[00:00:00] Adam Walker: From Susan G Komen, this is Real Pink. A podcast exploring real stories, struggles, and triumphs related to breast cancer. We’re taking the conversation from the doctor’s office to your living room.
[00:00:17] This is Real Talk, a podcast conversation where we’re digging deep into breast cancer and the realities patients and survivors face every day. We’re talking openly and honestly about just how difficult breast cancer can be. from being diagnosed, to selecting the right treatment plan, to living day to day with metastatic breast cancer, and after treatment ends.
[00:00:38] In today’s episode, we’re talking about getting to yes. Yes looks different for everyone, and there’s no right or wrong way to get there. But getting there is the goal of today’s conversation. I’m delighted to welcome Lisa Mannina and Jennifer Muniga To tell us more about the breast cancer experiences they’ve had processing through the range of emotions, feelings and setbacks to get to a place where they want to make decisions that are best for them.
[00:01:05] They want to say yes to what’s important and yes to what’s best for them and their futures. Ladies, thank you for being on the show today. Lisa, let’s start with you. Will you tell us a little bit more about your diagnosis and the difficulty you’ve experienced and what yes looks like for you. And then when you finish Jennifer, we’d love to hear from you too.
[00:01:24] Lisa Mannina: Yeah, sure. So I was originally diagnosed in January of 2020 with stage one breast cancer. And at the time my wife and I were living in Puerto Rico and she was pregnant with our first son. And I’m a pilot. So that’s our, the busy season of our operations is in the Caribbean during the winter time.
[00:01:51] So we were going to be down there from October to probably around May. And then we would just go back home to Louisiana where I’m from for any doctor’s appointments that we had. My wife had a baby appointment and I went ahead and scheduled my annual mammogram and we went back home for the appointment.
[00:02:14] One thing led to another. I had a ultrasound biopsy and, you know, after the the mammogram and, you know, everything confirmed that it was cancer. So my life plans changed drastically. At the time we were, Living in
company housing. So we didn’t really have home, so to speak. And so we ended up staying with my brother in Louisiana and I get a double mastectomy in February.
[00:02:47] And my first son was born in May. And then after that, I spent a little time home from work and then COVID hit and I got furloughed. 2020 was a bad year. I’m sure it was for everybody. And then in late July, we ended up moving up here to Connecticut, where I am now. for my job and everything got back on track.
[00:03:19] I got back to flying and life was good until this past May 2024. I went to a routine doctor appointment and it was actually a new oncologist that I was seeing. And he, while he was examining me, he felt a little Lump and I thought it was just scar tissue because it was the same spot that they had done the biopsy initially and So he seemed really concerned about it and there was actually a surgeon a couple of doors down So he said, you know Would you mind if I?
[00:03:53] Asked her to come in here and take a look and she came in and she immediately wanted to biopsy it They biopsied it that day and turns out it was back. And then they sent me for a PET scan and the PET scan showed that I had I had metastasized to my bones. It was in my L3. And in my sacrum.
[00:04:19] So now I am stage four and I’m grounded again from flying. Luckily, my job, I’m also the assistant chief pilot there, so there’s office stuff that I can do. So I’m still working just doing that. Basically reduced rate. And yeah, it was a big punch in the gut for the second time to have my career stripped away, you know, everything that I worked really hard for.
[00:04:47] But it was difficult at first. It’s still difficult. Every, you know. Every day is difficult, but I think at one point you know, I have a four year old and then, oh, I forgot to mention my wife was pregnant the second time through the second diagnosis. So it was, it happened all over again.
[00:05:10] This time she was nine months pregnant. So I found out in May and he was born in June. So we have a four and a half month old now. And I spent a lot of time crying, and just feeling really defeated. You know, I felt like we had finally gotten our life back on track and then we just got knocked out of left field again.
[00:05:38] And then at some point I just I couldn’t stop thinking about my boys and it was just making me so sad to think that in any world that I would not be here for them to watch them grow up and go to their sports games or, you know,
whatever they chose to do. As they were growing up. And, so I just sort of woke up one day and said, I can’t do this anymore.
[00:06:04] I can’t just sit here and cry. And I can’t cry myself to sleep at night and, you know, act like everything’s fine in front of my family to, you know, try not to worry them. So I decided to start educating myself. I felt kind of helpless at first and you know, I don’t know if you feel like this too, Jennifer, but I just didn’t feel like I got enough information and I don’t really think it was.
[00:06:30] My oncology team’s fault, but I just think at some point you kind of have to take charge. It’s your life it’s not their life and Just start learning and start somewhere. So I bought some books and just started reading like crazy and changing everything that I had control over. I just started working on, you know, put a gym in my garage and started working out every day in my garage.
[00:06:58] I I’m on a plant based diet. I bought a A cold plunge tub, which I hate But it’s just part of the whole getting to a yes phase where it was You know to me it was important to just try anything and everything at this point if I decided if i’m going to be here for my boys and my family then I need to try whatever it takes and so i’ve been on a mission since then of just You know trying anything that I read about or heard about or, you know, heard through other women that they’ve tried, like, okay, what, if it’s not going to hurt me, then I’m going to give it a shot.
[00:07:46] So that’s where I’m at today. And you know, I think it feels a little better to take control on what you do have control over, but it’s still a rough process. You still have to wake up every day. And I feel like kind of have that moment where you get hit again. Like, yep, this wasn’t a dream. It’s still my life and okay, well, let’s get to it.
[00:08:13] You know what are we going to. What are we going to do today? So that’s where I’m at.
[00:08:21] Jennifer Muniga: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for sharing. And when we received a little bit of information, I know I received a little bit of information about you. I think it was just an article that Komen had published.
[00:08:33] I read it and I’ve been thinking about you ever since. So You’re really strong, and I know you’re going through on some level. So my story starts in December of 2021. I felt something, which is interesting that you had no symptoms. Thank God you went for your mammogram. I was 39. I had no
reason to have a mammogram yet that I felt a lump and it was up pretty high about 12 o’clock on the right hand side.
[00:09:11] And it was sore. And I went to my OBGYN, who’s my favorite doctor of all. I see her more than I see any primary. And I was like, you know, what is this? And so she felt it. And she said. It’s weird because if it’s cancer, it wouldn’t hurt necessarily. It doesn’t usually hurt, find it, you know, unknowingly.
[00:09:40] But she said, I’m sending you anyway, of course. And so I went for a mammogram. And came back triple negative breast cancer, and that was stage two B, so almost a three, they said. And I was completely terrified because for me, triple negative meant I didn’t know why. There was nothing that told me why.
[00:10:09] I had no family history. You know, there was no reason, and not that there’s a reason for anybody, but there just felt like, I It was at a left field. I’m young, healthy. My mom was two at the time. My kids were four and eight and I’ve got a boy and a girl. And it was tough. I think the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do was tell my eight year old.
[00:10:36] She’s, you know, my girl and she got it kind of, you know, I had to say, you know, do you know what this means? And answer all the questions. And like you, Lisa the thing. It’s scared the most out of me was not being there for them. Luckily my son was four and kind of was like, just, you know, didn’t get it continued.
[00:11:02] Just throw a football at my head or whatever. He was, so that was a saving grace. He didn’t get it. So I went through six months of chemo weekly. I had carbo and taxol and it kicked my butt. Initially it was, it started off being like, okay, you know, this is it’s okay. It’s doable. And then it kind of adds up in your body and your system.
[00:11:36] And by the, I don’t know, the sixth week or something, you know, it would fool me for a few days. I had great doctors. But like you, I wanted to know more, and I read, and I tried to figure out everything I could. I actually had one of my oncology team members tell me to stop consulting with Dr. Google.
[00:12:00] And that’s easier said than done, right? So I trusted this man with my whole life, but also I want to know. I need to know. And I think for me the hardest part was not knowing when I figured out when we went there and, you
know, he mapped out the plan for me, this is the treatment plan, these are the goals.
[00:12:21] That felt a little bit better because I could see. You know what the plan was
[00:12:28] Six months of chemo. And then I had a surgery, just the lumpectomy. And then I had 10 weeks of radiation. So we did the whole thing. It was a whole year long ahead, immunotherapy for the entire year. And so, so far so good, but I am always Sort of waiting for that other shoe to drop, but like, I think we always will.
[00:12:58] And every time there’s a scan, you know, just the routine mammo or the MRI, I am scared to death. They’re going to find something. So yeah it’s so mental, as you know, it’s physical, it kicks your butt physically, but we’re moms and we just keep going and try to, you know, take care of our families.
[00:13:21] And man. It is physical and it affects you in so many more ways than just that physical part.
[00:13:31] Lisa Mannina: It really does. And like the part where you said that your doctor told you to quit consulting Dr. Google. I had a couple of times I basically got eye rolls that, you know, something that I read in the book or researched or heard from other women, you know, and brought that up in my doctor appointment.
[00:13:54] And it was just like, Stay in line, basically, you know, like let us do this. And you know, it’s like you said, it’s easier said than done. We’re over here. This is our lives. And for me I don’t like feeling helpless. And anytime I think of my boys, it’s like, I need them to know if whenever, you know, obviously we’re not going to live forever, but whenever that day comes, I need them to know that I.
[00:14:27] Was on this earth because, you know, I made a choice to be in you know, fought with a warrior spirit and not, you know, just go home and say, sit on my hands and, you know, just wait for doctor’s orders. So yeah it’s frustrating. And I think you know, I kind of think the system’s a little broken.
[00:14:49] You go to your doctor appointments and they Don’t really talk about anything, at least mine didn’t about nutrition or, you know, lifestyle much it’s, you know, this is the plan, which is, again, nice to have a plan, happy to hear a plan. But then what, you know, like, what am I supposed to be eating?
[00:15:09] And, you know, I’ve heard so many women, including, you know, my doctor too, just don’t get too skinny. So I, you’re saying I can go home and eat a box of donuts and 10 cheeseburgers. I don’t think that’s gonna help me heal from anything. So you know, and I don’t think it’s their fault. I think I’ve heard that they just don’t you know, spend a whole lot of time learning about nutrition in med school.
[00:15:35] So it’s I think that’s what kind of made me just start reading books and seeking out. The missing pieces and try to put them together for myself, but yeah it’s tough and it’s it’s hard because I feel like that’s become a full time job just trying to do whatever I can to heal myself or, you know,
[00:16:02] I stay on this planet as long as I can and it’s crazy and I’ve told people, you know, everything that I do during the day and it’s, you know, They’re like, shouldn’t your doctors, shouldn’t you have somebody that’s, you know, telling you what to do?
[00:16:18] And I was like, you know, in a perfect world, yeah. It is what it is. And you, yeah, mental mental aspect of it is so huge. And it is. You know, I don’t know about you, but like you mentioned like scans and stuff like that, and even though I’m in this yes phase and it’s sort of empowering and most days I, you know, I have a pretty good mindset, but there’s still some days that are just tough and yeah.
[00:16:53] And there’s triggers, you know, that you just don’t see coming. And definitely scans are one of them. I just had an MRI recently and there was a scare. It showed some spots lighting up off of my sacrum and it was like the panic button got hit. And, you know, I’m hearing if this is, you know, what we think it is, it’s really bad, but if it’s not, then it’s nothing and I’m, you know, What?
[00:17:25] So, and this happened on a the results came on a Friday. So this is Friday afternoon that we’re having this conversation. Yeah. I mean, it was horrible. So I’m like spinning out all weekend, just waiting to hear what this is. And, you know, my doctor’s like, we don’t think it’s anything, but if it is, it’s serious and it’s really bad.
[00:17:50] Like, okay, yeah it’s tough. But. Luckily, I had another scan and you know, was just sort of some pressure in the area that was causing some spots to light up, but it’s like that kind of a thing. You can never relax, never know what you’re going to see. And it’s every single scan, right? Anyone.
[00:18:16] Jennifer Muniga: And that’s, I think I think we’re a lot of like, and maybe it’s because we, you know, are survivors, but I think that piece of control that we do have. So you are taking control of the things that you can, so you’re eating well and exercising and, like, the scans we have no control over, and we have no control over this disease, but we can make the best of it while we’re here and really just take those things.
[00:18:43] I think that’s what I’ve had to lean on over the past three years. I like to plan things and like you, this certainly was not in my life plans. And so yes, but taking control of the things that, that you can is what I think helps me a lot.
[00:19:02] Lisa Mannina: Yeah. How do you did you end up talking to your four year old at all about it?
[00:19:09] I’m like, In a place where my wife and I are going back and forth and she’s like, he’s too young and I said, well, we don’t need to, I don’t think we need to tell him any gory details, but he’s smart and he, you know, he knows I go to the doctor a lot. He sees me come home with, you know a poke, we call it, you know, when I either get a shot or have had an IV or an infusion.
[00:19:35] So I know he overhears us talking sometimes or me on the phone with a doctor. He sees all my medications on the counter. So at some point he’s going to start forming something in his brain, whether it’s the truth or not. You know, did you have to answer any questions?
[00:19:55] Jennifer Muniga: I did. I told him mommy’s sick, but I’m going to and I’m getting medicine that’s going to make me really sleepy and really not feel well, but it’s going to make me better in the end.
[00:20:11] And, you know, kind of just talk to him about sometimes I’m gonna be tired and I’m sorry that I can’t play. I read.. That’s the thing that I read the most about. I read books about how to talk to them. You know, making sure that they understood that you’re not going to get sick, it’s not contagious, what mommy has, you know, you can’t catch and I need lots of love and snuggles.
[00:20:32] And that, that was really hard. And I think mainly A lot for the eight year old, but I agree, kids are smart. Your four year old is going to know. And I had a port in my chest for a year. And so, you know, we would always say that’s where the medicine goes. It’s the bump. And you know, for the most part, he was pretty.
[00:20:58] You know, oblivious but new I lost all my hair and I left the, I let them both, you know, cut my hair and, you know, shave my head before all of
that all happened. I just tried to make them a part of it without being scary. Really hard stuff. So and for me it happened December 14th was the day I had my diagnosis right before Christmas.
[00:21:28] And. I didn’t say anything to the kids at all until after Christmas. That was a really hard couple of weeks because I couldn’t get into anywhere because the holidays and I had this diagnosis, but it’s like, now what? So that, I think that was the hardest of the whole year really is the unknown.
[00:21:49] Lisa Mannina: Yeah. I had a similar situation when I found out it was right before my wife’s birthday. And then my older son, my four year old, his birthday is two days after. And I didn’t tell them, I kept it to myself because I knew it was just gonna destroy my wife. And I wanted her to at least have a good birthday, you know, and then, you know, give my son a good day and then blow up our lives again.
[00:22:20] Yeah, I did the same thing and I’m glad I did, you know, got some good memories before, before everything went downhill, but yeah it’s tough. You know. I think she’s worried about losing it in front of them and just you know, not being able to control her emotions and it’s a hard thing to talk about with adults and, you know, keep your composure much less a kid.
[00:22:50] So I definitely want to say something to him and I’ve read a couple of children’s books and trying to find the right one for our situation that fits and kind of read it with them and, you know, just kind of take it. at his pace and let him ask questions as they come up and at least open the door, you know, for him to ask questions and
[00:23:13] Jennifer Muniga: parents just know, you know, innately and you’ll follow his lead.
[00:23:17] Lisa Mannina: Yeah.
[00:23:18] Jennifer Muniga: I’ll ask questions and then, you know, jump off the couch or something. So,
[00:23:23] Lisa Mannina: right, right. Nothing lasts long, right? So as long as we can get that initial conversation and rip the band aid off, I think. I think it’ll be better. And yeah I like that you included your kids on some of the stuff.
[00:23:40] I’m I had a little bit different treatment. The first time around, I didn’t have chemo. I didn’t have radiation, which now, you know. Thinking back, maybe that wasn’t the best decision because I know they were on the fence
about it and ultimately decided not to, so I kind of wish, you know, I knew more back then and would have pushed for it, but this time around I’m ER positive, HER2 negative, so.
[00:24:10] Luckily you know, we know that hormones feeds mine. So I’m on Arimidex now for the foreseeable future, five to ten years. And I’m on a chemo pill. And I go to the hospital for a bone strengthening drug, that’s an infusion. and Lupron injections monthly. So I spend a lot of time at the hospital.
[00:24:45] I’ve gotten to know everybody, but I’m about to start radiation next week, actually. All right. Yeah. Next week. So they’re doing a different type of radiation than kind of the traditional it’s I believe it’s SBRT. It’s a, basically a very high dose. a very targeted area. So it’s only three sessions, which is really nice.
[00:25:14] So Yeah, I think I’m thankful for that. I don’t know how the high dose is going to feel afterwards, but we’ll see. Once I got on the yes train, I guess I had a a PET scan it was like a month or so later and I actually had really good results. So the initial. spot in my breast and the two bone spots, all three of them as it said on the report, significantly shrunk in size.
[00:25:54] So, you know, I was I don’t know if that’s what I’m doing has any effect on that at all, but I have to believe that it does. And, you know, my doctors seem to be pretty shocked, you know, by the results. So like that gave me the fuel to keep on going and keep saying yes. Keep trying new things.
[00:26:20] Jennifer Muniga: Mindset is so much of it, and I remember when it happened, when we first got diagnosed people around me would say, you know, you’ve got to stay positive, and, you know, your mindset is 90 percent of this, and initially, I wasn’t ready to hear that, because I was pissed, because I was And I did not have time for this.
[00:26:43] And why me? And I think, I don’t know about you, but I had to sit in it for a little bit before I could get to, okay, let’s do this. And there are still days where I’m like, I don’t want to be a survivor. Cause I didn’t want to survive to be like, I didn’t want to have to fight something that I had to survive.
[00:27:02] That’s not fair. And then there’s other days it’s like, all right, I did this. And yeah, I am a survivor, but that’s the mental part of it. Right. But. You gotta sit in it sometimes, and then you get to a point where it’s like, alright.
[00:27:19] Lisa Mannina: Yeah I think that it’s important to allow yourself to feel that, and at some point you do have to pick yourself up.
[00:27:28] You can’t stay in it, but I think it is important. And You know, I wasn’t probably the most emotionally in touch person before this happened. But, you know, this journey that I’ve kind of forced to be on now, I mean, there are some good aspects about it. I got a therapist and I’ve never had a therapist in my life.
[00:27:49] And you know, it was always, you know, You know, I don’t need a therapist. I can figure it out on my own, you know, but this time around I was like, you know, I need to add to my care team. I need to round it out and I need to attack it mind, body and soul. And so I can take care of the body part of it, you know, with the working out and what I put in, you know, into my body when I’m eating.
[00:28:16] I didn’t realize how beneficial a therapist would be until I started seeing one. And it’s been amazing. And I think one of the reasons is that I’m always so careful about what I say around my family and friends, because, and I’m sure you know, you feel the same way. Everybody is worried for you. And if you’re having a bad day and you say that it’s like everybody It hurts everybody.
[00:28:48] And they just want you to be better and they want, they can’t fix it. And so you find yourself just saying, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. And we’re not fine. And it’s… it’s, you know, I think being able to go sit in front of a therapist and have her say, okay, dump on me. Leave it here. Say whatever you need to say.
[00:29:13] Say whatever you wanna say. And, you know, they have no emotional stake in it. So that’s been huge to be able to just actually say how I’m feeling out loud and not worry about hurting somebody or how they’re gonna feel. I highly recommend everybody gets a therapist.
[00:29:37] Jennifer Muniga: Great advice, especially because while we’re in it you have all these people that are rallying around you and all these people who are right there.
[00:29:45] And that’s great. They love you. And, but when it’s over, you know, like I’m in, you know, remission. Not saying that they, you know, don’t worry and don’t check up on me but it’s not the same as when you’re in it, and it’s not okay just because it’s done, because not done.
[00:30:04] Lisa Mannina: Yeah, because I Mannina: Yeah, because I
ans stay clear for the rest of your life. I really do. But you don’t know. And it’s always going to be in your mind. Yeah. Yeah, I think it’s important to have somebody to just on those days where you’re worried about, or when you have a scan coming up and you have that anxiety to just be able to.
[00:30:31] If you can’t say it to your family or don’t want to say it to your family, you can say it to your therapist. And it’s been, I think it’s been really nice having just a third party, you know, few things from the outside and be able to offer advice. Just listen. That’s been great. But writing too, I’ve started writing and I’ve found that’s been a really good outlet, you know, for things that I can’t or don’t want to say out loud.
[00:31:03] That’s been really helpful too.
[00:31:05] Jennifer Muniga: I’ve been doing that too, because I feel like there’s just so many things that are just kind of swirling around in there that I want to get out. And it does seem cathartic to put it on paper and not necessarily, you know, rehash with my family or my significant other, it’s just, it’s it has helped me as well.
[00:31:28] And it’s funny because that’s, I think I know how I got asked to be on the podcast today is because I shared my story and there’s something that is cathartic about that, being able to say what you want, especially in talking to somebody like you, who gets it we got it. And it’s not a club we wanted to join by any means, but here we are.
[00:31:51] And so let’s take advantage. And yeah, I think that’s been really helpful. Really helpful. I’m talking to people who have been there.
[00:32:02] Lisa Mannina: Yeah, that’s I also joined a breast cancer group. We meet on the first Wednesday. Brave at heart. First Wednesday every month. And it’s just the group of women and having that support.
[00:32:19] I didn’t realize how much of an impact it would have. And Like you said, just talking to people that know what you’re going through, even if it’s not maybe the same stage, maybe you didn’t have the same treatment, but the rest is all the same. The fears that you have, the anxiety that you have. You know, the way that you try to act like you’re okay in front of your family and friends, we all go through that part of it.
[00:32:43] And so it is, it’s really nice to have that group just kind of once a month to like, we’re still here. We got each other, you know, and the having that
support is huge. And also, you know, you learn some things. So they encouraged me to go get a second opinion. And yeah. You know, I’m up here in Connecticut and I have some fantastic hospitals around me, some of the best in the world for cancer.
[00:33:09] And you know, I was like, I didn’t really think to do that. And it’s not anything against my team, but why wouldn’t I go get a second opinion? Just for peace of mind to know that, you know, we’re on the right track here. So yeah, and I did that and I felt so much better after. And just having that group of women
[00:33:31] throw some things out that maybe you hadn’t thought of is, you know, priceless.
[00:33:36] Jennifer Muniga: Absolutely. Yes. Good for you
[00:33:38] I did that in a very rich medical community, and I went outside my community. I went to an oncology specialist here, and I just didn’t get the feeling that I got. I went somewhere else. I went, you know, not even an hour away, and they used the word cure.
[00:34:02] And they didn’t use that here. And I, it’s just like a feeling. And I drove and I had radiation every single day for 10 weeks. And I drove every single day, 90 minutes to do it. But you know, when it’s your life, there’s nothing to lose.
[00:34:23] Lisa Mannina: That’s right. I mean, anything, you know, and I said the same thing, it’s like, sure, it might be inconvenient to drive farther and go see another doctor and even switching, you know if that doctor said something that resonated or, you know, had a different plan luckily She said no.
[00:34:44] She’s like, I think, you know, you’re getting great care. We would do the same thing. And I still have them in my back pocket. You know, if anything new comes up, I can go to them and say, is this what you would do? I mean it’s been nice. And I also consider myself very lucky. My older brother is a radiology oncologist.
[00:35:04] Jennifer Muniga: Oh, my God.
[00:35:04] Lisa Mannina: So I’ve had some insight Into things from the very beginning. And I don’t know, I say this all the time. I don’t know how people that don’t have somebody. That they can just call up that’s in the medical field. I
don’t know how they do it because you feel so lost and I still felt lost. Even having him to call and you know, what does this scan mean?
[00:35:28] What does this mean? Or, you know, with him saying, I think you should ask this question or this question, things that I didn’t think of still felt lost. You know, so I consider myself very lucky. He he lives in Louisiana and treats down there, but he FaceTimes in for all of my appointments. So it’s kind of like I have a second opinion all the time.
[00:35:51] It’s been really great. And, you know, just having his support is amazing, but yeah, completely, and you know, I’m sure he never thought when he got into this line of work that he would be having these conversations with somebody, you know, so close, but, yeah. I’m thankful for it for sure.
[00:36:13] Adam Walker: Well, this has been a fantastic conversation. I appreciate y’all letting me just sit and listen. As we’re sort of wrapping up, I’m curious for listeners that are listening to this conversation now that are trying to get to kind of that yes phase. What would you want them to know?
[00:36:34] Jennifer Muniga: I think just taking control of the things that you can control is one of the biggest things Lisa’s an inspiration of, you know, eating a clean diet and exercising.
[00:36:50] For me, I got out of a toxic marriage that I probably should have gotten out of lots and lots of years ago, but you get a perspective when you get a second chance. And so You know, take control of the things that you can live out every day, the way that you want to make your future happy, because you never know what the next scan is going to bring.
[00:37:13] And you can’t live in fear, but I think Living in reality and just really taking every day for what it is.
[00:37:25] Adam Walker: That’s good. Lisa what advice do you have?
[00:37:28] Lisa Mannina: I would say exactly the same thing. And you know, add in there, definitely find your tribe, you know, find people that are going through the same thing so that you don’t feel so alone.
[00:37:42] Because even when you’re surrounded by family and friends going through this, they don’t understand, unless any of them have actually been diagnosed before. And it’s lonely at times because you don’t want to share everything to shield everybody. So I would say find your tribe, find in one way or another, whether it’s just an online forum or meeting some others for a group.
[00:38:07] Adam Walker: Yeah, that’s great. That’s great advice. Well, Lisa, Jennifer thank you for sharing your stories with us. Thank you for just letting us eavesdrop on your conversation today. And thanks for joining us on the show.
[00:38:22] Jennifer Muniga: Absolutely.
[00:38:22] Lisa Mannina: Thank you for having us.
[00:38:23]
[00:38:28] Adam Walker: Thanks for listening to Real Pink, a weekly podcast by Susan G Komen. For more episodes, visit realpink. komen. org and for more on breast cancer, visit komen. org. Make sure to check out at Susan G Komen on social media. I’m your host, Adam. You can find me on Twitter at AJ Walker or on my blog, adamjwalker.com.