half as much as younormally would.
You know, I think here we could,you know, enter the rabbit hole
of the conversations about youknow, women were feeling like
they have to contribute 150% inorder for that to kind of count.
(12:46):
And as a matter of fact, likeyou even if you scale that down
to you know 75, maybe even 65,55% of what you think is, you
know, adequate.
Turns out it's uh quite goodenough.
Do you have any thoughts onthat?
You know, just the Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02 (13:01):
What actually me what I was thinking about was
just my my firm was reallysupportive um through that too.
So I felt like I could take um Icould take more time uh than
maybe I was comfortable uhgiving up.
You know, I could have I couldtake that time and knew that
(13:22):
someone was there to helpsupport me and kind of come in
if needed.
And I had people checking on mequite a bit um to make sure that
I was okay through that process.
And so um I really truly didactually work less uh and felt
okay about it.
Like I felt like it, I was, Iwas okay stepping away and
(13:44):
knowing that my clients weretaken care of, my teams were
taken care of.
Um uh and it was actually areally good feeling.
And it it was the support that Ihad from work was um was
amazing.
SPEAKER_00 (13:58):
So it's it does bring us back to the
conversation at the verybeginning about letting people
know, right?
So that did so, in order to getthere from this first moment of
like, oh, okay, I have thediagnosis, and I also have this
important opportunity, and Iwant to give it my all.
I want to give it my best.
I do my best, my best may changedepending on you know, chemo or
(14:20):
not, right?
Um, you did have to actuallycommunicate and share with
people about what was going on.
SPEAKER_02 (14:26):
I did, and I I at the beginning, I actually um did
not, so I shared with a ahandful of people, um, one
person in particular that I thenuh realized I was really
struggling to share it early on,and so I asked him to share for
me.
And and he was able to let youknow the other partners in the
(14:49):
firm, people that I worked withknow, um, so that I didn't have
to take that on for myself,which was a huge release at the
beginning.
SPEAKER_01 (14:58):
Yeah, there's a lot going on, right?
You know, there's a lot you'retrying to mentally manage,
right?
Um, you know, the disbelief thatyou have cancer, you know, what
the treatment's gonna look like,how that's gonna feel, um, you
know, both during it and afterit.
And and then the the thing abouttelling people, right, is is
(15:19):
really hard because I also keptit in for such a long time and
told only who I felt reallyneeded to know for for many
reasons.
But, you know, it it also is anemotional thing, right?
It's something that you have toreally think about.
So you go through these 20 weeksof chemo, you know, talk about
recovery a little bit, right?
(15:40):
You were you were on this in2023.
You already talked about how youwere kind of on this journey
with your, you know, trying toself-care.
Talk a little about therecovery.
What was that, you know, becausebecause once you have the
treatment, there's still more.
There's still more to come.
Yeah, there's still a lot more.
SPEAKER_02 (15:57):
And yeah, there's still a lot more.
So um I did the chemo.
I ended up I ended my chemo inearly April, and I had a month
break, and then I did a mysurgery.
And um to be honest, I actuallydidn't feel too bad at the end
of chemo.
Like I was tired, but thatwalking really helped, and so I
(16:20):
actually felt like not terrible.
Um, and uh then I had thesurgery, and the surgery uh was
really hard.
It was really hard on me, and Iended up uh not recovering very
well.
Um, so I ended up having uh uh Idid a double mastectomy and had
(16:43):
uh from that I ended updeveloping what's called adrenal
insufficiency, um, where my bodyno longer produces cortisol.
Um and cortisol is used in a lotof different ways, but it's
basically your fight and flightuh response.
And so um it was making it sothat all of my my body was
(17:05):
basically shutting down.
Um and so I ended up gettingadmitted to the hospital um
where they actually where theyfound out about it, um, and now
um taking that.
But in addition to that, I hadyou know, I had an infection, I
had um I got COVID, I got all ofthese things that you know were
(17:27):
not on the plan that I initiallyestablished, right?
And so I think at that point therecovery from about so that was
so my surgery was in May, andthen until I was kind of done
with all of the just one thingafter another was probably about
in August.
And um, and that was when Ireally uh had to uh I kind of
(17:51):
came to terms with the the lossof control.
I felt like I had things undercontrol, and even though I
couldn't really control a lot ofit, I felt like I still had
control.
And I realized at that point umthat I had no control at all.
And I just had to kind of, youknow, do what I could, whether
(18:11):
it was, you know, advocating formyself or just making sure I was
getting the right treatment orthe right care, having my family
do the same, um, or uh orwhatever that looked like, but
just knowing that I just whatwhat happens next is out of your
control.
SPEAKER_01 (18:27):
Yeah, I I love that you actually talked about that.
I'm sure Evie, we were, we werekind of, I saw us both like kind
of react when you said thatabout the loss of control.
And you you can't, right?
There's just things you can'tcontrol that you have to like do
what you can do and manage whatyou can manage and you know move
forward, whatever that lookslike, but you can't, you
(18:51):
unfortunately you can't controleverything, right?
EVM, I know, I know you yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (18:58):
Yeah, you can't, and then it becomes about, you know,
actually a piece of advice thatI got uh from someone in the
well, from my financial advisor,um in a different context, but
during the time when I wasdealing with my own health
situation, which you know bothof you are aware was happening
earlier this year.
(19:18):
So different different bodyparts, but some some similar
considerations, nothing to thisum level of intensity.
However, the piece of advice wasreally, really useful, which was
when you then have to surrendercontrol, what you still can keep
asking is he calls it what's thenext play.
I've for me the word thatlanded, what's then the next
(19:41):
move?
Sometimes I'll say it, what'sthe next loving action?
The very next one.
And it really is about like thevery next one.
Okay, so now I have COVID andthis hurts, and this is a and I
really don't know, and I'moverwhelmed.
The next move is cup of tea.
And then asking, you know, canyou bring me a cup of tea?
(20:02):
And so, like that.
And then I find that there is alot of power in, you know, this
like loss of control, but thentaking control taking control
over something that is reallyso, you know, I get it's really
at the root of that wholequestion of self-care, but we
don't really go down there.
We think, you know, some ofthese bigger concepts of massage
and and uh, you know.
(20:24):
Um how does this land for you,Ann, when I'm talking about all
this?
Like just bringing it back downto this, like in this very
moment, what could help?
What does my system need?
SPEAKER_02 (20:34):
Yeah, I think what I what I started thinking about
for me was that I, you know, Ilike to say that I knew what was
going on, but I had a lot goingon.
And I had my husband with methrough everything.
He came to every chemotreatment, every appointment.
And so um, you know, when youhave chemo, when you're going
(20:54):
through chemo, you've got thislike brain fog that um just
makes it hard to remember thingsand uh, you know, you feel like
you're in the moment, but thenafterwards you're like, I don't
remember talking about that.
Uh and so having him there withme uh really helped to know that
like someone was there listeningand making sure that I was being
(21:17):
taken care of.
And so when I had those momentswhere I was like, I was out of
control and or loss of control,I had didn't have like my
footings.
Um, I felt like he was able tokind of ground me and make it so
that I we could make it to that.
Yeah, like you said, that nextstep.
What's the next thing we've gotto deal with?
What's the next, what's the nextmove?
Um, whether it be I just need tolay here and I can't do
(21:40):
anything.
Um, or to, yeah, what's the nextmedical decision we've got to
make?
Um yeah.
SPEAKER_01 (21:49):
I say it to people all the time because I I feel
the same way you do.
And I didn't even have chemo.
So, but I still have that brainfog.
I think just because there's somuch going on in your mind, and
um, and that's what I was sayingbefore.
You have to have somebody therewith you.
I've talked to people who try tonavigate it entirely on their
own.
And I was like, you can't dothat.
You you have to have somebodythere who has a clear head,
(22:12):
who's working in your bestinterest with your doctors,
right?
To make these decisions becausethere's there's so many things,
there's so many different types,there's so many treatment
options, or so like you have tokind of navigating all that is
hard enough with a clear brainand you know, not having to deal
with that, right?
So, not to make light of it, butit totally is true.
(22:35):
And and I love that you talkedabout your husband being there
because mine was there for methe entire time too.
So, but even if you don't havethat, you have somebody who can
be there for the system.
That's huge.
Absolutely, absolutely.
So that was Evie, were you gonnaadd something?
I was gonna say, like that wasprobably close to a year ago,
right?
But but Evie, go ahead.
Yeah.
SPEAKER_00 (22:55):
No, I was just gonna, I was going to comment
on, you know, we we had it's itis wonderful.
It's such a blessing to hearabout wonderfully supportive
partners.
And I think it's been reallygreat.
We've had, you know, several ofyou on the show who were in that
position.
And then we had this one otherguest last year who is a single
woman and really walk through itfrom this other perspective.
(23:16):
The principle of it is the same.
So you're pointing to the sameprinciple.
I have to, I have to learn toask for help, and there's gotta
be, you know, an openness toreceiving the help because you
know that is the next move inthis.
I guess you mean to use thetired metaphor, like this is a
marathon.
When you get that diagnosis inthe beginning, you know, I I
(23:37):
I've noticed with a few of myfriends who got the diagnosis,
then what happens, whether it'sbreast cancer, but also with
other diagnoses, there's thistendency to be like, all right,
I'm gonna sprint.
I'm gonna sprint through this.
And I think this is what, youknow, then the veterans of the
experience, like you guys now,can help do the ones who are at
the beginning of the journey, ishelp a little a little bit with
(24:00):
these like expectations of likethis is a marathon.
So setting a set kind of like adifferent pace as early as you
can seems to be, you know,helpful.
SPEAKER_02 (24:10):
And yet, you know, I kept asking, I was like, so how
long for the folks that werealready done?
I was like, so how long was thisan issue?
Like, how long were you dealing?
Like, when can I be done?
You know, like when and that'syou never are, is what I was I
realized, but I realized thatvery late in the process.
I kept very much having thislike, yeah, you have a you've
just got to keep going throughthe process.
(24:30):
And it is, it's a marathon, andit's a marathon that is it's
very long, and you never know,and you're probably always gonna
be running it.
SPEAKER_01 (24:39):
You do like honestly, I'm you know, more
than 10 years, and and not thatI have any, but it's still
something you think about, stillsomething you have to follow up
on, still something you have tobe aware of.
I mean, you had it, you know,you hate to say that, and and
most people never get it back,but you know, you have to just
be aware of who you are in yourown body and you know what what
(25:02):
that looks like.
So you're like a year-ish outfrom kind of ending that end of
that.
How how's everything going now?
You know, how how's that feelingfor you?
How are you feeling now?
SPEAKER_02 (25:18):
Yeah, so I um I guess the part of one of the
things I didn't mention was thatI also had the BRACO one uh gene
mutation.
So I actually was uh basicallymeans that I had a higher chance
of developing uh breast cancerum as well as some other
cancers.
And so August um was kind of theend of sort of the more I don't
(25:42):
want to say traumatic, but someof the more like bigger things.
Um and then I I did go throughreconstruction and so I've had a
couple more surgeries earlierthis year.
So it's still very much um uhrelevant as far as where I'm at,
you know.
Uh um, but I had my last surgeryin in at the towards the end of
(26:05):
February, probably need maybeone or two more.
Um but uh uh you know what'swhat's interesting, and I think
we kind of touched on it, but isthis idea of survivorship?
And uh, you know, you you hearthat and you, you know, I've
I've always kind of, you know,you see all of that sort of
(26:26):
survivorship and all thesethings out there.
And I don't really it I neverreally knew what that meant
until more recently.
Um, so I am still doing like Imeet with my oncologist um every
three months.
Um, I get my blood checked, andevery time I think, oh my gosh,
is something gonna show up?
You know, and if something isabnormal, you're like, is that
(26:49):
okay?
Like, what's going on?
And you just there's always thisworry that comes with it, or
like that that new ache in yourback, or um, you know, a
headache or something that youthink, is this something else,
you know?
And um, so that's where I'm atright now, where I'm having a
lot of these feelings aroundsurvivorship and what does that
(27:10):
look like, and how to balanceout, you know, I can't be
worried about things that Idon't that I don't know can come
that I don't know what the whatit is or if it's um anything,
but um so trying to trying towork my way out of that worry
that I'm current I'm actuallylike currently in.
SPEAKER_01 (27:29):
Um it's fair, it's what you do like I still worry,
but it does lessen.
It's not something you now worryabout every day or you know, but
it is uh I need to listen towhat my body's saying to me, you
know, type thing.
So it it it it it never, I mean,I'd love to be able to tell you
it totally goes away, but youknow, it doesn't, but it does
(27:52):
lessen.
It does, it's not something youthink about and worry about
every single day, probably likeyou still are today.
I uh uh, you know, I you know,just just for full disclosure
and honesty with that.
SPEAKER_00 (28:05):
So I would say having talked to you, um, you
know, um Teresa now for anextended period of time about
the topic and then us talking toother women about it uh in the
way, you know, just abouteveryone brought this up.
I think to from my, you know,that's like humble observation
standpoint, I'm starting to seethis when you all bring it up
(28:30):
almost as one of the symptomsthat also needs to be included
in the conversation of what theprocess is gonna be like.
So I feel that what you're doingby sharing this, and you're
really contributing to thebigger picture, like normalizing
some of these experiences, andthen also saying, you know, like
this is gonna come up becauseit's a natural response to what
(28:53):
you're going through.
So then it's both like it sucksto feel it and for this to come
up, but it's you know, it's partand parcel of it's it's an it's
another ache.
It's like it's like a you know,and a response to what you're
you're walking through.
So then, you know, just my heartgoes out to you.
And also, you know, if there'sanything that you know our
(29:15):
community can do for you asyou're walking through the
process, I really feel, youknow, like extra celebrating
you, given the fact that you'veraised your hand to do this,
being so deep in the processright now.
So we're like we're right herewith you, and you know, hand on
the heart, really saying thatwith deepest love and
encouragement.
SPEAKER_02 (29:36):
Yeah, no, I think that's been the best is having
so many, so much support and indifferent ways, and from
sometimes from people youwouldn't even expect it.
And I think that's been the mostum meaningful part of this whole
journey, truly.
So thank you for that.
SPEAKER_00 (29:57):
Maybe that's a beautiful way to wrap up, you
know.
We asked this question, how isthis pivot a step forward?
And you know, that doesn't meanyou are at the end of the
journey or that there is a, youknow, that's all an illusion,
always, anyways.
I mean, everything is alwayscontinuing to transform and
transmute.
But up until this point, andmaybe even particularly with
regards to that whole self-caredecision that you made, how can
(30:21):
you help us uh essentiallysummarize the conversation?
How has this been so far?
A step forward.
SPEAKER_02 (30:31):
I think uh the main shift has been how you know the
it's that work-life balance thatyou always try to achieve.
And I feel like I've gotten to apoint where I'm um I'm able to
find that time and to find thebalance and just really
prioritizing.
Um, but with that, I'm also feellike I've got a perspective that
(30:55):
I've been able to talk to folksthat, you know, I've got I've
got people that report to me atwork, and I can share, maybe not
the same experience, but I canshare like how how do you
balance, how do you sort ofjuggle things, what's really
important that you need to beworking through versus things
that maybe you can let go or youcan do later, or um, you know,
(31:16):
shift and and rethink how youkind of think about um your life
and your priorities.
And I think that's been umreally huge for me.
And then also just like I said,the support that I've had.
Um I have developed some reallyamazing relationships out of
this that um I'm so incrediblygrateful for.
(31:36):
And uh and so it's been justthat that sort of pivot forward
of sort of continuing andleaping into those relationships
and recognizing that yes, wecame from a place of um we we
only know each other or we'veonly met because of breast
cancer, but that doesn't meanthat has to be it, and we can
keep those relationships in soyeah.
SPEAKER_00 (32:03):
Beautiful conclusion.
I also really appreciate thevery practical piece of advice
that you gave in the episode,um, Teresa, that part where Anne
is saying.
So I just want to reiterate itfor our listeners.
Um, it is okay to ask somebodyelse if you empower them with
the information to share theinformation on your behalf.
(32:24):
That's not an approach thatwould work for everybody, but it
is a really valid approach.
So here's, you know, a verytangible way in which, you know,
one can move through a situationsimilar to yours with more grace
and ease.
SPEAKER_01 (32:40):
Yeah, and um, I just really wanted to say, like,
you're still in the thick ofthis, right?
You're still, you know, it andit's so amazing that you would
come on and share this storywith others.
So um, for me, I reallyappreciate that.
It took me a long, long time toshare my story.
So um I really um love that youshared yours um when it's still
(33:02):
so close to you.
So thank you so much, Anne, forsharing this.
It's important for other womento hear it.
So, you know, that that means somuch, honestly.
So thank you.
SPEAKER_02 (33:14):
Yeah, thank you so much for having me.
This has been uh reallywonderful and um so happy to
finally meet you, Teresa, andalways great to see you know.
So awesome.
SPEAKER_00 (33:24):
Yeah.
And thank you to all of ourlisteners.
Thank you for contributing yourattention and your care and
helping us uplift each otherduring this important month of
breast cancer awareness.
Yes, for sure.
SPEAKER_01 (33:40):
Yeah, and don't forget to get your mammogram.
Don't forget to get yourmammogram if you have not.
Um, that is so important.
And uh thank you again to all ofour listeners.
Thank you to Ann and Evie.
And uh remember if you have apivot, step into it.
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