- 3 weeks ago
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining us. My name is Allison McEvna, and I am the
00:10deputy editor for Essence. We have an amazing panel here today to talk about a very, very
00:16important topic that is really, unfortunately, flying under the radar. But of course, that
00:21stops right now. And we're going to be talking about it and raising our flags for it. We're
00:26going to be talking about breast cancer in the time of COVID, surviving breast cancer
00:31and all that comes with that treatment and learning about that, but also in this unique
00:36time of a pandemic. First, I want to, before I introduce our amazing panel, I do want to
00:41tell you guys about our wonderful sponsor, Ford. I want to really thank Ford for bringing
00:46us together for this incredible conversation. And in honor of today's conversation, Ford is
00:52going to donate through their Warriors in Pink initiative to the Pink Fund and Susan G. Komen
00:57for a total of $25,000 to support the fight against breast cancer. If you don't know about
01:03Warriors in Pink, it's an amazing organization that's dedicated to helping those who are touched
01:08by breast cancer, whether they're patients, survivors, family members in the journey, and
01:14100% net proceeds of Warriors in Pink inspirational clothing, accessories and gifts are dedicated
01:21to organizations that help these warriors move through the struggle, such as the Pink Fund
01:27and Susan G. Komen. So we have a great panel and many thanks to Ford for that. First joining
01:33me, we have Dr. Lisa Newman, who is the Chief of Breast Surgery at New York Presbyterian Medical
01:39Center and Whale Cornell Medicine. Next, we have Dr. Ryland Gore of North Atlanta Breast Care.
01:45Hi. Hi. Finally, we have last but not least, Naya Matthews, who is a real estate agent and author,
01:55and a two-time breast cancer survivor and Warriors in Pink model of courage. Thank you for joining us.
02:02So ladies, you know, this is such an important topic. And I really feel like those who have been
02:08going through we hear a lot about comorbidities, but women who are going through cancer treatment or
02:13facing diagnosis in this time are facing such a unique challenge. Dr. Gore, can you talk to me a
02:20little bit about what it's like for those patients, what kinds of challenges that they're facing that
02:25are unique to this time? It's already difficult, right? Because somebody has given you a devastating
02:31diagnosis of breast cancer. And now we've been so limited in what we can do and how we approach
02:37our patients. And so for a while, we were completely shut down. And so much of what I do is dependent on
02:44physical exam and really having that face-to-face time with patients. But we found ourselves transitioning
02:50to telemedicine and phone visits. And at least in my practice, the patients just didn't take well to
02:57that. You know, breast cancer is a tricky beast in that those patients really need some of that hand
03:02holding and some of that extra delicate care. And I'm very hands-on with my patients. And so that was
03:08very, very difficult. And then add on top of that, trying to coordinate surgery, telling a patient,
03:14guess what? Your surgery is considered elective. So we're going to have to put that off. And maybe
03:19they need to do medical treatments such as chemotherapy or endocrine therapy to kind of bridge them through
03:25this gap. It's been very difficult and such a learning curve for everybody involved on my team.
03:33Absolutely. Dr. Newman, I'd love to hear your perspective on this.
03:38During COVID, we had to adjust our practices in terms of managing our breast cancer patients because
03:44all of our healthcare systems had to be focused on getting through the COVID pandemic. So I was
03:51working seven days a week in the surgical ICUs and therefore our breast clinical activities were
03:59shut down. We had to redeploy a lot of our clinical staff. We had to put all of our screening mammography
04:05programs on hiatus and many of our breast cancer operation. Those cases had to be rescheduled until
04:12later. And as Dr. Gore mentioned, it was extremely difficult and painful to have these conversations
04:18with patients who were already dealing with the stresses of social distancing and shelter-in-place.
04:24And now we're talking about delaying breast cancer diagnoses because of screening mammography being
04:30placed on hiatus. And we're talking about potentially delaying breast cancer treatment. So with the African
04:37American community already facing disparities in breast cancer outcome, these were extremely, extremely
04:43challenging times to get past and to overcome. For the telemedicine services that we tried to make
04:51available as a stopgap maneuver in providing some continuity of care, it's wonderful that we did have
04:59to adjust and had this as an option. But the digital divide is a very real thing.
05:05And African Americans in general do not necessarily have equal access to the internet because of
05:12socioeconomic disadvantages, nor do African Americans necessarily use the internet for health
05:18information. So we have to be really careful about exacerbating some breast cancer disparities when we rely
05:25upon telehealth and telemedicine. Absolutely. And are there, you know, when women are entering this
05:32treatment or they're just getting this diagnosis, you know, altering your care schedule seems like a
05:38really alarming thing, you know, even to anyone who, whether they've gone through it or haven't,
05:42it really just seems like a terrifying thing to even say, I have to wait for my treatment. So Naya,
05:48can you please talk to me, you know, having been through this and really known what those terrifying,
05:55difficult times are like, talk me through, you know, what kinds of emotions these women are going
06:03through in dealing with, you know, just the fear of the unknown and then, you know, what it must be
06:10like in a pandemic as well. Well, definitely you are, you're still in a surreal moment. Couldn't imagine
06:18it's happening to you. Why me? Those questions that we ask. And then also you wonder, you know,
06:24what things can we do? You know, why did it have to happen to me? And what would be my next step on
06:30finding a support group that can help me get through the process? I am a two-time cancer
06:35survivor and being in a city where I don't know anyone, it was a very challenging to be able to
06:41find somebody to have the conversations with the depression that you go through, the challenges you
06:46go through on the outside and the process that you go through on the inside, even the mental aspect of
06:51it. It was very, very scary. And now that we're in this pandemic, I definitely have to reach out
06:58more to a lot of the ones that I know that are personally going through cancer because now you're
07:04in the home, you know, you're in your own head. Now you can't really get to the doctor how you would
07:08normally get to. It's very imperative that we reach out more and have that sisterhood there,
07:13that support there to help you go through that, negate through that process. And me too,
07:18having COVID, it happened to me, it hit home even harder because I had to not just deal with the
07:25issues that I have outside of or on the, from having cancer. Now I'm dealing with how to fight
07:31COVID and it's a very scary experience and it was a scary experience, but I'm fine now.
07:37So, so glad to hear that you're fine. One of the things that you brought up that was so,
07:42so interesting to me is about social support and how when you're going through cancer treatment,
07:47you really, really need to lean on your circle, you know, your friends, your family, your mom,
07:52your dad, whoever, whoever in your life really brings that, that support. So, you know, talk to
07:57me how, you know, you think that that might be affecting people to not be able to even just reach
08:02out and get a hug or have that embrace, you know, was that a critical part of your, your healing and
08:07your treatment? It was indeed, but with social support with, with Fort Warriors and Pink,
08:12trust me, they are, they have been actively socially with giving us help tips, you know,
08:17finding ways to stay busy, trying to make sure that our mental is doing good, you know,
08:21even down to the bandanas, showing you ways on how to create a face mask. And I thought that was
08:27awesome. Books to read. So when you're home and you're in your own head, you're trying to figure
08:33out ways to cope. I'm very, very, very grateful for Fort Warriors and Pink finding, you know,
08:38reaching out to us and giving us some tips on how to stay sane during this process for sure.
08:45So Dr. Gore, I want to ask you about, you mentioned telemed before and seeing your patients
08:51virtually and kind of talking them through the process that way. Can you talk to me about,
08:57you know, the unique challenges of that? Telemed is wonderful, but, you know, I'm sure there are
09:02challenges that come up there. So can you talk me through a little bit of that?
09:05You know, for basic issues, for example, for a primary care physician, it's way easier. Like,
09:11oh, my blood pressures have been a little bit high. Let me adjust this. Or, oh, my sugars are
09:16running this way. Let me change this insulin. Let me do that. But for breast cancer, something where
09:22as a surgeon, I depend on my hands. I really depend on physical exam. Most surgeons do to do their job.
09:29It is very difficult. And it also becomes a medical legal issue, right? Like that just doesn't
09:35hold up in court. You know, did you actually see the patient? Did you lay hands on the patient? Or
09:41you did surgery and then your office shut down. But what happened to the patient? What did you see?
09:47And so for me, it's so important for me to have that contact with my patients. And they need that
09:54also. Post-surgery, that's a very emotional time for everybody, not just the patient, but their family
10:01and their children and their caregivers, you know? And so I, you know, I'm able to roll. I'm a millennial.
10:09I'm able to roll with the punches. But my little old ladies, they're like, no, I'll have my mask on
10:15and I will see you tomorrow at 8 a.m. And I'm just like, oh, yes, ma'am. Okay. I'll see you tomorrow.
10:23And so it's kind of difficult. And so it's been very easy to ease back into the routine after
10:30restrictions have been lifted. Not that I'm quite confident that that's also a good decision,
10:35considering what most people are seeing across the country with the bumping cases.
10:40Absolutely. And, you know, one of the things that I love that Warriors in Pink is doing is this series
10:46of social posts that offer inspiration, gratitude, positivity, because, I mean, I would imagine more
10:53than ever, everybody needs that, but especially if you're, if you're going through cancer. So,
10:57you know, mind over matter a lot of times, and you're going through this medical treatment and
11:02everything, but obviously your mindset is really important as well. So talk to me a little bit about
11:06that. Yeah. I would love to hear your perspective as the patient. I'm going to be quiet. I want to hear
11:14what, you know, an actual survivor has to say first, because it's so different from a physician
11:19perspective. You know, keeping your, your mental awareness, that is so, so imperative. You know,
11:26when you're home alone, you can't really get out. Everybody's social distancing. The idle mind
11:33sometimes could get, you know, get away with you. But so having the sisterhood, having people check on you,
11:38going on social media, finding ways to stay, you know, yoga at home now,
11:43making gluten-free cookies. Like we have some of everything out here available
11:47for us to be able to cope. And like I said, I had COVID-19 too, because I had underlining health
11:53issues due to cancer from endocrine and my immune system. And that was a very, very scary thing. And
11:59so I can only imagine for those, some of my sisters who are still in the struggle going through chemo
12:05treatment, what their mental health is like. So it was, it's very important to be able to have that
12:11support socially, online, social media, which is, I mean, I'm not a millennial, I'm a little old
12:17school, but I'm learning ways now on how to work this out all out because this is going to be our
12:22new norm. And I'm just excited that we are just getting creative. I'm just here for it.
12:29From my standpoint as a physician, you know, I joke with patients, but I'm also very serious. I'm one of
12:34those praying surgeons. I know what it took to actually become a surgeon as a black woman,
12:39where we only make up 2% of physicians and 2% of surgeons. And that number is slightly smaller
12:46for women who go into orthopedic surgery or, or, you know, neurosurgery. And so it's a huge deal.
12:52And so I, I counsel my patients on spirituality and my patients, they don't care. I have these women,
12:59these women of color, not just black, but Hispanic Indian, they find me. I don't know how these people
13:04find me all, but they find me and they have no issues with praying and injecting that level of
13:11spirituality into the visit because it's really important to them. And it's important to me,
13:15you know, considering everything I went through on my journey, just to get to this place where I get
13:20to take care of women that look like me. And I'm a big proponent of self-care, whatever that looks
13:26like for you. People been playing games. I see all these ridiculous memes and all that crap on IG.
13:32If you didn't start your multimillion dollar business and make $5 million and do three marathons
13:41by yourself or whatever, you're just lazy. Nope. Pause. We're not doing that in 2020.
13:47Self-care looks like what you need it to look like. If it means I got an extra three hours of sleep
13:51because I'm tired. If that looks like I spent time with my family, if that looks like, guess what?
13:57I didn't do anything. I had a glass of wine and I sat on the couch and I burned my sage.
14:02That whatever, whatever that looks like for you. So I spent a lot of time talking to my patients
14:07about that and getting back to getting back to you because you lose a part of yourself as you
14:13go through a cancer journey. Everything becomes about the doctor's appointments, what the surgeon
14:17wants, what the radiation doctor wants, what the medical oncologist wants, and all these things you
14:22have to do to maintain your health during chemo. And so I like to bring it back and spend part of my
14:27visits talking about that. Like, okay, so what did you do for you?
14:31And with anxiety being at an all-time high, a lot of people are anxious and they're in their own heads.
14:36And it's very important to find ways, like you said, to take self-care. That's so important. I've
14:42just learned how to slow down and appreciate the simple things in life. And with being a two-time
14:50cancer survivor, no one would have never thought that not just once, but twice you beat this thing and
14:54now you got COVID, you have to have some sense of foundation mentally, spiritually, and at whole
15:01to be able to cope with this during this time. Well, ladies, this was such a wonderful conversation
15:07and I just am so grateful to you. And I have to thank both of you and Dr. Lisa for joining us and
15:15having this amazing conversation. And of course, we must thank Ford for bringing this together,
15:20uh, for, you know, participating in, in this wonderful discussion at essence festival and
15:25their generous support of the pink fund and Susan G Coleman with a donation of $25,000 and on an honor
15:32of Ford's warriors for pink. Thank you guys so much. And please take care of yourselves. Likewise. Thank you.
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