Baddie 2 Baddie: Bonus Episode “Woi! We reach!!” Caribbean Heritage Month

“Woi! We reach!!”

When Baddies link up and “chat bout” cancer, Caribbean culture and everything in between. Baddie massive get your people dem. This is a must listen.

Hosts:

Shoni is a breast cancer thriver diagnosed in 2015. She is very passionate about educating others about health and fitness, lymphedema and being your own advocate. She wants women to not let cancer stop them. You can find her on Instagram at @brsuga

Cynthia was diagnosed with Stage II Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in 2018 one year before she was old enough to begin regular mammograms. After a lumpectomy, chemo, and radiation, Cynthia is currently undergoing hormone therapy. To cope, Cynthia shared her journey candidly on social media.  This led her to educate and advocate about breast cancer and health disparities. Cynthia lives by the mantra, "If you've got to go through it, GLOW through it."  An educator by day, at night Cynthia glows by volunteering her time as a Baddie Ambassador with For The Breast of Us, an Advocacy Ambassador for the Susan G. Komen Center for Public Policy, a certified global educator with the Know Your Lemons Foundation, a member of Alpha Kappa Sorority, Inc. and a proud Bajan Baddie!

Cynthia knows that to do better, you must know better.  It is her hopes that by sharing her story she can arm women with the tools necessary to understand and advocate for their health while breaking down barriers to equitable health outcomes for people of color. Cynthia can be found online @cynserity @ourlikevibes

Yahira Torres is 32 year old mother to 3 boys. Diagnosed in September 2020,  she discovered a lump on her right breast while on vacation. Upon returning home, she went to see her doctor and got the whole nine yards - an exam, mammogram, and biopsy. Yahira chose to have a double mastectomy after finding out she was positive for BRCA2 genetic mutation. After surgery, 1 out of the 17 lymph nodes that were removed was positive. Due to her age and that one positive lymph node, she decided to go through 16 rounds of chemotherapy. Unfortunately, soon after she finished chemo, Yahira needed another surgery to treat an infection in her right chest. The expander was removed, and a couple of months later, she had to remove the left expander because of a similar infection. She then completed active treatment after having 25 rounds of radiation. Currently, she is flat on both sides and waiting for her chest to heal before going into reconstructive surgery. She is also on hormone therapy for the next ten years and has recently had a preventative oophorectomy.

Guests:

Sandrea Perez is a mTNBC thrIVer, social worker, wife and stay-at-home mother of two from Jamaica, W.I. She currently lives in the Bronx, NY. You can connect with her on Instagram @thrivergal

Melissa is a mom of two brilliant and kickass people Jeffrey 31 and Victoria 30.  Since leaving the military, she has been in the field of community service in one way or another.  Before working as a Congressional Aide, Melissa was an Outreach Specialist for a Community Based Organization.   She has sat on various local and national boards with missions spanning Tenant Rights in Federally Subsidized Housing, Puerto Rican Female Empowerment and Cultural Pride, Adult and Youth literacy, Youth leadership, Financial self sufficiency support programs and Community Service Award for Higher Education.  Her greatest endeavor was in the realm of Civics and Voter Education, as the First Woman of Color to hold the position of President to the League of Women Voters of NYC, in its 100 year history.  

As a Breast Cancer thriver, Melissa is using all of these experiences and resources to launch a year round mission "Ready, Set, October" , that will celebrate and bring Women of Color to their yearly Mammogram screening.  

Facebook: Melissa del Valle Ortiz 

Mila Knight is a business operations leader who was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2019 at the age of 38. She has always managed to find solace through her profound love of music, which led to using music as therapy during her cancer battle. Mila turned her pain and passion for music into charity, and the pursuit to end disparities in healthcare. While going through chemo, Mila produced and headlined a fundraising concert, with all funds donated to breast cancer awareness and accessibility programs for women of color and immigrants. She is an advocate, continuing on her path to merge music, therapy, and service to others. She is of Trinidadian background and currently lives in the US East Coast area. You can find her on Instagram @milaknightsings @ofsongmindpodcast

Trish Michelle is a cancer thriver, public speaker & advocate. She was in her 30s when she was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma (breast cancer).  This was 2 years after her son was diagnosed with APML, a rare leukemia.

Realizing that the second hardest thing after hearing “You have cancer”, was finding a strong community of peers in which to bond & support through difficult times. As such, Trish volunteers her time with numerous nonprofits & serves as an ambassador for the NY chapter of The Breasties.  She is also cofounder of the @hiphop_happyhour community which in one year has raised almost $30,000 for charity.

Using humor and real talk, Trish has used social media to connect and advocate.  Her refreshing candor and unique voice has been featured on The Ellen Show, The Today Show, Fox5NY, News12, and recently on Healthline, to name a few.

Trish works tirelessly to raise funds, awareness, provide representation & is actively fighting systems to create an inclusive and progressive movement toward equity, particularly in the cancer and chronic illness community.

Follow along with her on Instagram @trish_newyorkcity

Make sure to follow us on social media:

IG: forthebreastofus

Twitter: thebreastofus

Facebook: For the Breast of Us

Private Facebook Group: Breast Cancer Baddies

Breastofus.com 

Baddie Behavior and Baddie 2 Baddie original theme music, podcast production, and mixing by Sincere529 (www.sincere529.com)