[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
[00:00:16] Welcome to the Komen Health Equity Revolution series on Real Pink, where patients, advocates, researchers, and community partners come together to talk openly and honestly about what’s standing in the way of breast health equity, and what we’re going to do to change it. I’m your host, Adam Walker. This month is Hispanic Heritage Month, and we’re honoring it by talking about something that a lot of young women don’t expect to be a part of their story this early: needing to have a mammogram as a young adult.
[00:00:46] My guest today is Yaleska Sosa, a senior at Northwestern University studying biological sciences and global health, and a Komen College Ambassador. During a routine appointment, doctors found a mass and referred her for a mammogram, an experience that, combined with her family’s history of cancer, turned a scare into a mission, making sure other young women, especially in the Hispanic Latino community, have the information she wished she’d had.
[00:01:13] Yaleska, welcome to Real Pink.
[00:01:16] Yaleska: Thank you for having me, Adam.
[00:01:18] Adam Walker: Well I, appreciate you taking the time. It’s, it… I don’t often get to, to talk to young people like yourself, so this is kinda, kinda great, and I love the mission that you have. So let’s start with your story, right? Take us back to that appointment.
[00:01:34] What was going through your mind when they told you that you needed to have a mammogram?
[00:01:38] Yaleska: Well, I went in alone, so I was, you know, past the age of 18, so you don’t have your mom to go with you anymore. So it’s like that part of the physical exam is sort of private between you and the doctor. So when I went in there and they told me like, “Oh, you need a mammogram,” first thing that came to mind was like, I just lost my uncle to cancer.
[00:02:03] What could this exactly mean? I didn’t have my mom, so it was sort of just a shock that I received on my own. The experience of me having to tell my mom Mom,” look,” I could potentially,” you know, even even if it’s not likely, like potentially could be open to having cancer. And it was like on her side of the family where she had lost her brother, like not too long ago.
[00:02:32] It had just been two months after. So the fact that I was the one that was having to open with this big news, that’s like the first thing that came to mind. It really wasn’t what my life would be like if I did have cancer. It was more of like what would I do and how could I alleviate sort of that feeling for my mom?
[00:02:54] That’s really what went through during just the whole experience and really thinking should I keep it silent or should I bring, include her in this process? That was really just what was going through my mind when I heard that. We… I’ve talked to a lot of parents on this show that struggle to talk to their kids about it, right?
[00:03:19] Adam Walker: And explain what it is and, you know at every age it’s, you know, difficult for kids. But I guess it really didn’t even occur to me in your situation how difficult it must have been to talk to your mom about it, you know? And share. I mean that’s a whole different level of stress that that really must have been so difficult.
[00:03:38] Now before that day, I mean, had breast cancer ever been some, like has, had it ever felt like it could affect you personally?
[00:03:47] Yaleska: No, there’s no one in my family who had breast cancer. We only know people who are, like, family friends who are older. I know a lady who’s 86, and she was telling me about her experience having breast cancer, and I know someone else who is 89, and she had also experienced breast cancer.
[00:04:04] But really, the types of cancer in my family were very different. It was more of brain cancer or just different leukemia and other stuff like that. But it really hadn’t occurred to me that breast cancer could be something that I would be facing or like in the near future either.
[00:04:25] Adam Walker: Yeah.
[00:04:26] And I think you mentioned that y- your mom had just been dealing with your uncle having cancer. I think that’s what you said. So how did that or just your overall family history of cancer affect sort of your experience?
[00:04:39] Yaleska: Well, my, my uncle was diagnosed with cancer when it was already at a stage four.
[00:04:44] So when my mom found out, they really told her that, “Your brother has only a month to live.” so when I got the news we didn’t know what it was. We didn’t know if I even had it or if it was just whether it was even included in those stages of cancer. So I think that’s why the news was a little bit more surprising.
[00:05:11] Just like- Yeah … my mom, she wouldn’t know, like- Like how long I had, you know? Or something like that. Even if it wasn’t likely it’s still something that you think about- Yeah … because you just don’t know. Because it was such a surprise to her. What do you mean that her brother only had one month to live?
[00:05:32] When she had just talked to him a couple months ago, and seen him.
[00:05:38] Adam Walker: Yeah. Wow. That’s tough. A- and you men- you mentioned a moment ago, I wanted to circle back for just a second. You said you weren’t sure if you should share, you know, that with your mom, because she… I mean walk me through that, because that’s gotta be a difficult choice to make, right?
[00:05:55] And to think through. What, d- what was your, what was that like for you?
[00:06:00] Yaleska: Well, it was something that did occur to me, but I later realized that she would have to drive me to the appointment. So I was like, “I’ll just, you know, I’ll just break the news to her.” but it did occur to me what would it be like if I didn’t tell her so that I wouldn’t have to give her that worry, is what went through my mind.
[00:06:23] Adam Walker: That’s a, a profoundly thoughtful thing and a very that’s a very selfless thing for you to th- to have that thought in that moment. That’s a really that’s really profound, you know? Well, and so speaking of profound you said in your blog and I read this line. I mean, it’s beau- beautifully written.
[00:06:47] You said To know my body is to know my culture and the history behind me.” where did that idea come from and what does that mean to you?
[00:06:59] Yaleska: Well, that sentence has a lot of meaning. It’s not just A, a body tells a story is the way that I see it. It’s like all your ancestors are sort of intertwined genetically.
[00:07:14] They tell a story. So as we know in biology a sort of like a, a moment in time can sort of affect even generations that come. And so s- people who go through PTSD they can carry that into their children and without really knowing. The body tells a story where there might be, like, information or history that we don’t even know about from our ancestors but our body sort of shows that later on.
[00:07:43] So even the way that our parents have taken care of their own body, that can sort of affect the body that you will have later on in the future, and it sort of tells this culturally what goes behind the body. Like, when there’s mistrust with doctors that sort of appears later on with your children because you sort of give that to them in a way.
[00:08:08] What exactly is going on behind the body, behind your family, behind, like, all that family tree? It’s sort of ultimately what makes you, and that’s just the way I was thinking about it when I was thinking about it because it’s like we just don’t know a lot about our ancestors’ past, like our great-grandparents if we even have that communication with, Or conversations with our own parents How were your grandparents?” But we don’t know what comes past that. There’s a point when that sort of history sort of gets lost because we just don’t have any records or we don’t have anything like we do now. So the fact that we’re still able to see it even now in our current body just shows you, like, all that history that has gotten you basically to this place.
[00:09:00] Adam Walker: That is a profoundly deep insight. And I mean, just, it… You need to continue blogging forever. That’s that… I mean d- genuine, I mean, genuinely. That, i- the insight you just shared and the language by which you expressed it is just genuinely beautiful. So thank you for that.
[00:09:25] I really appreciate it. Now let’s talk about the co- the Komen College Ambassador Training Program. You went through that. What, w- did anything sort of stand out or surprise you during that experience?
[00:09:39] Yaleska: Well, when I was reading all the facts, I… Because breast cancer really wasn’t something on my mind when I was, you know young, when I went through that training, I sort of started to realize how much of an impact breast cancer actually has on younger sh- individuals.
[00:09:57] Specifically, the, the one topic that really interested me and fascinated me a lot was that men could also have breast cancer. For some reason, that just hasn’t really been information that has been shared with me. So I feel like for me, I was like, whoa this is something that really needs to change because even though I’m trying to pursue medicine I didn’t even have that information on me.
[00:10:23] I’ve done past internships at medical colleges. I’ve done a lot, where they give me a lot of information on cancer and different areas of research that I’ve also done, and this just hasn’t been something that has been brought up, so.
[00:10:39] Adam Walker: Yeah. I love that you’re taking that next step and really digging into it and learning and embracing all that.
[00:10:45] What… I mean, what made you decide to sort of take this, I mean, th- something that’s so personal, and go on a podcast and talk about it and, you know, make it a public thing to educate people? Like why did you do that?
[00:10:59] Yaleska: Well, because I’ve always been told that I was a healthy individual, even from a young age.
[00:11:04] They’re like, ” you’re very healthy,” and No worries.” We don’t have any concerns about you and your body. Just continue doing what you’re doing.” So the fact that I was affected by breast cancer just shows that anyone could be affected with breast cancer. It’s not just like a healthy individual today could probably have it later on, and we just don’t know because, you know, we’re constantly told Oh, you’re just healthy.
[00:11:29] Continue eating well, continue exercising.” But this could truly happen to anyone, and I feel like that’s something that really impacted me. I felt like I wanted to share that information with others, that if I was given this experience, then might as well share it with others so that, you know, people don’t have to go through the same thing.
[00:11:52] Luckily for me, it wasn’t cancer, but you never know when it could be for someone else. So I feel like if we could just prevent is something that’s very important here. It’s like preventing something from further escalating in the future. That’s right. That’s so good. Your perspective is so good.
[00:12:11] Adam Walker: All right, so walk us through your on-campus awareness event. What did that look like? How did other students respond? How did anybody else respond?
[00:12:21] Yaleska: So for my project, it was, like, at the end of the year we were just planning out what to do, and I just shared a lot of flyers around the s- whole school.
[00:12:35] I would put them on the bathrooms, on the stalls, and just make sure that all this information was out there. I was giving out flyers to students and giving them a lot of the merch that comes from Susan and Komen and really just having conversations with people is what I was doing. Yeah, I was like, “If you have a minute I just want to share a bit of information with you.”
[00:12:59] And that’s truly what I did. It was a very simple project that I did, but I hope that it at least impacted one person because that’s what I was going in with. I was like, “As long as one person gets this information, I know I’ve done my job.” So really not thinking about the larger scale, but sort of thinking about how can I impact someone right now in this moment.
[00:13:22] Adam Walker: Yeah, I mean if you plant the seed, you know, the, the, to be on the lookout and that has impact on somebody going to get tested sooner and catch it, I mean, who knows what type of impact that could have for them. And theoretically, you know, based on what you said earlier, for potentially for generations of their family, right- down the road. So and you’ll never know. You’ll never know what impact you made, but but you did. You did make an impact, and that’s amazing. What would you say to another young Hispanic or Latina woman who assumes breast cancer won’t happen to her at her age?
[00:13:55] Yaleska: Well, I would just say start with the tests.
[00:13:59] Just knowing how to care for your body. It can be simple. It can be something small that we do, but really, like, making sure that we’re on top of it, and if we ever find a, a, a small difference in our body that we didn’t see yesterday make sure that every single, like, difference is noticed, and it does make an impact.
[00:14:23] And it is important to notice, so it’s better to know than to later be sorry because truly I didn’t know really about the exams, about anything related really to breast cancer. So if I could go back in time and start over that would be probably where I would start.
[00:14:45] Adam Walker: Right. Now you’ve done a lot so far, right?
[00:14:50] You’ve done, you’ve been mentioned, you said you’ve had conversations, you’ve passed out flyers, you’ve put up flyers. I- is there any single moment from doing this work, any, any conversation or reaction or anything that sort of stuck with you to this point?
[00:15:04] Yaleska: Yeah, my, my friend actually, she was helping me with the flyers, and I was sort of telling her like, “Oh,” this is what the mission is,” and, you know, giving her some information because she was curious.
[00:15:16] She was like, “Oh,” what are you doing this for?” And I was like, “Oh,” I’m just trying to s- you know, s- literally spread awareness and share that this is a reality in a lot of people’s lives.” And so when I was sharing information with her, hers also stuck that she didn’t know that men could also have breast cancer.
[00:15:37] And for me, I was like, if that was something interesting to me and that was interesting to you that means that this information isn’t really spread. And it’s not something that really is shown really in general. Even I had this conversation with my mom, and she also didn’t know, and she’s older.
[00:15:57] So I just feel like really sharing that it’s not just a cancer that can only be found in women, but it can be found in a larger audience and really even age. It’s not a cancer that can just be found after you’re 45 years old. This is something that really impacts anyone.
[00:16:18] Parent. I mean, I think it affects a significantly larger portion of the population- than I think many of us realize and not, and direct effects and also indirect effects as well. So so last question. What do you hope people take away from hearing your story this Hispanic Heritage Month?
[00:16:35] Well, like I said I really just hope people start to pay attention more to their body, really just care for their body in general, and realize that this is really something that can happen to anyone. And whether this is breast cancer or whether this is any other type of illness it’s really important to just make sure we understand that understanding our body has a lot of impact, and we need to make sure that we’re sort of in tune with our body and start to realize, the responsibility that we also have with it, and to take care of it because, like you said, it can affect not just ourselves, but the people around us.
[00:17:19] Adam Walker: Yeah. That’s right, it can and even to your point, generations to come, right? So, yeah. Well Yaleska, you are an inspiration in so many ways. You make me want to, want to be a blogger again. But more so just seeing someone with your passion to make an impact on the people around you in your community and raise awareness is so critically important.
[00:17:44] And and I just… I wish you the best in the rest of your studies for the rest of this year and wherever you go next. I imagine you’re going to do amazing and wonderful things.
[00:17:53] Yaleska: Thank you so much, Adam, for having me.
[00:17:55] Adam Walker: And and and actually thank you for trusting us, you know with this story, and turning what could’ve been a private and scary situation into something that’s already reaching other students on your campus and beyond.
[00:18:08] And and to our listeners, especially young Hispanic and Latina women, knowing your body is knowing your history, and it’s never too early to pay attention to both. The health equity revolution keeps moving because guests like Yaleska refuse to let their story end with them. For more information on breast health and your risk, visit komen.org.
[00:18:31] Our breast care helpline is also available at 1-877-465-6636 or by email at helpline@komen.org. To learn more about the Komen College Ambassador Program, visit komen.org/college-ambassador.
[00:18:54] 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 @SusanGKomen on social media. I’m your host, Adam. You can find me on Twitter @AJWalker or on my blog, adamjwalker.com