SPEAKER_02: 0:00

Welcome, welcome to the Your Opinion Doesn't Matter Podcast. I am Mr. Lamont, one of the hosts, and I'm here with none other Sherry Berry. How are you doing? I'm doing well. How are you? I'm doing good. I'm doing good. And uh we have none other Black Jesus Sterling. How are you doing, bro?

SPEAKER_03: 0:17

Yeah, yeah, yeah. We in here, you know. Everything is good. Can't complain, baby.

SPEAKER_02: 0:21

And we have a newcomer.

SPEAKER_03: 0:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 0:23

You know, to my right, my guy, Mr. Breeze. How are you, bro?

SPEAKER_08: 0:30

Thank you. I thank y'all for inviting me. I'm glad to be here. You know what I mean? On the Your Opinion Doesn't Matter podcast. You know, it's a great event for me today. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02: 0:39

Thank you, man. Even though you know you mess with my sobriety, man. You know, you got the alcoholist.

SPEAKER_08: 0:44

Listen, I was having a drink with my homie out um, you know, offset. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 0:51

I'm going on four years, man. I'm fighting the fight, man. Keep fighting. Keep fighting. Every day is a fight. That's good. Yeah, man. Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_08: 0:57

I gotta stop, but he had the white headset.

SPEAKER_06: 1:01

All right. Yes, as everybody out there knows, this is officially breast cancer awareness month. And you know, we're going to dedicate the episodes to those out there who are dealing with the issue, whether you're dealing with it personally, you have a loved one dealing with it, or you lost a loved one along the way. You know, the fallen soldiers and the sleeping angels. And as we are on the subject, I just like to give pay honor to two people with lost, not to just breast cancer in general, one, but the other one is to cervical cancer. I like to pay honor and homage to Miss Josephine Pierre. She was like my stepmom. I loved her, and she's actually my brother Breeze's mother. And she was very, she was a special light in our life, and we love and we miss her, and we send our condolences. And also to another dear friend of mine, her name was Tony Saran. Breeze also knows her, man. She was like our little sister, man. And she just succumbed to breast cancer less than a year ago, and that was another shining light that was dimmed out. And we just let everybody, all the family friends, know that we love Anna, and we fight the fight with you. Yeah. At this moment, I'm going to pass the mic to my cousin Sherry Berry, and she's going to give you her testimony on how breast cancer affected her life.

SPEAKER_00: 2:28

Well, thank you.

SPEAKER_06: 2:29

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_00: 2:30

Well, welcome everyone. Um, thank you. First of all, thank you for you know wanting to do the podcast on breast cancer. I do believe it's a very important thing. Um, and I'm happy that I'm gonna say that God gave me the strength to even talk about it because I haven't talked about it. Um, little by little, I tell one or two people as this goes along, but I haven't really talked about it much. So we can get into it, and I can just say first, all women, please go get checked. Um, it's all fun and game when a guy meets you and he says, Oh, you know, you got brick breasts. And you know, we we as women, we turn around like, oh yeah, everything's breastfaster. Go get checked. Go get checked. It doesn't matter what age. Don't listen to them when they say to you, you have to be 40 plus or you have to be just go get checked. Um, you know, go to your GYN on a regular and do those things, those little things. It does matter if you get if it gets caught early, it can save a life. So it's it's just very important. So I'm just gonna say that before going into anything else. Um, so just to share a little bit of my story, um, I was 2022 living regular life, doing my thing. Just going through life and just doing everything possibly. Um, and I was gaining weight, and I was always a thick girl, so I never really thought about it. I just, you know, hey, you know, um always knew how to rock my clothes and look good in my clothes and worked out and did all of this stuff. And um, but I started gaining weight, and I was like, oh, why am I gaining so much weight? And um I turned to my significant husband at the time and I said, Listen, I'm gaining weight, gaining weight. And he's like, Oh no, you you know, you look good, nothing's wrong with you. And um I said, Well, I'm just gonna go for a checkup. And I went for a checkup, everything was fine, no worries, no problem. And I was going to work one day and I was waiting for the train. And when I went to go get on a train, I did a like I was gonna fall down, and I held on real stern, and I was like, I don't know what's wrong. I just feel off. My body just feels off. I went to work, I did everything that said, I'm gonna go get a checkup again because something's just off. Okay, twice. Yeah, twice. Just little signs. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna go get a checkup again. And so I called, I didn't go.

SPEAKER_06: 5:13

Why you lost the nerve at the moment?

SPEAKER_00: 5:15

I just felt, you know, it's like that happened to me that day, and then I was fine.

SPEAKER_02: 5:19

I understand, understand.

SPEAKER_00: 5:20

So then I didn't go. Okay. I I just didn't go.

SPEAKER_02: 5:23

You was about to go, and then they said no. I just you felt better. I felt better.

SPEAKER_00: 5:28

So I was like, oh, I'm not gonna go. Okay, and so I didn't go, and life went on as normal, and I was doing everything. And then I went to go take a I went to take a shower and I took the rag and I went right here under my left breast. And it was like uh a knob.

SPEAKER_06: 5:49

Really?

SPEAKER_00: 5:50

Yeah. And I was like, what is that? You know? So I came out the shower, water still running, and I lift up my arms. It was like a little, like a little soft tissue ball that was there. And I was like, what is that? Felt it soft, went back, finished my shower. I went in the room and I was like, babe, look at this. So yeah, so I um showed it to him and he said to, we Googled it, and it said You Google it.

SPEAKER_06: 6:23

I Googled it. They said that in uh situations like this, some of the worst thing to do is to Google.

SPEAKER_00: 6:29

I tell my patients, don't Google, and I was Google.

SPEAKER_06: 6:32

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 6:33

Why do they say that?

SPEAKER_08: 6:33

Why does it say that? Yeah, why do they say don't Google?

SPEAKER_00: 6:35

Because Google is falsified, it doesn't really give you all the factual of what it is.

SPEAKER_02: 6:40

Okay, it makes you more scary. And it'll leave you, it'll give you a few.

SPEAKER_00: 6:43

And it will tell you a bunch of things, and then your mind is gonna start to race into different things, and it's not the best thing to do. Okay.

SPEAKER_08: 6:50

I mean, because one thing you said that um you said you noticed that you gained weight. Yes, that's that's a sign of good question. I was wondering the same thing. Yeah, that's a sign. So it is a sign. Is that a sign of cancer? Is that a sign of it?

SPEAKER_00: 7:06

It's not even a sign of cancer to what to say the word cancer, but it is a sign that something could be off in your body.

SPEAKER_08: 7:12

Gaining weight? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 7:15

If if you gain a rapid amount of weight in a short period of time, so if you I can I can say I was always 180. I went from 180 to then 190, but 190 on me looked good. Big booty was popping, but with the same eating habits and same eating habits, then in I was 190 and I was fine. I was 190 for a minute, then all of a sudden, it was 190 couple weeks, 195.

SPEAKER_07: 7:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 7:47

Then I went from a size 10 genes to a size 12 genes within a month.

SPEAKER_07: 7:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 7:54

And then a month and a half, I was at a 14.

SPEAKER_08: 7:58

Wow. Okay. Okay. Yeah, I was always under the impression that if you started losing weight rapidly, that that would be a sign.

SPEAKER_06: 8:06

That is also a sign.

SPEAKER_00: 8:07

That's also a sign.

SPEAKER_02: 8:08

Okay. Wow, it could go both ways.

SPEAKER_00: 8:10

It can go both ways.

SPEAKER_06: 8:11

It usually goes with the weight loss, though. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 8:14

It goes, you know, it goes with well, it's just little signs that happening, that something in your body is off. Okay. Okay. It doesn't always have to be that diagnosis to be, you know, to be transparent. So skip past that. Um, we did that, then he said, You I think you you need to make this appointment. So I called and I made the appointment. And so um I work in a in a hospital and I work with the Rangers, with the New York City Rangers, and um my doctor was going, he was going away with the team. So usually when he goes away with the team, I would then work from home. So when I made the appointment, it was on a day that I was working at home. And I was like, who wants to go from Brooklyn all the way to the city for an appointment? I'm gonna cancel the appointment.

SPEAKER_08: 9:08

And you canceled the appointment.

SPEAKER_00: 9:10

No, I called, I called to cancel, and I swear to you, it's like something said, don't cancel that appointment.

SPEAKER_09: 9:19

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 9:19

So I didn't cancel the appointment, and I went to the appointment. And I went to get my mammogram. And any woman that knows that you have the mammogram, so for me, I was, I can be honest on the podcast, I was uh 38 triple D. And that's very big breast for women and it's very large breasts, but the right side was always normal, and the left side was always a little bigger.

SPEAKER_06: 9:50

Oh, through your whole life, through my whole life.

SPEAKER_00: 9:52

Okay, okay, and so when the the lady was doing the mammogram, she did this the right side a little uncomfortable, but nothing crazy. When she was doing the left side, I was very uncomfortable, and I remember doing my face like and she was like, You okay? And I was like, Yeah, but I work in the medical field. I can see I can see on top of the thing, it was just a lot of white spots in one breast and not in the other.

SPEAKER_06: 10:27

You've seen where it was going before she actually told me.

SPEAKER_00: 10:29

So I knew something was off, I just didn't know what was what or what was going on, and she kept pressing and she kept saying, just be easy, take it easy. And I kept, you know, breathing, breathing and breathing, and then she stopped. And she said, I'll be back. And she left me in the robe and she left, and then she came back and she said, The doctor wanna talk to you. And I said, Okay. And the doctor came and she said, Um, it's nothing, but I just want to do a biopsy just for precaution. I was like, okay. And um it was just everything was just moving so fast, it was like we gotta do the biopsy right away. So they did the biopsy, and I remember laying there and it was the most painful thing. So painful. I was crying so much because I was in so much pain. My breast was hurting me so much, and the lady kept singing, Sherry, Sherry Baby, you know that song. She kept singing it, and she kept singing it, and I was like, Well, I'm in so much pain, it just hurt me so much. And she said, Take a deep breath, you're gonna be okay. I said, Okay, and I finished and I went home, and she's like, You're gonna get the results in two days.

SPEAKER_01: 11:58

And I was like, Okay. I was sitting at home and I was working from home, and the phone rang, and I picked up the phone, and that was just the worst day of my life. I just, you know, it came back, and I was sitting on the couch and she said, uh uh, I gotta tell you, your results came back, and I got breast cancer.

SPEAKER_06: 12:30

She actually told you this over the phone.

SPEAKER_01: 12:33

Her word was, do you want me to tell you now?

SPEAKER_00: 12:37

Okay, or do you want me or do you want to come in and I can tell you? And I took a deep breath and I was like, No, tell me now.

SPEAKER_01: 12:50

Oh wow, that's and she's like, I'm so sorry. Uh Zach words, it's I'm so sorry, but it came back positive for breast cancer, and I just dropped the phone and I just started screaming so hard, and then um the positive tight came out and he said, What happened?

SPEAKER_00: 13:15

What happened? And I told him, and then he said, Don't worry, everything's gonna be okay. And I just saw a blank. I called my sister, and I just started bawling so much, and it's like when I tell people that uh uh you know my family is everything because she just dropped everything that she did, everything, and she just drove down and she came. Um and we went to the doctor, and then I just I had stage three.

SPEAKER_06: 13:45

Whoa, whoa, I had no idea. Stage three, stage three, stage three. Wow, um, for those who don't know what stage three is, what does that exactly mean? That is did it master size, did it start?

SPEAKER_02: 14:04

So how many stages are there?

SPEAKER_06: 14:06

Four.

SPEAKER_01: 14:08

So um for me, it was stage three, triple negative breast cancer.

SPEAKER_00: 14:14

It's a very um aggressive form of cancer.

SPEAKER_02: 14:18

Wow.

SPEAKER_00: 14:20

And in my cases, there was no treatment option for me. There was no, I couldn't take a pill.

SPEAKER_01: 14:31

I couldn't take a pill, I couldn't do anything. The only thing that I could do and hope that it worked was chemo.

SPEAKER_00: 14:39

So um the doctor came in and he said to me my sister asked, actually, my sister asked, like, is there anything, you know, what is our fighting chance? So what can we do? And um is there a fighting chance? And he said, the only thing that we can do is we could do chemo and we can pray that it works.

SPEAKER_06: 15:06

Wow, only one option, huh? Wow. Only one option.

SPEAKER_00: 15:12

So um I remember it was Memorial Weekend, and I usually like to go to like under the trees. It's like the party that I really like to go to, and um my world just stopped. I just I I just did I froze in time. I just didn't know. I have three beautiful children. I just I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what I didn't know which way to turn. And um I had to start chemo right away. I didn't have a choice in this situation. So um I made my appointments and I had to start chemo. And I remember the first day of chemo, um she took my hand, I can say, because I have tattoos. So they looked at my hand right here with the tattoo, and they took my vein, and she did this. I had to um, it was right after Crossroad Um Father's Day brunch.

SPEAKER_01: 16:28

So I had to look at my hair for the pretty much the last time I knew it was gonna come out.

SPEAKER_00: 16:36

So I looked at myself, I had cornrows going back, and um I just said in my head, like, oh my god, this is probably gonna be the last time I'm gonna have this style, you know, just not knowing what I'm getting myself into. And um my first true treatment was in July and I went, I had the cornrows going, and the girl said, You gotta take the braids out.

SPEAKER_01: 17:14

So I had to sit in the chair and I had to lose all the braids out of my hair.

SPEAKER_08: 17:21

Hold on, so you said July, July of this year or July of last year?

SPEAKER_00: 17:25

No, I started chemo uh in July of 22.

SPEAKER_08: 17:30

July of 22.

SPEAKER_00: 17:32

Absolutely, yeah.

SPEAKER_08: 17:34

And we're in 25.

SPEAKER_00: 17:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08: 17:36

God thank you. Thank you very much. I did not know you were going through that, and just hearing just hearing your story right now, it's just it's amazing. It's amazing because we didn't know you were going through that. Because you know we're here to support you, and we would have been here for you. And it's this is actually our first time hearing your testimony on what you've been through and what you went through. And it's just amazing. Like, God bless you. You are blessed. Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00: 18:06

But you know what? You don't want to not everybody has good for you, Breeze.

SPEAKER_08: 18:11

No, I know.

SPEAKER_00: 18:11

It's just a true statement in my heart and my soul. I had my riding eyes who were there with me from top to bottom. They came knocking on the door and they came, they never asked no questions, they was just there for me. And so I appreciated in my small circle. I appreciate the people who were there for me through this time. And I'm not saying that you wouldn't be knocking at my door. Sterling knocks on my door. He calls me all the time, he checked up on me all the time. Um, and it had nothing to do with this situation, just on a regular checkup.

SPEAKER_06: 18:46

Let me let me stop you there. It kind of did have. I mean, in general, you're my cousin and I love you, and I'm gonna check up on you regardless. But I did, I wasn't aware of the time or exactly what you was going through, but I had an idea you were going through something. So that motivated me to check upon you more often and make sure you were.

SPEAKER_00: 19:04

And I appreciate that.

SPEAKER_06: 19:05

You understand?

SPEAKER_00: 19:06

I appreciate that. So it's just I'm I'm saying my story just to tell women that it's not an easy journey. I watched myself from having, you know, I wear a lot of wig and weaves and all this other stuff, but my natural hair was right here, right by my shoulder. And one day just taking a shower, it just in my hand. Oh you know, it just dropped out, and I was bald. I had nothing. And I lost eyelashes, and I lost my tongue, it was black, and I brushed my teeth, and my teeth was falling out. But you went through?

SPEAKER_06: 19:46

I had no idea. We had no idea.

SPEAKER_08: 19:47

Yeah, and we're family, we had no family, and every time we saw you, you always looked amazing. Yes, I tried my best to just There was never a sign of anything.

SPEAKER_00: 19:55

You know, you try to just not I didn't want pity. I know I don't want pity, and I didn't want 50 questions, and I didn't want people to say, Oh my god, well, oh, she had this, oh my god, and pry it into my life, and they didn't um really care or just had good intentions. So when I went outside, um I I I put on what I needed to put on, you know, I did what I had to do. Um, my support center was great. So when I, you know, if anyone ever hear me, you know, big up this gentleman. I do big him up a lot because this man was there for me from top to bottom and you know, helped me, you know, there's days I couldn't walk. I crawled. There was days that I couldn't eat. He fed me. There was days that he had to lift me up the toilet. There was days that, you know, I couldn't smell. He wiped my tears, he wiped my body, he bade me, you know. So when I big him up, I don't big him up because this, I big him up because not a lot of people can go through and watch somebody through those things and just be the caring person that they are. And and I'll be forever grateful to him for that. I would always big him up no matter what, no matter what life give me. I'm always gonna big him up because I was at my down. I was at my down, and he would leave work and he would make sure and come and lift me on the bed and rub my back and rub my knees and rub my shoulders because everything was turning black. My arms was black, my my nail part was black, all of this was black here, my tongue was black, you know. Um, it was just a lot of things I was going through and he saw me through. So I'm always gonna be grateful for those blessings.

SPEAKER_08: 21:52

So let me just ask you, right? So they diagnosed you with stage three breast cancer, right? Yep. There's only four stages, right?

SPEAKER_01: 22:03

Only four stages.

SPEAKER_08: 22:04

So with a diagnosis of stage three, what kind of prognosis did they give you? That they did they say you had at the time? Like how long did they say before it would progress? Or would it progress if it went left? How long did they give you?

SPEAKER_00: 22:24

What they said to me was exact words that you have triple negative breast cancer. It's very common in black women.

SPEAKER_08: 22:33

Very common.

SPEAKER_00: 22:35

They told me it was a very aggressive form of breast cancer and we need to treat it right away.

SPEAKER_07: 22:41

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 22:43

She didn't tell me anything except for we're gonna fight.

SPEAKER_07: 22:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 22:48

We're gonna give you all that we think that we can, and we're gonna hope and pray that this takes to your body.

SPEAKER_07: 22:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 22:57

So I didn't ask any other questions except for what do you think do I need to do? So the first good news was I did a PET scan and the cancer didn't move. It did not.

SPEAKER_07: 23:13

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 23:13

So she knew exactly what's the target area it needed to go to try to kill the cancer cells.

SPEAKER_07: 23:21

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 23:22

And so in in my chemo, I did all my chemo, I did all my treatments, and then um I decided to do a mysectomy, which was remove my breast. So I decided to do you did that too? I sure did.

SPEAKER_04: 23:42

Wait, wait, wait, wait.

SPEAKER_06: 23:46

You had your your breasts removed?

SPEAKER_00: 23:48

I removed both.

SPEAKER_08: 23:52

I've never seen you without your breast. Not I've never seen a breast.

SPEAKER_06: 24:13

Yes. No, yes. Um but Breeze elaborate on what you you're trying to say.

SPEAKER_08: 24:18

No, I'm just saying, because you've always looked like you've always had breasts. Yes. So I've never seen you not look like you didn't have breasts. Even right now. Even right now, you look breast.

SPEAKER_00: 24:28

I do have breasts now. What do you mean you have breasts now? Okay, so I decided to do bilateral my um mysectomy, which is remove my breast. And so I did it so I had nothing at a point in time. Um, and so it was a decision that I felt was important for me because I didn't know where this came from. It's not genetic.

SPEAKER_07: 24:56

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 24:56

No one in the family has that.

SPEAKER_07: 24:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 24:59

Um, and you know, like the doctor said, I just got a bad dose. Those I just decided to get rid of it. Um, you know, to hope, I'm in remission, hope and pray that it this thing doesn't come back in my body.

SPEAKER_07: 25:18

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 25:18

You know, so um that was the that was a decision of me that I it wasn't about anybody else. It wasn't about if anybody likes me or would want to talk to me in life, you have to love me for all that I am. I cannot try to do things to appease anyone but myself at at this stage and juncture.

SPEAKER_06: 25:39

So let me ask you a question and let's go back a little bit. You having the breast remove, was that optional or was that part of the absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 25:46

So they tell you that you can do uh mysectomy or lumsectomy, which is the lump is just taken out, you can just go in and just take out the the cell and you can still have your breast tissues and all that stuff. I decided to remove the breast tissue.

SPEAKER_08: 26:01

Weren't they uh weren't the the chances of the cancer spreading when you rem when you do the lump wouldn't that still leave a chance of it coming back?

SPEAKER_00: 26:14

Um I don't know to that level because once you do it and if and you pray that if this leaves your your your system your body you you're not thinking like okay it's you know it's gonna come back but they do tell you certain things. So as you may guys may notice, I'm much slimmer. Um I I eat differently, I don't drink liquor anymore, I don't eat fried foods, I don't, you know, I don't eat a lot of things, I don't eat red meat anymore. Okay, I I've changed my lifestyle because I don't know where this stuff came from, how it got into my system. So I'm just very cautious about what I put into my system now. So I try to do a lot more clean, eat it, you know, drinking and things like that.

SPEAKER_06: 27:03

Very wise. Very wise. I I remember you saying not too long ago on a prior podcast that you didn't drink anymore. And I was wondering, I was like, I mean, it was a good thing, but the back of mine, I was like, why? But you know, it all makes a little more sense.

SPEAKER_00: 27:17

It takes it takes a lot. And again, you know, I had to weigh my options with a lot of things because people who people who know me would know that I love to dress. You know, when I go out, I like to look a certain way. I love my heels, you know, I love to look a certain way. But um I had to take all of those things out my side and said, what do you want to do, Chevy? And I chose to live.

SPEAKER_07: 27:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 27:50

And in the process of choosing to live, I made decisions that was best for me. Um, Sterling, you might remember we went on a trip to the Poconos for Val's.

SPEAKER_06: 28:03

Since then? This you were going through this since then? Yes, I remember. That was years.

SPEAKER_00: 28:09

Wow. Underneath that, I must tell you, I had no hair. And um, I was sick as a dog. And um Rocky will always take my wig off and kiss my boy head and said, I love you regardless.

SPEAKER_06: 28:22

Yeah, Rocky was there too. Yeah, that's when Rocky hurt his foot that that trip. Yeah, yes.

SPEAKER_00: 28:27

This is why when I big him up, I big him up. And I'm you know, I'm proud to say, you know, he was a real, real, real, real man to me. He loved me unconditionally, going through all that I went through.

SPEAKER_06: 28:41

I understand. And I I always respected him, but I have a newfound respect for that brother.

SPEAKER_08: 28:45

Yeah, listen, he's a Virgo. Rocky is just gonna say he's a Virgo. Yeah, and these they do, we're not perfect. We are not perfect. But Rocky, if you're out there, yeah, you got my respect too. You heard me? Yeah, so you hear so I did not know that you um took care of my cousin the way you took care of my cousin. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_06: 29:09

Yeah, yeah, yeah. For real, for real. Yeah, so to some of the uh fans out there, I just want to ask you a few questions. It might be a little in-depth.

SPEAKER_05: 29:16

It's okay.

SPEAKER_06: 29:17

Yeah, you know, like you said, you went through chemo. Uh what exactly could you get descriptive to like what the chemo experience is like?

SPEAKER_00: 29:24

So the chemo is rough. Chemo is rough. Physically and mentally, physically, mentally, emotionally, it's rough.

SPEAKER_06: 29:35

How long did you have to go through chemo?

SPEAKER_00: 29:38

Oh, six months.

SPEAKER_02: 29:39

Six months? And actually, what is it? Like a machine in jail.

SPEAKER_00: 29:42

Yeah, what is it? So chemo is is drugs, of course. Um, so you go into a room. I I went into a room. I'm in a room by myself a couple of hours a day, and it's they This was this was my vein, my chemo vein, that they would put the needle inside. They would put saline inside of me to clean it out. And then they would give me, and I was trying to say before, like my first chemo experience when they put it in, it was like I was having a convulsion. Like I was just shaking, my heart was racing. I was like just I couldn't get myself, so they had to stop the drug to like just get me, I guess, together with it because it was new to my systems. And I think it just put me into shock. And I I didn't do well. My first chemo, I didn't do well. Of course. Um, but you know, I had to also before you do chemo, you have to do a port. So I had to have surgery to have they had to put something inside of me. It's a port um that they put right here. Um, my my scars still still stand um where they put that and that that helps the drugs to go inside your system um to go inside of you. So chemo is rough on the body. It's it's rough on your, it drains you, you get very tired. Um, chemo, um, for me at least, it took away my taste buds. So I couldn't eat food. Rice tastes like cardboard. Um, chicken tastes like dirt. Everything was just nasty. The only thing that I could have eaten was um, or I would drink was a nutriment. Um, or he would um Rocky would get me um insure. Um, those are the only things that I could have like stummer as far as food or substance. I couldn't really eat anything. Everything that I like was just nasty, couldn't eat it, couldn't, couldn't stomach it.

SPEAKER_06: 31:51

So how long when you say chemo, like how long would have do you have to stay hooked onto this?

SPEAKER_00: 31:55

So you have your chemo days. So my days was Wednesday, so I would have chemo on Wednesday.

unknown: 32:00

Okay.

SPEAKER_08: 32:00

For the whole day?

SPEAKER_00: 32:02

No, you go uh different times. So if I go in the morning, I would do from like 8 to 12 or 8 to 2.

SPEAKER_02: 32:09

There's a lot of fluids?

SPEAKER_00: 32:11

Just you just sit there with the drip and um you just sit there and they put it in, and you're sitting there and it's hooked up to the machine and it's going inside your system. And you know, I used to bring like a book with me or iPad or you have the TV on or something like that. I was trying to save my hair, so um they have something called an ice pack that they would put on my head to so I would have this big ice pack on my head to try to keep my hair, but then after a while I just got it was too much, it was it was draining on me, and it would and it became too much for me. And I just I just said if if it's meant for me to lose my hair, then that is the journey that I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_02: 32:55

Yeah. I never um I never asked my father. My father started chemo. He had um probably this is like a month now through this prostate. I never asked him the process. I just never thought of it of what is it, what does it look like? Like, you know, what is it?

SPEAKER_06: 33:12

Why is your father taking chemo?

SPEAKER_02: 33:14

He has prostate cancer.

SPEAKER_06: 33:15

Your father has prostate cancer.

SPEAKER_02: 33:16

Yeah, it's prostate cancer. Wow. He's been um, you know what's so bugged out is that he told me this, this was like 20 years ago. 22 years ago, he said that he has prostate.

SPEAKER_06: 33:25

Your father was diagnosed with prostate cancer 22 years ago?

SPEAKER_02: 33:28

Yeah. So he was telling me that um, you know, I'm I I don't know anything about that. I didn't know anything about that. He says the day before he was about to go to surgery, the night before, he says that um I'm not going, I'm not doing that. I want he said I want to die with my boots on. But I just I never knew, I never did research on prostate. I didn't know anything about it, but I just knew my father was a vegetarian, so then what he started doing, he started doing some other um like he started putting his feet in um um I forgot the name. That's that brown, it's not alcohol, the brown bottle. Peroxide. He started putting his feet in peroxide, he started doing some different things, like try to find different remedies. And now 20 years later, 22 years later, it's like it's it caught up to him, like you know, um, and he's he just started um chemo. He started at first they didn't they were stopping him, denying him, because he didn't have Medicaid.

SPEAKER_06: 34:20

Wow, that's uh that's another podcast.

SPEAKER_00: 34:22

Listen, the insurance is also a kicker. I have United Healthcare and out of pocket, um, and I think I have pretty good insurance, but out of pocket, I I'm still paying. I'm still paying between chemo and then you have radiation after when you finish chemo.

SPEAKER_06: 34:39

Radiation too? Yes. I had no idea. I thought it was optional.

SPEAKER_00: 34:45

They when they want you to have the radiation as a it's like a secondary precautionary thing. And um same day? No, no, no, no. So I had chemo, I completed chemo, I had um the surgery where I had my breast removed. Um, and then they give you a break in between, and then um I started radiation and I started radiation, I was doing good radiation, and my last week of radiation, I went into heart failure.

SPEAKER_08: 35:20

Damn.

SPEAKER_00: 35:20

Absolutely, yes.

SPEAKER_08: 35:22

Wait, so you almost died.

SPEAKER_00: 35:24

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_08: 35:25

How? Like how does it cardiac arrest?

SPEAKER_00: 35:28

No, it wasn't cardiac arrest. Um what happened is that you go for radiation. I've been doing the radiation. The radiation seems lighter than chemo in the sense of how you do it. So I'm doing radiation, I'm doing radiation, and one day I remember it was the winter time, it was real cold outside, and me and Rocky got into some foolish argument, was arguing. And so I was in the living room and he was in the bedroom. And um, I just was antsy. I was going like back and forth. Like I couldn't sit still, was going back and forth, back and forth. And um he said, I I wasn't talking to him, whatever the reason was, and then he says, I'm gonna put you in a cab so you can go um to your appointment and um call the cab for me and I went to do my radiation because at that point I was able to do radiation and I was still able to go to work, so I would do radiation and then go to work after. And I got in a cab and it was snowing and um like flakes or you know, flakes and the cabman I said, can you please open the window because it's so hot in here? And he goes, You're hot, and I was like, Hey, yeah, please open the window, open the window. He opened the window and drove me because I I ever all my treatment was at Mount Sinai Hospital. And when I got to there, I have a Louis Vuitton bag, and I had the bag, and all I had in the bag was a wallet and like a little pouch, and I couldn't hold the bag, the bag was so heavy, so I was dragging the bag inside, and the lady said to me, Chevy in. She goes, You know, Chevy in you're so you know, you're such a cherry person. And I'm like, Yeah, but I don't, I don't know. I don't feel good today. I don't, I don't know, something's off. I don't feel good. She says, You okay? And I remember there's like a wall, and I was holding on to the wall, and I said, I think I'm going down. I think I'm going down. And she ran and she got the the wheelchair, and they put me in a wheelchair and they wheeled me to the ER. I went to the ER, and when I went to the ER, they asked me what was, you know, the symptoms and stuff, and I said, Oh, I had radiation, but I I don't feel good. Uh something's just off. I don't know what it is. And they bought the machine, and then when they did the sonogram, she said I was drowned in alive. My heart was filled with water.

SPEAKER_02: 37:57

Wow. So wait a minute, you just happened to go to the hospital that day? I had treatment. Ooh. Wow. Shock. Slucky thing you had to go.

SPEAKER_06: 38:04

Yeah, that could have gone where you left, yes.

SPEAKER_00: 38:07

So um, I ended up being admitted. Um, and they had to, so my my heart was filled with water, my lungs was filled with water, I was basically drowned in alive. Um, and then my um PF level, projective level of my heart went down to 15%.

SPEAKER_06: 38:28

Wow. 50 cent functioning? 15% of functioning of total heart. Yeah. Yeah, that that that's congestive heart failure. Wow.

SPEAKER_00: 38:37

And then while I was in there, I had a stroke.

SPEAKER_05: 38:40

Oh you killing you you're killing us today.

SPEAKER_08: 38:44

So you had cancer, you had a stroke, you had all of this going on, and you didn't reach out to your cousins at no point in time to let us be your support system where we've always supported each other all through life. You've always told me on my mess ups. You've always been there like when I'm doing my mess ups and you see me doing whatever, we're not gonna say whatever, but whenever you see me doing whatever, you're like, yo, listen, you're not being right right now. And you've you've you've you've talked to me and you've you've brought me back on the right direction, and now it's a time where you need the support more than ever, and we're here to support you.

SPEAKER_00: 39:24

I understand that, Breeze. I don't mean I don't mean to I understand you. I know that you guys would, but my brothers and sisters and my rock star and Rocky, he was my he was my support system. I don't care what anyone says, that was my support system, and that's all that I needed at that time.

SPEAKER_06: 39:49

Okay, and it was enough because it got to the world. And it was enough.

SPEAKER_00: 39:53

He was there through everything. I had my children who I had to explain stuff to I was about to ask for that. And I didn't know how to explain stuff to them. And I have my brothers and sisters, and I I even withheld it from my mom because my mom was sick.

SPEAKER_03: 40:12

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 40:12

So I didn't want to put all of that burden on them. So if you know, I'm sharing my story to say is that when you're going through it, everybody could say I'm there for you and support and all this other stuff, but you have to go through it because when the doors is closed, I'm literally by myself.

SPEAKER_07: 40:30

No, you're right.

SPEAKER_00: 40:31

And there's plenty of days that I cried, I laid on the floor, I cried, I cried, I cried, I cried so much. I would hold on to my bed and I would baw and I would cry, I would cry, I would just be like, Why me?

SPEAKER_01: 40:43

Oh God, please, why me? You know, why are you doing this to me? What did I ever do? I would bawl so much. I had anxiety on a train. I thought I was going crazy. I just dropped down on a train one day. I was bawling so much. So I had to go through this.

SPEAKER_00: 41:01

I had to go through this. I think it just makes me a stronger person. I'm just calmer now. I'm just me.

SPEAKER_01: 41:07

Like, so when I tell people, if you see me in a panty and a bra, don't bother me. Don't question me. Don't ask me why am I wearing this? Don't question me why am I talking to this person? Don't question me. Because if you haven't walked my shoes and you haven't seen him when I have to watch my kids and I have to tell them I don't know if I'm gonna be here, you know, when I have to get up to go to work and I go down the stairs and I just feel like I'm gonna drop. And I drop on 91st Street with an anxiety attack, and I had to call my nephew, had to run out and call 911 because I thought I was losing my mind. And that's the hardest thing in life. Okay, so don't nobody question Sherry Ann. Please don't nobody come up to me and ask me why I move the way I move. I move the way I move because God gave me a second chance. And I'm so grateful for everything that I'm going through that when I want to dance to the floor and I want to scream and I want to shout and I want to do whatever, because I know the reason why I'm doing it. And I know the reason why I'm going through, and I cut a lot of things and I cut a lot of people out of my life because they weren't for me. There's people that just was not for me.

SPEAKER_00: 42:24

They're all good for me when I was up and this and cheery, and I can help them and I can do stuff. But when I'm going through stuff, they weren't there how I wanted them to be there for me. So I know what I'm going through. I'm telling you, I'm walking home and my life is falling apart.

SPEAKER_01: 42:42

My relationship is falling apart. Everything is going wrong, and I'm just bawling and crying. I'm crying to my in my house and I'm just bawling. I have big kids. I'm by myself. If people don't understand, I look at myself in the mirror. I had no chest, I had no hair. I had teeth coming out of my mouth. I'm bleeding. I'm going through stuff. So please. But at this time, I had to love myself. I had to fight for myself, and I had to figure out me. I had to figure out a way to make me happy. So I do what I have to do.

SPEAKER_08: 43:22

We want you to know that you are loved. And we do love you. And even though we wish we could have been there for you at that time, I know it's some things in life that people have to go through on their own. Because, you know, everybody thinks life is sweet, and everybody goes through things at times in life where you just have to know. You just gotta let people go through their journey. You just have to go through their journey.

SPEAKER_00: 43:47

You gotta be supportive in different ways. So I'm I'm just saying this podcast to say if you know someone, if you know someone and they let you into their circle, don't ask a bunch of questions. If they ask you to hold their hand, just hold their hands. If they ask you for water, just give them the water. If they ask you to lean on them, just lean on them. You know what I mean? I mean, a lot of things happen. I, you know, I couldn't be nothing. Like I couldn't love nobody, I couldn't kiss Rocky. I couldn't, you know, do anything because I'm sick.

SPEAKER_07: 44:22

No, no.

SPEAKER_00: 44:23

You know what I mean? So you, you know, it I lost a lot. I lost a lot of things, you know, in life. And it's just I'm grateful for the second chance. So I know that God has something good in store for me. And I'm just saying that to all the women out there, instead of gossiping or saying, oh my God, well, she looks this way, or she looks skinny, or she looks this and this. Why don't you try to figure out what's going on with them? Or, you know, call somebody just because I didn't pick up the phone to call, you don't know what's going on in my world. Call and find out what's going on in their world, check up on them, go to the walk. It's important. I've been going to breast cancer rarely walk for a long time before I got diagnosed. It's just more special to me to do this walk because I'm able to walk.

SPEAKER_07: 45:14

Right.

SPEAKER_00: 45:15

There was a point in time when I couldn't walk.

SPEAKER_07: 45:17

Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 45:18

So you know, it's like go to the walk, come out and support somebody.

SPEAKER_06: 45:23

Oh, we definitely there. You know that. We already told you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 45:27

Come out and do the walk and you know, support people.

SPEAKER_06: 45:30

What was the date again?

SPEAKER_00: 45:31

I'm actually doing one tomorrow in Central Park, but I'm also gonna do one in Coney Island on the 26th. So I'm asking, you know, to come out and do the walk with me and you know, take a moment by the water. And you know, if you if you love somebody, give them a hug to see that they're here and show them that you know you support them and you know it's a journey. And don't jump on the phone when you see the podcast. Oh gosh, I didn't know that she had this and I don't know. Don't do that. You know, do something special, you know. You know, reach out to somebody. If you know somebody, go visit them, you know, talk to them, keep them company because it is a dark place. It's a dark place. And a lot of people said to me, you know, Chevy and you such a strong girl, you stronger.

SPEAKER_06: 46:17

I believe down.

SPEAKER_00: 46:19

I broke down a lot of times behind closed doors. I broke down, it's like, oh, you a bad girl, you could catch any guy, da da da. I couldn't get nobody because I didn't know if I could catch myself. So, you know, understand me and understand where I'm coming from and understand my journey. So if I skin myself, my nose up at a guy I have every right to right now. I have every right. I work hard. I've had four and a half surgery trying to get myself back to being me. I have another surgery coming up again. It's gonna be my fifth surgery going through this another surgery, another surgery. And I work out, I got my breast back, I got, you know, I can smile again. I gotta go pay thousands of dollars to get a whole new mouth of teeth because the back teeth, they're all had to get brush your teeth. You have a teeth in your toothbrush kind of situation.

SPEAKER_06: 47:15

So you've really been through it, cuz I have to do it.

SPEAKER_00: 47:17

I've been through it, and all those things are fixable, but once you're gone, you can't get that back. So, you know, if somebody really loves you, they're gonna stick it out with you. Only the good last, that's how I look at it.

SPEAKER_06: 47:30

Yeah, and that goes to show that out there you never, you know, some people just look at you and they dislike you or they envy you because you look a certain way, but you never know what pain that person's going through, what demons they're fighting behind closed doors, you know? Because everybody comes out and they me too. I I put out that straight face, but you know, everybody has issues when they go home. So that's just it goes to show just don't judge people, just enjoy them while they're here.

SPEAKER_00: 47:56

Yeah, and respect people too. I I'm big on that. Respect, respect people's um thought, respect people's privacy. Yes, you know, if somebody tells you don't share, don't share. Maybe they have their reasons why they don't want you to share. And when they want you to share, then share and share on a good note and and do that. You know, I had someone said to me, Well, you know, your friendship changed because you didn't call me. I don't have time to call somebody, and you know if I can make a phone call the next day. So, you know, you could pick up the phone, you know, my you know my number, you know, you know my address, you can bang on my door. So, you know, I just learned to just leave those negative things alone and I'm rebuilding my life slowly. Um, I have good people in my life, and I have other good people out there that check up on me, that don't leave me. They they didn't leave me out in the dirt, um, guiding me. I'm building up myself, I'm building me up. My boss is very good to me.

SPEAKER_06: 48:57

Yes, bless.

SPEAKER_00: 48:58

You know, and my brothers and sisters, I can't love them anymore than I love them. I love each and every one of them so much, you know, and I can call them, you know, Bernice, Roger, Royston, Michelle. I can call their names. I know all of them. I love them. That support system is I don't know, more than everything. My best friend, Marissa, oh my god, she is Marissa. I don't know, my world. That girl got my back upside down, left, right. And my boo, Shireen. I love her so much. Um, and she just always, always, always, she was at my door, at my back and call. And she never left me. She's a true cousin and a true friend, and I really love her and appreciate. And last, before we go, Rocky. You know, I don't I'm saying it publicly. Those who know him, I would not call his government name, but those who know him as Rocky knows who this man um forget anything and everything. When I tell you this, what I've been through, this man has had my back, my front, my side, my toe, my everything. He's held me down, he's been there, and I never really say how grateful I am for him. It was hard on him. It was not easy as a man just going through this. He didn't have to, and he stuck it out so publicly. I want to say thank you so much for being there for me and never forsaking me, never thinking no matter what you're gone through in life, no matter where you went, you always came back and made sure I was good. I'm always gonna be grateful to that, no matter where we go in life. I'm always gonna remember those things because that touched me more than anything else. And to any person that's going through something, don't run out and leave your girl, don't run out and leave your wife, don't run out on her because that alone, we're going through something we feel like we're not the same beautiful person that we probably are, you know. Um, you change, you know. I got real dark, you know, um, my nose, everything changed, you know. So it's you have to look at the girl as the inner beauty that that person has because some people's physical part change, you know, and they're not they're not gonna be able to be physical with you. They're not gonna be able to do a lot of things that they wanted to patience. Because you know, I had my bones a week.

SPEAKER_02: 51:34

Your story's empowering. It's very empowering and powerful at the same time.

SPEAKER_08: 51:39

Listen, your story reminds me of what my mother went through when she went through her battle weekends. Unfortunately, she didn't win. God bless her soul. But it's what she went through and what I what we had to watch her go through. Excuse me.

SPEAKER_06: 52:01

Um speak your truth, bro.

SPEAKER_08: 52:04

It was a lot to be there and be a son and watch mother go through what she went through. And I had to be the strong one because she expected me to be strong. Like one day, I was crying at her bedside and she was like, Yeah, why are you crying? I'm like, mama, because I'm about to lose you. She's like, Stop you crying, yo, go there and be strong for your brothers and sisters. And I didn't know how to act, I didn't know how to respond. So hearing your story just brings back um a lot of a lot of emotion, a lot of shit that I try to repress. Look, I'm glad that you're here. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01: 52:59

I'm glad to be here.

SPEAKER_06: 53:00

And we're glad you're here. You were meant to be here. That's how you ended up here today.

SPEAKER_00: 53:04

Yeah, we were, you know, we spent uh and I told him that. We spend the whole, we spend the whole day together, and you know, um and it was a good day. You know, we laughed and we joked and we had a good day, and like I told everyone last time that I wanted to share my story because I think it's just time that people have to know that it's not a a secret or you're trying to hide or you're trying to do things, but I think I mentioned that to Sterling. When you don't know how what's going on with yourself, it's hard to explain it to somebody else. Understand more than you know, you know, it's hard to nobody understand what you're going through or why you feel the way that you feel. So it's hard to come out and tell somebody, this is what I'm going through, this is what I'm going through. You know, you you just don't know. So everybody, I think, been touched in some different ways by this kind of disease. Oh man. So please just support people and and and you know, this life that we're living, it it's it's different lessons in it. It's different lessons, but I can tell you that I'm not the same Sherry Ann. I don't I don't I don't think I'll ever be the same Sherry Ann. Um I'm and I'm saying my real name. I am I am stronger, stronger. I'm stronger than I and I look at life so differently. Yes, I look at life so differently as I still go through as I every time I walk through that OR.

SPEAKER_01: 54:38

I always say a prayer when they hold my hand and and Dr. Torino goes, you know, your body is so beautiful, you you you're turning out so beautiful. And I always always hand like this, and I say, Dr. Torino, just make me come out on the other side.

SPEAKER_00: 54:56

I don't even care about the body because there's so much needles I'm hooked up to, and so much things that I you know every time I go through the doors to those, then I see the OR and I see all of that, and it's just so much. So I don't really care about the complements of the body, I just want to be able to come out on the other side. And every time I book the surgery, I get nervous. Of course, you know, because here it is, another part of my body being pulled, you know, they pull fat from here, they pull fat from here, they pull fat from here, just trying to make me, you know, be me again. And it's just you gotta. I'm just I'm grateful for the team that worked on me. I'm grateful for the people, for all the surgeons, big up to her medical team. Yeah, and I'm grateful for the prayers, all the prayers, abundance of people who pray for me. And um, I'm just grateful for life, you know. I'm grateful for my beautiful children. Oh, my Jaden, my JJ, my son, you know.

SPEAKER_06: 56:07

I did a great job raising those kids. How old are they?

SPEAKER_00: 56:10

Oh, my daughter. So my oldest Saraya, she is 29. My handsome king, he's 23. Yes, and my beautiful princess Michaela, she's gonna be 18 in a couple of weeks. So, as a single mom, I think I've done it all.

SPEAKER_06: 56:31

Wow.

SPEAKER_08: 56:32

Yeah, look, we love you. Yes, we're happy that you're still here. You know, I'm glad that you survived and young mom.

SPEAKER_00: 56:40

You know, young mom. I remember y'all was like, oh, she had a baby, yo. But look at them now.

SPEAKER_08: 56:47

Look, you you have surpassed everyone else. You know, watch everybody and how they raise their kids and whatever, and you've done an exemplary job. Thank you. You've done a job way beyond a single mother's job.

SPEAKER_06: 57:02

As a single mother.

SPEAKER_08: 57:03

As a single mother. Thank you. You get what I'm saying? That's why all our prayers, everything is with you. I'm glad that the Lord saw fit to keep you here now, to still have you amongst us and be with us and around us. And I swear to you, as your cousin, anything in life that we do, we're gonna do it to the best of our ability, you know, together. And I'm gonna make sure that whatever I have to do to make your life better, or whatever, whatever life has to come, it's gonna be better for all of us. You get what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_00: 57:38

I appreciate it. The love is real. The love is real in the show. Thank you, Monty, for today. Thank you, Sterl, for giving me. Yeah, um, thank you, Breeze, for calling me when you did call me, because then you know we wouldn't have been together. So, you know, you see, God works.

SPEAKER_05: 57:55

He wasn't supposed to be here today, but he ended up here today. When I heard, I said, listen, come on the guest panel today and look at this. Yeah, look at his testimony.

SPEAKER_00: 58:03

And also, you know, before we go, just big up my cardiologist, Dr. Naeem. Because I walked in, she said to me, I wasn't supposed to work. She's the head cardiologist at Mount Sinai. She said, I wasn't supposed to work today, and she got me, and she got my um heart back to 50%. Wow, and um, I'm still going and I'm still she's still working on me, and she's still going, and she is the best um ever. I listen to her fully, and I do everything, I don't do a lot of things, so health is well. Just a question.

SPEAKER_06: 58:41

Your heart is only operating at 50%?

SPEAKER_00: 58:43

50% now.

SPEAKER_06: 58:44

What is the optimum level? What level is it supposed to be at?

SPEAKER_00: 58:46

Well, 50 to 100 is good.

SPEAKER_06: 58:48

Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 58:49

50 is 100. What's ago was this? Um, I made 50% at my last visit, which was three months ago. Wow. And um, when she first diagnosed me, she said usually people don't get they heart don't get back so quick, so quick. Yeah, you know.

SPEAKER_02: 59:08

So that was after your um last um you said cardiac arrest. What did you say you had?

SPEAKER_00: 59:13

So when I went into heart failure, yeah, um, I was at 15%.

SPEAKER_02: 59:18

15.

SPEAKER_00: 59:18

And I left the hospital at 20%, and I was on a lot of medications and things like that, and then I just started, you know, low salt diet, um, eating a certain way and doing certain things, um, trying to exercise. Um, for me, I had to do a lot of surgeries for breast reconstruction and things like that. So exercise couldn't be one of the things that I could do. Um, so I just tried to water has become my best friend. Right. Um, and you know, just I try to walk. So I couldn't walk before from my house to Utica Avenue. I couldn't make it up the hill. So now I can go up and down the hill. Nice, nice, nice, nice, nice. You know, I'm I'm grateful. I'm grateful. I could dance in the parties. I can, you know, testimony. Definitely a lot of things. So I'm grateful for her for just holding me by my hand and you know um guiding me through this process. So grateful and thank you guys. And I hope my story helps somebody else. Let it resonate with something. I hope that, you know, ladies, just check yourself. The bodies do go together. So the breasts and you know, your vagina area does go. So please go to get your annual checkup, check your cervix, check, you know, go get your breast mammogram. Don't just say mammogram. Please tell them that you also want an ultrasound to do on the breasts as well. Um, check under your armpits, hold your hand behind, lay back and and rub in a in a circle and check all around to make sure. If you're unsure, you can pull it up and it'll guide you and do it. Check every time you come out the shower. You know, um, look, things that I've learned is weight gain. If you notice that you're gaining um rapid weight, go and check that out. If you're losing rapid weight, check that out. Um, if your balance is off, um, check it out. Um, those are little things that I've lost I've learned along the way that um said that something was off with me. Um constantly urinating, check it out. Um also look at the color of your urine, your urine when you're in, you know, when you're finished before you flush, you know, if it's too bright or you know, if it has um any kind of irritation, anything like that. Just check. Um, just be my whole moral is be vigilant. Be vigilant, be, you know, if you're not sure, ask a question. Um, talk to your doctor, know your doctor, educate. If you have girl children, talk to them, um, take them to the doctor early and just check. This doesn't run in my family at all. I did genetics and it didn't run in my family, but it happened to me. So it could happen to anyone. Right. Um so please, ladies, please, please, I beg you and go out and walk, please. Black women, please go out and walk, talk to your neighbors, talk to your friend, stop gossiping about each other, stop cursing each other out, stop breaking each other down, and just go out and take care of each other. This we only have one go around, so just make it count.

SPEAKER_06: 1:02:34

Yeah, yeah. And on that same note, black men, same thing goes for you. Yes, get out there, because you know as black men, we scared of the girls. Yeah, you know, black men we scared to go to the doctor, man. Go to the doctor, man. Stop being scared, yeah, stop being a punk, go to the doctor early. I recommend from age 35. Go get all your shit checked out, man. Yeah, stop being scared, man. We don't need to lose any more black fathers than any more black mothers. Take care of ourselves.

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:02

Yes, all right. I concur. I can I concur, man. This is our powerful, powerful episode, man. And um, I thank y'all. Thank you for sharing.

SPEAKER_00: 1:03:12

And I wore my sweatshirt, and Sterling can read it out loud before we go on meeting. And I wrap my hair.

SPEAKER_03: 1:03:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 1:03:19

But I do have my real hair back, and it's back here. God is good.

SPEAKER_04: 1:03:24

I wear my pink for myself. My scars tell a story. They are a reminder of the time when life tried to break me, but failed. Breast cancer awareness. Let's go, guys. Let's go. Nice, man.

SPEAKER_02: 1:03:42

Yeah. Yes, man. You know, like the uh I liked your testimony and also hearing um Bes talk about his mother and his testimony. You know, it's like people need to um take heed and and just don't just don't look at it just for as a month, man. Let's make this like 12 months that people need to appreciate it.

SPEAKER_06: 1:04:00

You're right.

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:00

We just hold it to the month, yeah. So, you know, this is the you come out. Anyone else got anything to say?

SPEAKER_06: 1:04:06

Health is wealth. Always remember that.

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:09

Yes. Health is wealth, man. I love you all. Yeah, we love you all, and thank you all for sharing. Thank you for coming, man.

SPEAKER_04: 1:04:14

Breeze, thank you for coming here. Be part of it.

SPEAKER_08: 1:04:17

Listen, man. Anytime y'all need me on here.

SPEAKER_02: 1:04:19

All right, yeah. So if anybody else has any testimonies and they want to share, um, you know, hit anybody up on this panel, you know. Yeah, this is the Your Opinion Doesn't Matter podcast, and we are out. Blessed everybody.