12: Cervical and Breast Health: Screening and Prevention

Today we’re talking about something super important — cervical and breast cancer screening guidelines. These topics can feel overwhelming or confusing, especially when you’re juggling a million things, but we’re breaking it down into simple bits you can use.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:12

Hey, and welcome to Single Mom Honey, the podcast dedicated to single moms with a focus on health, money, and everything in between.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

And I cover the health.

SPEAKER_03 0:22

And I'm Aisha, I cover the money. So today we are going to be talking about something very real that impacts every single last one of us women. Single mom, divorce mom, baby mama. I don't care what your title is, it doesn't matter to me.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

You don't have to call me a baby mama.

SPEAKER_03 0:40

You are a woman. Oh, we're gonna have the distinguishment between mother of your child and baby mom.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

Some things are just unacceptable.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Again, I'm Quaylin, and today we're talking about something very important. And that would be cervical and breast cancer screening guidelines. We want to make sure we stay on top of this. Because I don't know about you. I think one thing all of us single mamas have in comma is a cervix in our abidis. Or our titties or our breast. What you call yours?

SPEAKER_03 1:14

Titties.

SPEAKER_00 1:15

Okay. I used to call them baba's, especially when I was breastfeeding.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

Are you dating? You breastfeeding your first child, being in a restaurant with you, and she came up to you and pulled your boob out and said, I want baba. And I was like, this is before I had kids. So I was like, oh my goodness, Kimberly, that just happened. In front of the male waiter. He was like, Oh, y'all want some more drinks? I remember that. It was a barbecue spot. And I was like, oh my gosh. But she was able to walk and talk and say, I want Baba. I think she was about three then. I was like, why should I?

SPEAKER_02 1:46

Yeah, I breastfed her for a long time.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

I always like a straight cow. I have milk for ages. Yeah. Yeah. And anyway, that's why it's so important to stay on top of your breast. Yes. They're good working. Yeah. They still work it.

SPEAKER_02 2:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:02

Um, so breast cancer and cervical cancer can be very heavy and detrimental to your household, your health, and you being a single mother. Like, so we want to make sure that we are doing the proper screenings and doing them on time.

SPEAKER_03 2:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:20

Okay. Um, I know at times, like, topics such as breast cancer or cervical cancer can be overwhelming or intimidating, but this is something that we need to conquer. And we are single moms, we can take care of everything.

SPEAKER_03 2:33

First, we gotta start by taking care of ourselves.

SPEAKER_00 2:36

Exactly. I was gonna say that. First, we gotta take care of ourselves. I might add that your skin looks beautiful. The melanin is melanining over there. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 2:46

If y'all want to see, go ahead and watch this on YouTube at Single Mom Honey Official.

SPEAKER_00 2:51

All right, so we are gonna try to break this down so that it's easy to understand and you can take better care of yourself.

SPEAKER_03 2:58

Okay. Absolutely. All right. So the first is the updated cervical cancer screening guidelines. I remember after having my girl, it was such a blur, I'm not sure it was the first son or my second son that they told me, okay, now that you had a baby, you don't need to go every year to get your pet smear. It said the new guidelines are every two to three years after having a kid. What? Still go every year because that's what I was known for, and that's what my insurance pays for. But I'm sorry, I I went off. I'm going to go right back to what the guidelines are. So let's jump right into the cervical cancer screening. So because guidelines have updated recently, if you have a cervix, that means you know you haven't had surgery removing your cervix. So here's what the new American Cancer Society guidelines.

SPEAKER_00 3:43

All right, so the American American Cancer Society now recommends that people with a cervix, all right, um, or people assigned female at birth start regular screening at age 25 and continue until at least age 65. But I would recommend if you are sexually active before that, you get your cervix checked. I was about to say, what about the people who've been having sex as their teens? Then they need to get checked. Absolutely. And sometimes you need to get a check before that, even if you're not having sex, especially if you have abnormal bleeding and or something's wrong. Like you you need to get checked. Listen to your body is the most important thing. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 4:21

Because sometimes guidelines guidelines are not rules or laws, they're guidelines. Guidelines be adjusted and changed based on everybody's personal situation.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Right, right, right, right. So the main purpose of getting cervical screening is to catch precancerous cell growth early. So if something's going wrong, we want to catch it early so it doesn't progress. And cervical cancer can progress quite quick quickly. And, you know, we don't want that to happen because then you have to face other consequences. And if you don't catch it in time, it could go everywhere in your body, right? So if we are able to catch any cellular changes quickly and early, we can basically create a treatment plan that we would be able to get rid of those changes or, you know, help you modify your behavior and make sure you keep your cervix healthy and happy, I should say.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Yeah. So there are four ways to screen, and this is new information to me. You know, Koya's the one that covers the health, but the preferred one now is the primary HPV test, and that's human papill how do you pronounce it? Papilloma. Okay, pap human papilloma, okay, virus.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Ceral tests all together.

SPEAKER_03 5:34

Yeah, human papillomavirus tests or HPV tests every five years. Now that test looks for the virus that causes almost all cervical cancers.

SPEAKER_00 5:45

Okay, so one of the big things about HPV, there are definitely vaccines now, right? So you can get that HPV vaccination. It used to be prior to age 26. I think they would start like pause. We're gonna pause real quick. Okay because I want to make sure I had that correct. Have you ever heard of the self-collect the HPV test? Yeah, but the thing is if you don't actually get the collection right and you don't get the right sales, I don't see how it would be effective. So let's talk about the HPV vaccination. I got that myself right when I turned 26. Back in the day, I want to say I had my first baby uh when I was 25, and I was definitely a single mom. I didn't know you were that young girl. I don't know why 30. No, definitely wasn't 30. Oh my god, but she were a baby. She imagined I was a baby having a baby. Like, you don't even think 25 is that young until you until you're like almost 45. You're like, oh my God.

SPEAKER_02 6:46

What the hell could I do?

SPEAKER_00 6:50

But uh back in 2007, guidelines for the HPV vaccination were up until age 26. So I got it right at the end, the very end. Like I had just turned 26 and finished my shots, you know, otherwise I would have had to wait. But luckily, yeah, guidelines have changed. So routinely it's recommended for children ages 11 and 12, but it can start at age nine. Um, and this is to prevent HPV-related cancers. So most of the studies back in the day focused just on women, and you know, they would get HPV, and that could lead to cervical cancer and things like that. But, you know, more recently people started thinking, like, well, where does the HPV come from? Typically comes from a dick, right?

SPEAKER_02 7:37

Usually most things that are destructive.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

So now, you know, there is a push to vaccinate boys and girls. And then all the sense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then you think about like boys who or men who have sex with men, right? There are a lot of throat cancers that are related to HPV. So that's no, you just blew my so you know, that's why it's very, very, very important. When you vaccinate your children, you are giving them just a shot for their future, like, you know, because I just want to say these these vaccinations are actually highly effective. And I know that from personal experience. When I was having my second child and I was married, whole ass married, my pap came back with HPV, right? Now it has since cleared. I don't have it anymore. But that was from the person who I was married to, you know. But luckily I had had the vaccination, so I didn't have the I was protected against the strains of the HPV virus that could have caused cancer.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Or or other types of, oh my God. I mean, HPV can give you a run for your money, but you know, again, it's just the education that will help. So I definitely recommend the vaccination itself. The CDC recommends a two-dose series for those starting before age 15 and a three-dose series for people ages 15 to 26. Now, you can get it past age 26. So you just want to engage in some shared decision making with your PCP or your gynecologist or whoever is going to give you those vaccinations. But if you have young kids, get them started early so you can protect them early. If you have teenagers, go ahead.

SPEAKER_03 9:14

Why would you choose between 11, 12, or as early as nine? Like, what are the benefits of what are the benefits?

SPEAKER_00 9:21

Because I mean, it's sad to say, but like we have a highly sexualized society. Right? So a lot of times I feel like our children are taught they're taught about sexual orientation in school, but without sex ed, right? And they have access to a lot more than we did back in the day, right?

SPEAKER_03 9:44

The internet, the inner other nets. Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Yeah, and they get caught up. Exactly. They find out things before you want them to, but you know, the best thing we can do with them, do for them is to have them equipped with the vaccinations and the knowledge. Mm-hmm so they can, you know, prevent things from like this happening. You also have to know that like HPV, although, you know, it's transferred with sex, it can be from skin to skin contact. So you don't even have to go all the way to get it, you know? Yeah. First base, second base, third base. You know what? Honestly, I don't even know the breakdown anymore. Dang? Girl, no, I don't know. And and it could have changed just the same way that slang changes over the years. Remember, people were talking about hooking up? It could mean anything.

SPEAKER_03 10:27

It was so variable. Like hooking up having sex or hooking up doing oral sex or it's hooking up doing fingering, or it's hooking up doing hand jobs, or it's hooking up and groping. Like, it was so I I never got onto that. I never figured out, I never used the freaking term hooking up, like we hooked up. Like what?

SPEAKER_00 10:45

Yeah, and like say you're a person who started your HPV vaccination, right? You want to make sure that if you didn't get all your shots, you get your catch-up doses. Yeah. So, you know, whatever that's gonna mean for you, just follow up with your PCP or your gynecologist or whoever is gonna give you those um injections.

SPEAKER_03 11:04

So, who gives the children the HPV vaccinations? Is that their pediatrician or just to take them to a spec Okay?

SPEAKER_00 11:11

Yep. PCP, pediatrician. That could be your nurse practitioner that they see, or their physician assistant, or their MD or DO.

SPEAKER_03 11:18

I said you're saying so. My kiss pediatrician will give them an HPV vaccination, but they won't give them the coronavirus. I mean uh what is it called?

SPEAKER_00 11:26

You mean the vaccination for COVID?

SPEAKER_03 11:28

Yeah, they won't give them COVID vaccinations, but they'll give them HPV vaccinations. They told me I had to take them to either a clinic or take them to like CVS or a grocery store.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Well, you know what? Sometimes it depends on what the different clinics have access to. And some offices don't have like that standing supply of the vaccinations.

SPEAKER_03 11:46

Okay, maybe my pediatrician and I requested when they lowered the age for kids or requested for my children and said we don't have the vaccination here for COVID.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Yeah, so sometimes that they have them like it might be at your local department of health, or they may only have them at like a CVS or like, you know, a drugstore. It all depends where the funding is and who has the places to store them. Because all those vaccinations have to be stored in at different and specific temperatures. Like you know, so if they don't have the ability to, you don't want them giving them some hot COVID vaccinations. Okay. Okay. All right. So again, if you have missed out on your HPV vaccinations or you're over like 26, you can still get them. And I would recommend it, especially if you're sexually active.

SPEAKER_03 12:32

Absolutely. We're trying to protect ourselves and prolong our lives as long as possible because we are the only dependent person that most of our children have.

SPEAKER_00 12:40

Dependable person, I will say. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:42

There are dependents. Yes, dependable. Yep, that's the word.

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Yeah, so uh definitely definitely would recommend. And I was just very thankful that I got it. I was like, you know, unfortunately, like I always say, you're always monogamous until you're not. And some people, a lot of people are just asymptomatic when it comes to HPV anyway. So, you know, your partner doesn't know that they have it, or your partner may not have caught everything else from that other person they're sleeping with. But, you know, HPV, like I said, can come from skin-to-skin contact. So even if they're like, I ain't even really sleep with them, like, you know, or I didn't cheat, you know, everybody has degrees of cheating, you know. So yeah. Anyway, some of it will clear up on its own and other things you will need treatment for. You know, fortunately, fortunately, I got that vaccination because I'll tell you, marriage does not create um a safe place or make you not vulnerable for STIs or any of those things. I just want to be clear here. Like, be on your high horse if you like, but the the realness of it is like you can only trust yourself and you are responsible for your health.

SPEAKER_03 13:47

Yeah, so protect you, because that's one of the number one reasons for divorce is infidelity. It is what it is.

SPEAKER_00 13:54

Divorce, breakups, and then there's money.

SPEAKER_01 13:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:57

Health and money.

SPEAKER_03 14:02

Good information. So there are four ways to screen, but the preferred now is the primary HBV test, which is every five years. And HBV stands for Huma Papilloma virus. Okay, human papilloma virus test, which happens every five years. That test looks for the virus that causes almost all cervical cancers.

SPEAKER_00 14:27

All right. So this is a big shift. Now we all go in for our pap smears, right? The pap, the forbidden pap. Now, I want us to be real here. If you can take the dick, you can get your pap done.

SPEAKER_03 14:38

First of all, don't judge, okay? That pap smear thing, that speculum, it looks like something out of medieval times. It is 2026. They can't come up with something more comfortable. Like, you can't come up with no uh dick shape, you know what I'm saying? Like insert like a dildo and open it up from that way or something like that. Why gotta be all like an ice cream scooper?

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Like, I just First of all, you gotta be able to see. Now, from someone like me who's done quite a few pap smears and screenings for cervical cancer, I should say there are the metal ones. There are also ones that are made out of plastic that have lights on them, and there are different sizes. So it also depends on the positioning of your cervix. I have a little cervix. Right. So Right. Depends on they got to dive in. Okay. Are you okay? Yes. It can be uncomfortable, but your health will be way more uncomfortable if you skip your passenger. Um okay, fine. So you can always ask your provider, like, hey, this is really uncomfortable. Could I use a spa smaller speculum? Or, you know, we do use lube. I mean, but again, we have to be very specific about um when we're doing the testing to get the proper sales so we can make sure that there have not been any changes on the cellular level with your cervix. So um, again, so when it comes to testing, you're gonna be in a private space. It's gonna be you, your provider, and most likely a medical assistant. You can also have someone in the room with you if you feel uncomfortable. I know I don't ever go in just by myself one-on-one with a patient because there are some patients we uh we realize have trauma, you know, that can interfere with them getting testing regularly. It could be sexual trauma, it could be, you know, all types of things. You just never know. So feel free to ask your provider to meet your needs or if you need accommodations when you go in, but just don't skip it. So you'll be at a clinic or sometimes you can do the testing at home. You can do your own testing, like with this swab, but you gotta make sure, again, like I said, even when I can visualize the cervix and still miss sales, like I think doing home testing might prove to be a little difficult, but that is an option as well. And you know, if you can do home testing, maybe that is an option for you. If you're like, oh my god, I hate the speculum, I hate putting my legs up in those stirrups. Yes. I hate when they be like down a little bit more. Right. And then and then it's just like you scoot down. The only time I be scooting down like that is when it gets swallowed.

SPEAKER_02 17:13

Violet.

SPEAKER_00 17:14

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's it's it's a you know, it's a different feeling where you're like, man, you yeah, you you guys are besties at that point because face was all in there. Like, yeah, I can understand how it could be uncomfortable, because it's uncomfortable for me, because all vaginas are not made equally, and they they you know, it's not my favorite part of the job, but you know, gotta be done. Okay. So again, if you feel uncomfortable, you can opt for a home kit. But you know, make sure you're following the guidelines and getting tested as often as recommended. If you have abnormal results, you might have to come in more frequently. But go back because what you don't want to do is miss out on the opportunity to get treatment that you need.

SPEAKER_03 17:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Or miss changes that you know you could have caught early.

SPEAKER_03 17:57

Yeah, I agree. So here's a quick breakdown. So the primary HPV test, as I mentioned before, is every five years. That is preferred. Now, self-collected HPV test is every three years, which Quay said could be a benefit for those who may have trauma when it comes to the speculum.

SPEAKER_00 18:16

And it's only every three years if it's uh negative, if you get negative results.

SPEAKER_03 18:19

Yes, yes. Okay. Or the co-test. So this is an HBV and the PEP every five years. PEP test alone is every three years. So that's what I was talking about before. After I had, I'm not sure which time it was, tell you the truth, but they told me I didn't have to come get a PAP smear because they already been up in my shit from having this baby for nine months. They was all up in there and stuff like that. And they said now you don't have to come back until every three years to guys have changed. I still go every single year. If that's what my insurance is covering, I don't see anything wrong with making sure that it's covered and I I feel secure in it. Not sure why they're trying to spread it apart.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

Well, you know, I think it's kind of like risk mitigation, you know, in the sense where, hey, they will assess your risk and see what's going on. And if it's negative, you know, some people's insurance won't cover it every single year.

SPEAKER_03 19:10

That's the standard, is that a PAP test is covered every year. It's just the cancer guidelines. I mean, the the medical guidelines change to every three years or as needed or whatever. But the insurance, every female exam is covered 100% every single year, every calendar year. Well, you do work for an insurance company. That's why I was like, why would they try to push it out? The insurance is paying for it. Fuck yeah, I'm still coming.

SPEAKER_00 19:33

Well, a lot of people don't know that. I still think we would get pushback, like as providers, if like the guidelines change, the insurance can fight paying it. You probably can still get it, but they'll bill the uh patient. You know what I'm saying? Like, oh, hey, we're not gonna cover that, or for this reason, you know. Like the same way if you go in and you're just getting a regular cap, right? And if you have a yeast infection or something like that, it goes from being covered as a preventative measure to a problem visit. And then, yeah, like it's and there's all these little guidelines, but you see it more often. I work on the uh the patient-facing side where you're you know, you got all the policies.

SPEAKER_03 20:16

Girl, I never thought about we are off.

SPEAKER_00 20:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:20

I work in insurance, you work in the health field field.

SPEAKER_00 20:22

So I be fighting y'all.

SPEAKER_03 20:24

Yeah, is well, I don't do approve, so I'm gonna make that very clear. I do not approve or deny okay, insurance claims. I do the behind the scenes work. I'm I'm I don't do that.

SPEAKER_00 20:35

I get it. I ain't blaming you. I'm just healing you, you know. You gotta call back in, like, sir, ma'am, we need this. That's why I prescribed it, or that's why I wrote this order for this. Well, I mean, they could get it, but they ain't covered yet. Like, even when you think about mammograms, right? You know, you gotta be, you can get them every year or how they're scheduled, but you don't want to come a day before or 10 days before that annual date, because then you're paying something else out of pocket, you know? And we have to think about it.

SPEAKER_03 21:06

You go before your 40th birthday, you're gonna have to pay for it, which is crazy because people want to get breast cancer earlier than the age of 40. That is later now. Like, why does it matter?

SPEAKER_00 21:16

Money, money, money, money, money. Yeah, unfortunately. Money. Okay, so the main thing to remember is that getting screened regularly is what really matters. Stay consistent, be consistent with yourself. Yeah, make sure you follow up when you're supposed to. No one else, don't be saying, oh, you know what? I called them, they ain't call me back. You call. It's your responsibility. It's your health. Yeah. Well, they didn't call me back, and I tried to schedule it again. What does that mean? It's on you. You got to advocate for you.

SPEAKER_02 21:47

Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:49

Regardless of what tests that you end up using, whether you do a self exam, an approved self exam, or um you go into the clinic, make sure you follow up on those results. Don't just get a test and don't. Of your past. You know? You know, and if they say something's wrong, don't. A lot of people act out of fear and they don't follow up.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

If that's one pay attention to it, then it happens.

SPEAKER_00 22:09

They don't, if that if I don't look at it, it ain't looking at me. That's not how it works. Yeah. And you know what? Even if you had the HPV vaccination or you haven't been sexually active in years, you still want to make sure you get all your screening. Because what if it's something that you just didn't catch? Like, you know, you you missed because you haven't been screening. And a lot of times that's what happens to people, especially single moms. We get so busy, so busy, so busy, we put ourselves on a back burner and we forget to take care of ourselves. The tools and the resources are out here, so utilize them.

SPEAKER_03 22:39

And I wanted to point out that your health as a mom does not start and stop at just reproduction. Exactly. That's the only time people want to think about what's going on down there is whether or not you got a bun in the oven or you're trying to make sure that child is helpful.

SPEAKER_02 22:54

You are a whole person. What about you? All of you. Yes, all of you.

SPEAKER_03 22:59

We have utilized these wounds, but we also need to take care of everything else around there, you know?

SPEAKER_00 23:04

Like exactly.

SPEAKER_03 23:05

We're more than just baby machines. Think about that as well. And also sex machines. Like you're not sexually active, so you're not going to go check on yourself. So it's still your body is still moving, it's still changing. Just because you're sexually active or not does not mean not to take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_00 23:19

And then remember, if you are sexually active or engaging in any behavior that puts you at risk for all the things, i.e. having sex, being an adult, you know, uh, make sure you are getting checked out because cervical changes don't always happen slow. You know, so you know, there are some more aggressive forms of uh cervical cancer. You want to make sure that you are just staying on top of your health. Get screened. If you have abnormal bleeding, if you have abnormal pain, if you have things going on, like you know what you feel. No one else can tell you what you're feeling. Go in there and you advocate until you get an answer.

SPEAKER_03 23:51

Yeah. All right, so let's move on to the other portion of the show, which is breast health or titty health, as I want to say. Bye-bye. Bye-bye health. Baba health. Self-awareness versus mammogram. So talking about them ta-tas, them tig old biddies. There's a lot of confusion here, you know, as well as with the cervical health. Especially when you hear things like do a monthly breast exam. Do you do that, Koi? Do you do a monthly breast exam?

SPEAKER_00 24:20

I think I'll feel them, feel these girls every day. I'll be like, hmm, my nipples feel weird today, you know, or they're a little bit more tender, or like, I mean, I check, not every day, not every month. Should I do that? I mean, you can, but that's not the end-all be-all when it comes to um checking for signs and symptoms of breast cancer. Most times people can't feel if they have like nodules, you know, when they first come about. By the time you fill them, you may have already had a lot of growth. Like, you know.

SPEAKER_03 24:50

Maybe we could do that. We could put up a video of you showing how to do the breast exam. Even if it's not just your boobies, you could use it on uh like a mannequin or something like that, but to show how to do it. So they give you that damn pamphlet. I ain't reading that. Why? Because I but you know that things have changed also when it comes to uh breast examinations as well.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

Yes. So the American Cancer Society doesn't recommend the formal breast breast breastes, okay, breast self-exams or routine clinical breast exams as a scheduling or screening tool for breast cancer. I mean, because again, like I said, if you even if your provider comes to do, you know, your breast exam and they start going all around and you know, it's they're still liable to miss something. Like, we don't have x-ray vision, we can't fill everything, and there's always that human factor, you know. So, more importantly, you know, doing these self-breast exams and your provider doing them didn't um show research shows that it didn't help anybody find breast cancer any sooner. So, you know, you really want to make sure that especially if you have like a family history of breast cancer, you mention that to your provider. Because sometimes, you know, these guidelines get moved back and forth. It's like, hey, start at 40. Oh, now you don't need one to forty-five. But as we know, people get breast cancer earlier and earlier. Yes. So, you know, make sure if there's breast cancer anywhere in your family, you speak on that and say, hey, yeah, there's a history. Because then from what I see what I've seen, the insurance will cover the breast cancer screening earlier than the recommended guidelines. Like I I know when I went in to get my first exam out, I want to say I was just turning 40, but they may have moved the guidelines at that time to like 45 or something like that. And I was like, oh no. My grandmother had breast cancer, so I need to be tested, right? And I'm sure somebody, somewhere in your family, and we all know that breast cancer can skip from generations, it can go, I mean, it's unpredictable. Sometimes people don't even have a family history. So, you know, get checked out as soon as you can.

SPEAKER_03 27:12

Absolutely. Because you you just should know your own body, you know, like that's very important. So experts talk about breast self-awareness, which means paying attention to changes in how your breasts look or feel. Like, well, you say she fills herself up every day. Not every day, every day. Okay. And not following a strict checklist with your calendar. Like some days just feel off. Like I could tell when my period is about to come on because they start getting a little bit tender. I could tell when I was pregnant because they felt weird as hell. And I was like, wait, what's the test? Because my body is they it's been with me my whole life. Okay. I can tell when things are off or changing. And not like I said, not following that strict checklist, but so that something unusual shows up like a new little lump. You know, your skin is looked like you got a nipple in.

SPEAKER_00 28:02

Why you got discharge or something else crazy?

SPEAKER_03 28:05

You know, I've experienced that nipple discharge after breastfeeding, years after breastfeeding discharge coming out of my breast. So I had to get that looked at. Nipple changes. Your nipples are flat now. They used to be more rounded. Right. Persistent pain.

SPEAKER_02 28:19

Like, why are my titties hurting? What is going on?

SPEAKER_03 28:22

And you know, you check with your provider right away.

SPEAKER_00 28:25

And especially if it's not like on both sides, or like, you know, you just have it, you're like, hey, it's just my right breast. Like, you know, I also, you know, when I'm checking, if I feel something weird, because I I mean, I will say I don't do the breast exams quite as frequent as I used to back in the day, or maybe not in the same intensity. But if I would feel something weird, especially when I was breastfeeding, like, you know, because sometimes you'd be like, oh man, I need this milk to come down. Yeah, you know, I would check on the other side to make sure that I was feeling the same.

SPEAKER_03 28:55

That'd be blocked milk ducks.

SPEAKER_00 28:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know, I know.

SPEAKER_03 28:58

It'd be safe to start.

SPEAKER_00 28:59

Exactly. Exactly. So when it comes to mammograms, according to the American Cancer Society, we're going to follow the following recommendations. People aged 40 to 44, you can choose to start your annual mammograms then. If you've had, like I said before, family history, you can get a mammogram earlier. So if you know your mom, your sister, your aunties, everybody had breast cancer, you might want to go and get checked out early so that you don't get caught up.

SPEAKER_03 29:26

Yeah, every my maternal side, I have two aunts that have had breast cancer.

SPEAKER_00 29:30

Right.

SPEAKER_03 29:31

Well, they put me at a higher risk that I need to come get checked every year, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 29:34

Exactly. And and it also depends on the density of your breast tissue. Because sometimes if you have like super dense breast tissue, it's hard for them to detect whether something is going on on the cellular level. So you might need to come back more often than other people. I know for me, I have dense breast tissue. I come back every year, you know, because they're like, hmm, what's that? I don't know. Let's see. Let's make sure we check in next year because we don't want to wait a whole nother year, you know, and where you could have had treatment or something, right? So age 45 to 54, you would start having yearly mammograms anyway. And then age 55 and older, every one to two years, depending on your health and your doctor's recommendations. Okay. Um, and then if you ever have discharge, pain, discomfort, you can also go get a mammogram or an ultrasound to make sure that everything is okay or to see if something's going on. Okay.

SPEAKER_03 30:25

Yeah. These screenings help find cancer early, which is always a bust, and often before you feel anything as well. Because it'll be a shock, but at least you could have a starting point to figure out what's the next steps to be handled in order to make sure that you stay as healthy as possible. And that's why they save lives. That's why it is necessary. You know, I know women who are over 40 who have still haven't gotten a mammogram. That's for old ladies.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

I ain't 60 years old. What I need to get my exactly. And then I've also heard the ladies who are like, Oh, it hurts so bad. Girl die. Like Yes, I've heard that too.

SPEAKER_03 31:03

Oh my goodness, I haven't heard that. They smash it like that.

SPEAKER_00 31:07

No, it's not like that. That is like an urban legend.

SPEAKER_03 31:11

Teddy, I heard, I heard, I've been told it hurts. I don't know quite. I think it may just be if you're a breastfed mama, then maybe you don't feel it.

SPEAKER_00 31:20

Yeah, if you ain't had them nipples bit and pulled and kids in their head like and got them nipples on their wrong in their teeth. I actually remember I remember breastfeeding uh my middle daughter, and she might have been almost two because I was pregnant with Carter. And um, Carter's my son, and they're like two years apart, and she had an apple in her mouth, and I didn't know. And then she came to get some milk. It was like she took a bite of an apple and was like, I need to rinse this down with some hot milk. Yeah, right. And she came to me, start, start feeding, and I'm chilling, chilling, chilling. But now, if you've ever breastfed or breastfed while pregnant, like you know your nipples are already tender just from the breastfeeding. And then they're extra tender when they're pregnant. This little girl decided in the middle of breastfeeding that she wanted another bite of the apple. I didn't know she had apple in her jaw over here. And not only did she bite the apple, she bit my nipple. I cried like a baby, you know. But after that, I realized I'm a thug. So if I gotta get a mammogram, anything I gotta get, like I'm going to go get it. Cause like that was the worst pain I ever felt. Somebody biting off your nipples, like I she drew blood. Little baby vampire.

SPEAKER_03 32:35

Listen, I have a story.

SPEAKER_00 32:36

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 32:37

When I had my youngest, I was breastfeeding him. Now my boys are three years apart. So I got a three-year-old and a newborn. I'm breastfeeding a younger son. And I was half sleep. It was one of those like, just he wanted to drink, you know, I'm I've been up all night long. Yes. I woke up to the most excruciating pain I've ever felt in my life. I woke up disoriented. I didn't know what was going on. I was like, why was going on? I looked down on my son. He's still latched and he's still breastfeeding. While my three-year-old was on my nipple, biting it. Because he thought it was funny. He was trying to breastfeed like the baby. He was like, ha ha ha, ha, girl. I almost decked him out and dropped the newborn at the same time. But I tell you the pain, I was just like, why would you do that? My my nipple was like, doo-doop, doo-doop, doo-doo. He was he thought it was funny. He was like, ha, mommy. That's what he thought my his brother was doing. He thought he was biting the nipple. Listen. I totally blocked that out until you told this story about the apple. Yeah. But again, nip titties the bitch of things. Take flames now. Take flames. Absolutely. So mammograms are especially important because many breast cancers don't cause symptoms until later stages. Exactly. Earlier stage, you're the earlier stage, the better.

SPEAKER_00 33:55

And I would also say, like, if you are having trouble scheduling a breast exam or you go to get uh a mammogram, and someone, when you get there, gives you a hard time. I recently had a friend who was about 40. She went to go get her first mammogram. Now she looks fairly young. She got there, and the lady at the window was like, Hey, why are you here? Like, you don't look old enough for a mammogram. How often? First of all, that's no one exactly. But you're gonna run into those people. So I guess I'm saying this to say when she went to that lady, she wasn't able to get her mammogram that day. She had to reschedule it or something of the sort, but she actually had breast cancer, and this was her first mammogram. And has she not had the wherewithal to be like, I'm still going to go get checked out? I'm still like, screw you. There are people who don't regularly go to the doctor, like, you know, and something like that would deter them. Yes, yes. And I'm just so thankful. Like, she had breast cancer in both breasts, you know, and wow. Right, right, right, right, right. So, you know, again, don't skip these, do not skip these screenings. Like, I'm thankful that she survived breast cancer. She's a breast cancer survivor, she had a double mastectomy, like she she's doing great. But had she not gone and got tested, despite the person telling her she didn't need it, she's only 40, she could have waited to the next year, and I don't know what her outcome would have been.

SPEAKER_03 35:18

So she reported that lady bitch. She didn't.

SPEAKER_00 35:21

She absolutely did. All right. So now let me try this again. Let's talk about how to schedule around your busy life. You really need to make sure you get these screenings on the schedule and it's a non-negotiable. So we hear this all the time from our bees, our honeybees, at tea time. I'm stretched too thin to go to the doctor and stuff. Or I just have, I mean, I have to get my kids to all their appointments. If you don't take care of you first, who's going to take care of your kids?

SPEAKER_03 35:47

Exactly. Right? Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

So it's very important that if you have a mammogram schedule, put it on your calendar. There is no excuse to be like, oh man, I skipped. Sometimes it takes a few months to get in. You know, it it really depends on the availability because, like I said, people are getting mammograms yearly. Everybody's on different schedules. And, you know, when it's your turn, you want to get in when you can, you know? Make sure that you give it the same respect as you give those parent-teacher meetings or those meetings with your boss because you come first. So get the mammogram. You want to also ask, like, if you are going in for your maybe your pap, right? You can schedule all of these things all together so that you can knock it out in one day. Because I know sometimes as single moms, we can't afford to take off work or, you know, not on multiple days.

SPEAKER_03 36:36

Sacrifice, another lunch break to go run to the doctor. Exactly. You're longer than you're supposed to be. And then you have to make excuses when you get back to work. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 36:44

Yep. And then you can also often opt for later appointments. Sometimes there are different facilities with later appointments, or like on weekends. There are schools available. Yeah, but you really have to search for those. So, you know, utilize your network, your my chart. Um, you also want to make sure you put in reminders. I use Siri all the time. We're like, hey Siri. I don't want her to answer.

SPEAKER_02 37:07

She's like, What?

SPEAKER_00 37:07

I know, I know, I know. Put a reminder in your phone because I know as a single mom, I call it mom brain. And you have all these things on the table and you add one more thing, something falls off, right? Um, and then by the time you remember, you already missed the appointment. Okay. So make sure you put more than one reminder. Put it in your Google Calendar, put it in your Siri, put it in your Alexa, wherever you gotta go. Remind yourself to take care of yourself.

SPEAKER_03 37:34

And I will also add when you do make these doctors' appointments for yourself, put it in your work calendar as well. So people don't schedule meetings around that time that you're going to be gone. So include time to travel to your appointment, be at your appointment, and travel back. Put it as soon as you make that appointment, put in your work calendar as well. So this is the time, do not be calling me. And you won't have to put it in, make it private. It doesn't have to be known what the um um meeting is for, but block off that time for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 38:01

I agree. And don't make excuses if like costs associated with transportation, um, or you have scheduling barriers. Remember, there are mobile clinics, there are assistant programs that you can get some treatments covered, and a lot of uh preventative measures are already covered by your insurance. Yes. So make sure that you take a look at it. Exactly. Use it or lose it. Yeah, don't lose you.

SPEAKER_03 38:31

Exactly. Okay, for losing you.

SPEAKER_00 38:34

Exactly. Call your local health department or clinic and ask what they got available. Your health matters.

SPEAKER_03 38:40

Absolutely. So taking care of your body is not something you do when life is perfect, because if it was perfect, we would be thinking about nothing else.

SPEAKER_02 38:49

Exactly.

SPEAKER_03 38:50

It's something you do to stay strong for yourself and your children, even when life is busy and messy. You have to be a priority. We know you're a great mom. You're listening to single mom honey, okay? We know you're figuring trying to figure out new ways and tips to make your life as better as possible, and also uh trying to pick up tips from other single moms like yourself or be able to provide them. But look, life is busy, it's messy, but most importantly, we want you to be healthy and happy.

SPEAKER_00 39:18

Exactly. And remember, like she just said, you're already doing a great job. You're amazing. You are doing you're running circles around all the rest of the people if you're a single mom already. Like, but you want to make sure that you get these screenings done. It's very empowering and refreshing, and you know, it just takes a lot of stress off your plate. Mm-hmm. And maybe you just got to worry about it because you already know.

SPEAKER_01 39:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:45

You don't need one more thing.

SPEAKER_01 39:47

No.

SPEAKER_00 39:47

Who needs one more thing? Exactly, because you already got 10 more things. You know, prioritizing your future and your health, that is that shows like strength, courage, and it makes you powerful.

SPEAKER_03 39:57

Exactly. All right, so thank you for listening to another episode of Single Mom Honey. If you found this episode helpful, please leave us a review. We love fives. Between two of us, we got five kids. So each star for each kid. Um, subscribe to all of our socials. Um, also subscribe to our YouTube channel where you can actually watch this episode right now, and then share this episode with another mom who might need to hear it.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

Absolutely. And we will see you next week. Same time, same place, everywhere you can find the podcast. It's Quay. I cover the help.

SPEAKER_03 40:31

And I'm Aisha, I cover the money.

SPEAKER_00 40:33

You bring the tea, and we got the honey. Bye.