A Family’s Fight: Triumph, Survival, and the Power of Support in the Face of Breast Cancer

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and we have an extraordinary story of survival that spans not just one person, but an entire family. Diagnosed at 35, Tasha’s journey is unique—she and her sister battled breast cancer simultaneously. Their mother had faced the disease years earlier, at age 37. In 2015, Tasha and her two sisters were urged to undergo genetic testing for BRCA 1, a gene linked to breast cancer. Both tested positive, and both were diagnosed with the disease.

Tasha’s oncologist, Dr. Reena K. Vora, M.D., Chief of Oncology for Kaiser Permanente in San Bernardino County, has been by her side since her diagnosis. “It’s not uncommon for breast cancer to affect multiple family members,” Dr. Vora explained. “But to have two sisters diagnosed just two weeks apart is very rare. In this case, they were all tested around the same time.” She also joins us today. 

Tasha Champion is more than a survivor—she’s a force for change. As an empowerment coach, speaker, and best-selling author, she is passionate about helping other women and their families navigate the challenges of breast cancer diagnosis and recovery.

Transcript

Erin Brinker: 0:00

Erin, welcome everyone. This is the Making Hope Happen Radio Show. And I'm Erin Brinker, this show can be found on all major podcasting platforms, including Apple, Spotify, Amazon, Buzzsprout, Deezer and iHeart can also be heard in Inland Southern California on X 95.7 on that's FM, of course, on Sundays at 9am and on 92.5 FM, KQLH, on Sundays at 10am you might have noticed from the pink rivets around you that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast Cancer Awareness Month can mean different things to different people. For some it's a trigger. It reminds them of, well, 31 days where they think about whether they suffered or they had somebody in their family suffers. It's a time to remember a time that forever changed them. For others, it's a chance to show their support for the more than 2 million women around the world who are diagnosed with the disease each year. Understanding the goals behind the global campaign and the emotions felt by the many different people living with the disease may help you to decide if and how you want to commemorate the month brands Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an international health campaign that's held every October. The month aims to promote screening and prevention of the disease, which affects 2.3 million women worldwide, known best for its pink theme color, the month features a number of campaigns and programs conducted by groups ranging from breast cancer advocacy organizations to local community organizations to major retailers aimed at supporting people diagnosed with breast cancer, including those with metastatic breast cancer, educating people about breast cancer risk factors, encouraging women to go for regular breast cancer screening, starting at age 40 or earlier, depending on their risk. And this is a time for fundraising for research. This is a big time for fundraising for research. There are also specific dates designed to raise awareness of specific groups within the breast cancer community. October 13 was metastatic breast cancer awareness day. But should always be aware, and if you have the means and inclination, always donate to organizations that can help further research, help further support for women, especially women who can't afford expensive treatment and support systems for those women as well. Now the information that I just gave you is provided by breastcancer.org and they are a nonprofit organization, and breast cancer.org Please donate if you have the ability to do so. So for my own personal journey, my own personal story, both my mother and her sister were diagnosed with breast cancer. My mom was 36 and my aunt was 41 when she was diagnosed. My mother lived more than 30 years beyond her diagnosis and ultimately succumbed to a different illness at 69 her sister lived another decade while her cancer metastasized. It was in remission for a while, and then it came back and took her life in the early in her early 50s. I wish my family story was unique. It isn't our guest today is here to tell us, and she's here with her oncologist, here to tell us about her triumph over an aggressive form of breast cancer at the same time as her sister was doing the same. Well, I am very pleased to welcome to the show an incredible story. Well, two people who have an incredible story of survival and thriving after a cancer diagnosis. Tasha champion. She has a passion for helping people. She's an empowerment coach, a speaker, a best selling author and a breast cancer survivor. She helps other women and their families, families get through the diagnosis and recovery. This is breast cancer awareness month, October. She was diagnosed at age 35 and her story is incredible, and Joining her is her oncologist. She is the Director of oncology for Kaiser Permanente in San Bernardino County. Dr Reena Vorna Vora, sorry. Dr Reena Vora, both of you all, Tasha and Dr Vora, welcome to the show.

Tasha Champion: 4:15

Thank you. Thank you so much for having us.

Dr. Reena Vorna, MD: 4:17

Thank you. We're happy to be here.

Erin Brinker: 4:19

So tell us your story. Tasha, you. It started with your mother.

Tasha Champion: 4:25

It did. My mother had breast cancer in 1997 back then, they were not testing for the her two they were only testing for the estrogen and progesterone. So at that time, she was double negative. Um, fast forward to 2015 I'm sorry. Let me go back at that time. She only had a lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation, so fast forward to 2015 she was visiting with her doctor, who really encouraged her. To test for the BROCA gene after learning that my great grandmother, her grandmother, passed away in her 40s, and when she asked, you know, how does she pass away? No one ever really knew. It's just my grandmother and my aunts would just say she had bad stomach problems. And after my mother's Doctor really looked at her history, she said I would be willing to bet that she had ovarian cancer, which then furthered her push for my mother to test for the BROCA gene. And she did, and she was positive, and that prompted me and my two sisters to test as well. We tested in August of 2015 and in December of the same year, we had our reproductive organs removed, cervix, uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes. And then in January of 2026 I did the elected double mastectomy the day before my 36th birthday, and it was during that surgery they found cancer already growing. It was triple negative, but not just for me. It was my sister as well. During her elected double mastectomy, two weeks prior to me, at Kaiser Woodland Hills, they found cancer already growing in her as well. So we were diagnosed the same way, just two weeks apart.

Erin Brinker: 6:28

Holy cow, yeah. So, so I'm going to ask this of of Dr vora, what are these terms? What is a BRCA gene and what is triple negative mean for people who for this is their first discussion about breast cancer.

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 6:45

Thank you very. Good question. So BRCA gene is a genetic mutation. Individuals that do have this gene, there's BRCA one and BRCA two, they have a significantly higher lifetime risk of developing both ovarian and breast cancer, amongst others, and based on this elevated risk, screening and prevention strategies are more intensive now for individuals who aren't aware of this gene initially, you know, there are several models that determine your risk for having these genes, which you can discuss with your healthcare provider, but these two genes are, you know, very commonly associated with development of breast cancer and ovarian cancers. In fact, you know, individuals with these genes can have a lifetime risk of developing cancer up to as high as 80% so this is something we take very seriously. And then the second question, triple negative breast cancer. So triple negative breast cancers are breast cancers in which the breast cancer shell cells have show an absence of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, as well as the her two protein. And these cancers can be more aggressive and they're slightly more difficult to treat because we are not able to use hormonal targeting agents or her two targeting agents for treatment of these breast cancers. So Tasha did have a triple negative breast cancer,

Erin Brinker: 8:05

so that must make it significantly more difficult to treat. Or, as you know, because it's, I imagine it's less common, it's, it's, it's, it's a more rare form of cancer.

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 8:16

That is correct, that is correct.

Erin Brinker: 8:18

So Tasha, tell us about so you and your sister are both diagnosed very close to one another. Take us to that, to your first steps, after learning about both of your diagnoses.

Tasha Champion: 8:31

She had her elected double mastectomy again two weeks before I had mine, and when it was found that she had cancer, I immediately called my breast surgeon at the time and requested that while they were doing the surgery, if anything happened, if they could go ahead and test my lymph nodes, because my sister had to go back in for a second surgery to have her lymph nodes tested, which One was positive, so hers was just starting to spread. At first, my surgeon said, Well, it's very unlikely that, you know, someone going in for an elected double mastectomy would have cancer that's extremely rare. You don't really need that, but I pushed for it, and that's one of the things that I appreciated about Kaiser was they listened. She understood where I was coming from. She understood why I was asking. So although I'm not going to say she was reluctant, she was just giving me based on history and facts that it's very rare that this would ever happen. However, she understood me and my concerns, and they went on ahead and authorized for me to do that. So during the surgery, of course, when they found what looked like cancer. Because, of course, without going through pathology, they can't confirm but what they found looked like cancer. They did test my lymph nodes, which, fortunately. Me, all of my lymph nodes came back negative. And I think on February 2, that's when I officially met Doctor Vora, because we had to have the initial conversation that yes, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Erin Brinker: 10:15

Wow. Now were you did a small part of you wonder if that was going to happen when you did your mastectomy? Did you think, what if they find something?

Tasha Champion: 10:25

No, because I had had a mammogram six weeks, not six weeks, six months prior to having the elected double mastectomy, I had a mammogram,

Erin Brinker: 10:36

and clearly that was clear. Yes, wow. Alright, so, so what was the next step as as you are, because you've already done the mastectomy you are, you prophylactically had your other reproductive organs removed, so there was no worry about it metastasizing into into organs that weren't there. And so what? What conversation did you have with Dr vora, or maybe this is Dr Vora question about what the best way forward was. Was it chemo? Was it radiation? Was it some other sort of treatment in what did that look like?

Tasha Champion: 11:11

Dr. Vora, did you want to answer that, or did you want me to tell my side and then answer you?

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 11:17

Could go ahead first, and then I'll go ahead, and then I'll and then I'll go over,

Tasha Champion: 11:22

I think, after the shock of it all, I think between both Kaiser, where my sister was, and then also Kaiser where I was, I honestly was more concerned about my mother having to hear your daughter has breast cancer, and later having to hear your daughter has Breast cancer, I was more concerned, really with her and how she was going to get through hearing that for both of her daughters. And when I met Dr vora, she just had such a very warm yet vibrant energy. And I just trusted I like she was very knowledgeable. She was very compassionate. Her bedside manner was impeccable, and I just knew in that moment that whatever she decided my treatment would be, she she let me know up front that I would have to have an aggressive chemo treatment because I had an aggressive type of breast cancer, and I just trusted so I was waiting for what her recommendation was, and I was going full force with what she said to do,

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 12:28

yes and and, believe it or not, I still remember that first visit with Tasha. It was It is shocking to find out that you have breast cancer while undergoing a preventative mastectomy, which is essentially what she had, and like we spoke about before, she had triple negative breast cancer, and and these breast cancers are aggressive, so we did have a discussion about chemotherapy. But one thing I wanted to point out is that, you know she, she did. It was found at an early stage. So I do remember us talking about the different options of chemotherapy, the different regimens. And one thing that was unique to her situation is throughout, from the beginning of her journey, we we definitely spoke very much in detail about her care, her decision we had shared decision making, but she also shared with me what was going on with her sister, who was also being treated in Woodland, Hill hills, and I believe it was almost simultaneously. Fortunately, tasha's breast cancer had not spread to the lymph nodes, and so we were able to treat her with chemotherapy. However, the regimen that we chose had two medications rather than three. This is a question that you know can be answered differently by several oncologists. But the point I'm trying to make here is that since it was found early, her treatment was slightly different compared to her sister's treatment and so again, early detection, mammograms, all of this stuff every woman needs to be educated about this

Erin Brinker: 13:58

now. So were you, and your sister, Tasha, supportive of one another, because I imagine that the thought of going through this without a support system would be terrifying. I know women do it. Did you and your sister? Did this bring you closer together? And how did you get through this together?

Tasha Champion: 14:15

You know, I always tell people when they ask this very question, I always tell them, no one will ever wish cancer on anyone, right? But I gotta say, I think it was a bit of a gift that we were diagnosed at the same time, because unless you have gone through cancer, you really don't have a full understanding or what to expect, what to do, and so we were just kind of side by side with each other, the same as for like a caregiver, unless you've been a caregiver for someone with cancer, it's not something you fully understand. So we kind of just really shared our stories and our difference. And I knew that if I was up late having insomnia, she was up late having insomnia. But we also realized our differences, which I think actually helps. When I'm working with other families, I can tell them, remember, you're going to have your own experience in this cancer journey. My sister and I being diagnosed two weeks apart, but going through treatment relatively at the same time. We had similarities, but we also had major differences. I lost my taste buds each and every chemo treatment, and I got my taste buds back three days before chemo treatment. So I would That's wild. I would eat like a caged animal. I would eat everything in sight because I could taste where she didn't lose her taste buds, but she also dealt with kind of like the metallic taste. She didn't have any bone pain. I dealt with the bone pain. So we had these, we're side by side in this. But while we had similar effects, we also had very different experiences, which I think people do need to understand, because in good will and good faith, other people will try to tell you what you're going to go through. And I think people who need to understand you're going to have your own journey in this

Erin Brinker: 16:17

well and tell me how. You know, I imagine there were a lot of well meaning people who would say that maybe some that had gone through it themselves and talk about their experience. Others who had a family member go through and say, oh, you know, in all good intentions, kind of try to try to relate to you, or try to, you know, offer advice. How did that? How did that make you feel? I mean, did you? Did you find yourself getting frustrated? It's like, I'm sorry that your that your aunt went through that, but that's not my story, and I just can't take that on right now. Or was it? Did you want to did you feel empowered by hearing other people's stories of survival? How did you deal with that from

Tasha Champion: 16:56

the start of having the first appointment with the chemo nurse, where they sit and talk to you about some of the things that you may experience, everything the chemo nurse said, I just silently said to myself, not on me, not in my body, because I really wanted to be present with my body and my own healing. And I know that as she's explaining the different things that can happen. It's important so that I'm aware of it. And that what she says, If this happens, I know, okay, this I need to call Doctor Vora. This is pretty normal, so I knew these things, and that was very important. When other people would tell me, you're going to go through this, or this is what's going to happen. I just energetically rejected it. I never took it as this is going to happen to me, like I was told I was going to be on a walker. And I just, I refuse to believe that everybody's experience was going to be the same. And if anything, if I felt any sort of way, I had a reaction to the chemo the first round. I always would just email or call Doctor Vora so she could let me know, like she's my, my primary care in all of this. So my thing is, if I experience something that doesn't feel right or doesn't seem right, I'm calling Doctor Vora first before I let all of these other people tell me what? What's happening to me that

Erin Brinker: 18:24

sounds very healthy and a good way for for you to keep self care in the forefront during during a time when you really need it. So Dr vora, what? When you think about your obviously, you've treated many, many, many cancer patients, breast cancer patients, and they, I'm sure they vary widely as to age and type and and, you know, their experience, you know, kind of talk to me about how you support cancer patients, how you how you relate to them, how you get them through probably the most difficult time in their life.

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 19:01

Well, I think, you know, the first thing to remember is that, and what I tell all of my patients is that everybody's journey is different. It can be completely different. You know, we've had older women who do remarkably well. We've had a younger woman that have complications. But the important thing to know is that each and every journey is different. A lot of my patients do tell me that, yes, we have family members, we have friends have gone through this. They've had this, and a lot of those, a lot of those conversations that they're having, it can make the entire journey even more scary. I mean, not, not, yes, there are definitely some risks associated with chemotherapy. But the important thing I tell each and every one of my patients is that one let your health care team know if you're experiencing anything that seems unusual. Sometimes you may be some you may be experiencing something that's very common, and sometimes it might be something that we need to take action on. We might need to, you know, put you on some. Medications. Put you on antibiotics. We might need to adjust your chemotherapy dosage. We might have to postpone chemotherapy, but the most important thing is to keep your healthcare provider, your oncology team, aware of everything that's going on. And the other thing I say is to keep a positive attitude. I know it's much easier said than done, but this is not going to last forever. Chemotherapy is to help treat as well as prevent the cancer from coming back. Sometimes you want to be aggressive in the beginning so that you don't have to deal with this again. You want to maximize your chances knowing that you've done everything you could to prevent this from happening again. And Tasha is a wonderful example. She has been positive since day one of her journey. And I think that's that's that just improves the outcome.

Erin Brinker: 20:48

I would imagine it does. I would imagine it does. Now our, our one of the challenges. So I was saying before we went on the air, that my mother and her sister both had breast cancer, and when my mother was diagnosed at 36 her her general practitioner, just was like, You're too young to have breast cancer. You're too young to have breast cancer. By the time they they actually took the lump out, it was stage three, and she found that the barriers of people just not understanding the disease. And these are medical professionals, and this was a long time ago, but these are medical professionals didn't understand the disease. What kind of education is being done? And this is a Dr. Vora question, what kind of education is being done to the general public and for and for other health care practitioners, so that they maybe don't have that reaction to somebody having a presenting themselves with a lump and a scare?

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 21:40

Yeah, that's a that's a very good question. Unfortunately, our awareness in the medical community is much is it has improved quite a bit since those years. One thing that every healthcare provider knows at this time is that you know every every woman, they should have initially, between the ages of 25 to 30, at least one visit with their healthcare provider to discuss their own individual risk. Because everyone's risk can be different, and sometimes we are able to determine what your risk is, whether your average risk, moderate risk or high risk based on clinical history. So for women that are considered average risk, most, most, most societies do recommend breast cancer screening to start at the age of 40. However, we are seeing more and more breast cancer in younger women, and so if you do have a moderate or a higher risk, your healthcare provider may recommend that you undergo screening sooner, sometimes as soon as 10 years younger than the age at which your mother or first degree relative was diagnosed. They may even recommend that you undergo genetic testing based on your family history. So these are things that the medical community is now aware of. And you know, every day we're, we're improving our knowledge with regards to breast cancer and other cancers. And yes, you know the outcomes are, are much, improved if you detect it earlier. Early detection does improve survival. So basically, just spreading awareness.

Erin Brinker: 23:09

Now, are there? Obviously, having a genetic link is a huge risk factor. And I've heard that other risk factors are, are and and maybe this is bunk, and you're going to clear this up for me. Other risk factors obviously our weight and lifestyle, although, Tasha, that's not a problem with you at all. And so I don't want people to say, you know, blame the survivor or blame the victim at all, but I know that, that, you know, weight and lifestyle makes a difference. You know, does hormone replacement make a difference? Does, you know, taking other supplements. Does I mean lifestyle? Is it? Is it everything? What? What can people do to control this?

Unknown: 23:48

Yes, it is. It is everything, actually, but the number one risk factor is age. The risk increases with age, especially after the age of 50. The second highest risk factor is being a woman itself, family history, genetic mutations like BRCA one and BRCA two that we briefly touched upon, personal history of breast cancer, believe it or not, lifestyle changes, you know, maintaining a healthy weight will decrease your risk of breast cancer, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, having a well balanced diet will help. Physical exercise will help. All of these things can help mitigate your risk of breast cancer. Hormone Replacement Therapy that actually, some studies suggest there is a slightly increased risk while using hormone replacement therapy. However, if it is recommended, it is definitely, you know, definitely recommended that you have a risk versus benefit conversation with your healthcare provider in situations where it is recommended, usually, women are recommended to take it for a short period of time, as well as it being a combination of estrogen and progesterone.

Erin Brinker: 24:53

Now, what about birth control pills that are that are clearly estrogen and or progesterone? Do they increase the risk?

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 25:00

Risk. There are some studies that can suggest a slightly increased risk. However, this risk quickly diminishes after stopping

Erin Brinker: 25:07

and is breast cancer as likely to appear in somebody who has had children in breast fed versus somebody who hasn't? Either maybe they've had a child and they did not breastfeed, or they've never had children, or is the risk factor the same there, because I've also heard conflicting studies.

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 25:23

Yes, actually, breastfeeding for a long duration of time actually can decrease your risk of breast cancer, and it's thought to be because of a decrease in the total amount of estrogen that your body is exposed to over a lifetime. So definitely we promote breast cancer. Yes, absolutely higher maternal age. Having your first pregnancy at an advanced maternal age also can be considered a risk factor. Forgot to mention there is a link between smoking and increased risk of breast cancer

Erin Brinker: 25:51

as well. It's just a bad news all around. Yes,

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 25:54

absolutely, high intake of alcohol also. So all of these things.

Erin Brinker: 26:01

So so. Tasha, how long was your treatment, and was it this the same length as your sisters and kind of talk about, you know, maybe, maybe you are feeling, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this at the beginning. And you that that enthusiasm starts to wane as it as it drags on, kind of talk about what it was like to go through that over the whole course of your treatment,

Tasha Champion: 26:22

absolutely my treatment, or I should say the treatment, I only like to say mine when it's something I love. So the treatment was four rounds of aggressive chemotherapy treatments. As Doctor Vora said earlier, I had two different kinds. My sister had two different types, but she also had to have, I'm sorry for four rounds, but she also had to have an additional 12 weeks of a, I think a lesser aggressive is, that's how I should say a doctor Bora a lesser aggressive chemotherapy, because hers had just started to spread. So I stopped at four with the aggressive, she stopped at four with the aggressive, but she had to have an additional 12 rounds of a lower chemo.

Erin Brinker: 27:09

So neither of you had radiation treatment.

Tasha Champion: 27:12

No, we did not have to have radiation. And it was, it was interesting, because, again, with our stories being so similar, I remember Dr Vora saying, I don't think you will, but you know, we'll, we'll talk to the oncology team. And I remember my sister's doctor saying the same thing, we'll talk to the oncology team. And it was decided that we would not need to have the radiation. And I'm guessing Dr Vora can speak more to this. I'm guessing it's because the cancer was found and removed at the same time, but because the cancer was an aggressive kind, we still had to go through chemo. Now you were asking about the experience of chemo, here's what I'll say. I know movies and television, they really have you believing that chemotherapy experiences are, is having a needle in one arm and a bucket next to you just that's what they make you think. And you know, again, from the time that my mother had it in 97 to my sister and I having it in 2016 we could even see the difference in how our bodies responded to chemotherapy. So the first round, I want to say day three, four and five was like, I got hit with a ton of bricks. It was like I had a really, really, really, really, really bad case of the flu. I just wanted to be in bed. I didn't want to do anything. I never once vomited in with chemotherapy, never once vomited I had an allergic reaction, which, again, Dr Vora brought me right in. Um, it was more of a skin irritation. And after that first round, that was it like the second round, I kind of prepared for days, three, four and five to be the same, and it wasn't. I didn't have a horrible experience. And I really think it just shows the advancement of how far we've come with the treatments. Again, remembering that every person's physical body is going to be different. It depends on the type of cancer, the type of chemo, so don't take my experience as this is what's going to be your experience. It's different for everyone. But my sister and I both agree we did not have a horrible experience with chemo. That's

Erin Brinker: 29:31

a blessing. Yes. So were you working at the time when all of this was going on, and if so, what was your employer's reaction to to you, did they? Did they work with you? Did you have to go on disability for a while? What did that look like?

Tasha Champion: 29:46

It's interesting. We had, right before I was diagnosed, we had someone come in from Aflac, and I just wanted to get, kind of like preventative care, because I had, I have four children, so I'm assuming. Mean, somebody's going to break a bone, something, I better get this. And I was telling her that I was going to have this braca test done, and she said, Well, have you ever had cancer? And I said, No. She said, Maybe you should get a cancer policy. I said, Sure, I got it. I threw it in the drawer. At the time, I was working for a charter school. I was one of the admins, extremely supportive staff. So once I was diagnosed, I was coming home from my second, the second round of chemo, and I'm like, Huh, wait, I have a cancer policy at work. Let me stop by the office and get it. And thankfully I did, because it really came in handy. And I'm not, you know, promoting or anything like that. This was just my experience. And I say all of that because, in addition to having that, I had a very supportive work staff. They would come and take my kids to school for me, bring them home from school. There was never a thing of, well, how long are you going to be off work, it was take as much time as you need, and I was grateful, because I had that policy, I could stay home as long as I needed to, because I had the financial backing to do that. But the staff was very supportive in me being home as well and also helping with my kids, helping if because I'm 100% single parent, if my daughter needed to go to the grocery store, I was new to my community, so the only people I knew were the people that I worked with, but everybody was really supportive. And again, I think that plays a part into not having the stress when you're going through any type of cancer treatment.

Erin Brinker: 31:42

Wow. I that is such a unique work experience, like your your job being there for you. I'm what a what an absolute blessing that they were there in that way for you. I know that. So my husband's a teacher, and he's actually president of the Union that he in Rialto right now teachers union, and you know, people will get sick, and other people put their sick time into into banks, so that this the sick person can then pull down beyond their their paid time off. But not everybody has that not everybody has that support. And people find themselves in the situation where they can't work, but they can't not work, and which would be horrible, and and Doctor Vora, have you seen that with your patients, where they have the added stress of, how am I going to feed myself during this

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 32:30

I have, I have, we do encounter this situation, fortunately, not too often. But there is, there is the the the role of your social network and your support system. It is, it plays an immense role, and it is important to see if you can find a good support system get to get you through this. And a lot of times I've told my patients, you know, try reaching out. You will be surprised. You will be surprised. Of how many of learning, how many people have been through the situation? Breast cancer is very, very common, and I've had several patients who I've encouraged to reach out to their their own network, and then have have ultimately been able to find someone who can support them through the

Erin Brinker: 33:15

process. Well, that's wonderful. That's good, because I don't know how you get through it without that now. Tasha, were you and your sister living anywhere near each other while this was going on? I know that Dr Vora is here in San Bernardino County, and you said that your sister was up in Woodland Hills. Did you make the drive back and forth? How were you able to support each other? Or was it just over zoom

Tasha Champion: 33:35

most of the time it was, you know, constantly over the phone. Yeah, we were living all over. I live in San Bernardino County, about 50 minutes from Kaiser Fontana. My sister was in the Woodland Hills area. My mother was in the Palmdale Lancaster area. So she was the one that was driving all over the place so that we could get to our appointments. And, you know, she could be with us. But no, we didn't live near each other. You would think we did as much time as we were on the phone with each other, um, but no, we were definitely not in close proximity in terms of distance.

Erin Brinker: 34:13

So tell me about what the moving you've you've gone through your chemo, your sister's gone through her chemo, and you get the diagnosis that that you're in remission, that you're cancer free. What is life? First talk about what happened in that experience, and then what has life been like for you since

Tasha Champion: 34:31

I declared cancer free the when I finished surgery, like I refuse. I was I know that remission is after five years, and I was very stern. I always tell people I divorced cancer like I divorced my husband, both of you. I don't want him. I'm not taking cancer back so both of them can stay where they are. Since then, I was invited to speak somewhere, just. Friend of mine was like, Hey, there's this health panel. Can you share your story? I said, Sure, and I did. And it was, it was in that moment that I knew I wanted to continue with that I wanted I know the fear, because I remember the day my mother got the call that she had breast cancer. I remember seeing her face change. I remember seeing her eyes water. I remember just the look of, am I going to die filling her face. And it was so different for me and my sister and again, these were years apart, but I because I remember so vividly what my mother look like in that moment, I wanted to make sure that if I could help another woman feel empowered, if I could help her caregivers and her family feel empowered, that's what I wanted to do. There are so many people, they hear the words, you have cancer, and they start emotionally, mentally and physically preparing their funeral. Gosh, yeah, and every cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. So the more I can empower people, the more I can offer those who have not had cancer to be more proactive. Like, I tell women all the time, if you are getting a mammogram, you need to call your friend and tell her to get hers. Like, let's be breast friends across the board. No one should be getting mammograms alone. If you're getting yours, you better be calling somebody to get theirs as well. If you're getting your colonoscopy, you better be calling somebody and reminding them to get theirs. So the more that we can really empower each other, I think that's how we really can stand in this fight together until we can eradicate it like I would love to see cancer one day. Just be like a common cold. Just run a CVS, grab something off the shelf,

Erin Brinker: 36:59

from your lips to God's ears, right? So I have to ask, is it skip? Was it scarier for you to learn about your family members, whether it was your mother or your sister or your own cancer diagnosis, diagnosis?

Tasha Champion: 37:14

What's interesting is the day before, two days before I had the double mastectomy, my cousin, my mother's first cousin, died from breast from triple negative breast cancer. Wow, and yeah. Hers was extremely aggressive. She went from stage one to stage four in six weeks. It had already metastasized. So I this is kind of how it went. My sister, I hear like, Oh, my God, they found cancer, and then my cousin passes, and then I'm going in for the elected double mastectomy. I honestly, I just don't ever remember being affected by the diagnosis itself. I just remember saying, Okay, God, if this is the chapter in my life book, what do you want me to do with it? And from then on, I just focused on, what am I going to do with this story, not what am I going to do with cancer? What am I going to do with this story? How do I get to help change lives because of this chapter in my life, and that's how I dealt with it, and that's since then. It's been eight years. That's how I continue to deal with it.

Erin Brinker: 38:27

Oh, do you have daughters?

Tasha Champion: 38:30

I have one daughter, three boys, and

Erin Brinker: 38:32

have you? I mean, have you had this conversation with you? I mean, I suppose boys get can get breast cancer, although they're much less likely. And have you had this conversation with your kids and and have they been tested?

Tasha Champion: 38:44

They have not been tested yet. Recently, my my older brother got tested, and he is positive as well. So now, officially, all four of my mother's children are Baraka positive. With my children having one daughter, and Doctor Vora and I have talked about it, because I know that she's not ready. However, she did just turn 25 and I was 35 when I was diagnosed. So I have talked to her, and I've let her know that she needs to start getting mammograms. She does her self exams. She stays very in tune with her body. I don't push. I think I'll start pushing before she turns 30. I'll push a little bit harder, but I have reminded her now that you're 25 and it hasn't even been a month since her birthday, but she does need to schedule to have her first mammogram, because she's 10 years under the age I was, and she will need to start thinking more about getting the braca testing and my sons as well. One Two of them are over 18. One is still a minor, but I've let them know that, due to our family history, and I think too, because my brother has recently found out he was Brock a positive, I think knowing that a male in our family is Brock a positive, I think that will help my. Sons a little bit more, because a lot of times, of course, because it's breast cancer, we just think about this as, oh, it's for women. It's for women, but although a lower percentage men do get it as well. So it's a conversation that I have to sit down and have with my sons. I think I've had it obviously, of course, a little bit more with my daughters. But hearing that my brother is positive, it's now a conversation I've got to have more with my sons as well. Wow.

Erin Brinker: 40:26

So Doctor vora, do you? Do you? Does? Does braca positive? Positivity mean that that all of the male reproductive organs could be impacted, or is it for them just would be, if they were to get cancer, it would be in breast tissue only,

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 40:42

no, actually, I'm so glad that you asked that question. So men who test positive for BRCA one or BRCA two, they are increased at risk for not just breast cancer, but also prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, as well as melanoma. The risk is much, much lower compared to females with the same mutation, however, men with BRCA two mutations, they have about a six to 8% lifetime risk of developing breast cancer, and men with BRCA one mutations have a slightly lower but still about a one to 2% risk. So it is, you know, it is important for men with family members that have BRCA mutation to also get tested as well. They have an increased risk of prostate cancer as well. Men with BRCA two mutation are to significantly higher risk for prostate cancer. So yes, it's it's if you have a family member, especially a first degree family member with either BRCA one or BRCA two gene mutation, all the men as well as women in the family should get testing.

Erin Brinker: 41:45

So you brought up they have an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, which is terrifying, because pancreatic cancer, unfortunately, is one of those that has a pretty poor prognosis, unless you have the particular type that Steve Jobs had. But you know, there are, there are cancers that are harder to treat. That is one of them are women at an increased risk of pancreatic, pancreatic cancer. If they have BRCA one or BRCA two,

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 42:13

the risk can be in both. Yes, yes, absolutely. Okay,

Erin Brinker: 42:16

well, that's a little terrifying,

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 42:19

but, but the important thing is to have the awareness you might not be able to change your the fact that you have a genetic mutation. But the important thing is to know and get tested for it based on your family history and tasha's example she took, she underwent risk reducing surgery, and she was detected during the time of risk reducing surgery.

Erin Brinker: 42:43

So as I'm as I'm processing this, I'm sure you know, you're talking to your son. I have a son too, and he's in his 20s. He'd be like, Mom, I don't have, I can't I'm not going to get breast cancer. Come on. But all of these other risk factors are are important. I mean, all of these other possible outcomes are important for him to protect himself from, you know, so having that conversation with a son, I imagine, would be very different than having that conversation with the daughter and Tasha, you know, has it been that way for you?

Tasha Champion: 43:12

It has, I think, naturally. Again, when you're saying breast, breast, breast, you're going, daughter, daughter, daughter, sure, but now that my two of my sons are over the age of 18, this is a deeper conversation. I've mentioned it, but I have not sat down and talked with them about it, but some of the factors that doctor Vora just mentioned now I'm like, huh, so after this call, I'm gonna go talk to my older son, and when my other one gets home from work, gotta talk to him, and I'm gonna actually call my brother, and, you know, make sure that he's aware of the the risk of other cancers as well. And again, this is why I stress to people, please make sure you are telling your doctors as much information as you can, like withholding information out of embarrassment or shame will not help you in the long run.

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 44:13

Oh, Tasha, I am so glad that you mentioned that. I cannot emphasize that as much you know your healthcare provider, your physician, will give you recommendations on screening and testing according to what you tell them, family history is very much important, especially when we talk about genetic testing. You know, it's just sometimes it's surprising to learn that a patient has withheld information out of embarrassment, and so it's very important to have that upfront, transparent conversation with your physician.

Erin Brinker: 44:50

I'm struck by Tasha, you just your willingness to just have these hard on conversations where a lot of people, and I'll use diabetes as an example, because it's so rampant. They know they're out of whack. They know their sugar is out of whack, but they're so afraid of that conversation that it never happens. And then when they finally deal with it, their their eyesight is diminished. They might be losing their feet. They've got ulcers that are not healing on their skin. You know, they're having their kidney issues. And you know, I It's you have to, you have to deal with these head on. And I'm sure, Dr Vora, you have seen this in your own practice.

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 45:25

I have, I have, and although today's conversation, we've talked quite a bit about triple negative breast cancer and breast cancers that are related to genetic mutations, it's also important that to note that the majority of breast cancers are actually not associated with the genetic mutation. Majority of breast cancers are hormone positive breast cancers, and we talk about risk assessment and screening strategies, what all women need to know is that, please, please do not fear mammograms. Okay, being detected early with means of screening can increase, can and will improve your survival. Treat, there's a higher likelihood that you may not need chemotherapy. Your treatment may be less aggressive. Early detection has better outcomes. And mammograms, you know you you do not want to fear them. In fact, in fact, I tell women, Hey, make sure you put it on your calendar, 365 days and make sure you go get your next mammogram. Yep, don't delay.

Tasha Champion: 46:26

I always tell people like for your birthday, yes, get a mammogram, right? Yes, absolutely, yes.

Dr. Reena Vorna, MD: 46:32

Yes, whatever it takes.

Tasha Champion: 46:34

Oh yes,

Dr. Reena Vorna, MD: 46:35

oh yes.

Erin Brinker: 46:36

Or do that colon screening. And I'm a Kaiser member and have been for decades, and you get the little, the little screening packet in the mail for your for your annual colon screen. Just do it. Just do it. Send it in. Easy peasy. It's done. And then you next, if it's all clear, then you'll do it again next year, and you'll do it the year after, and they'll know, if it's not clear, they'll find something. And then you can be in for treatment.

Unknown: 46:59

And you know, outside, outside my medical practice, I talked to so many women, so many friends. They are scared of getting mammograms done, and they tell me, Well, what if they find something? You know, I answer to them. You should be happy if they find something. I know it may sound ironic, but if you find, if you are diagnosed with breast cancer on screening, the chances that your treatment will be less aggressive is higher. Yes, there are. We are able to prevent the we are able to detect cancer before they need chemotherapy. And so many women finding it earlier before it goes to the lymph nodes. There's, there's testing that we do the current score testing, there's a high chance that you can prevent yourself from needing chemotherapy.

Erin Brinker: 47:48

So let's talk about one of the things that Kaiser does really, really well, is there's lots of they have diabetic care and asthma care like you can connect with communities of people who are dealing with a particular subject in their life, an ailment or something you know, maybe you want to lose weight, maybe you just want to see a nutritionist, maybe you know you want to talk to a care community. Do you all have that for cancer people going through cancer treatment, and what does that look like?

Unknown: 48:17

Yes, we do. We there are several support groups. We do have social workers that connect with our patients, connect them to the to the support group, which they can benefit enough. So, yes, there are, there are many, many supportive systems that we have in place to help our members.

Erin Brinker: 48:36

So, Tasha, we're coming down. We're running out of time. We're, you know, we have just a few minutes left. Talk to me about your public speaking career. You know your your champion of Empower, her empowerment, and kind of what you're doing in your business today.

Tasha Champion: 48:55

Yeah, so, and thank you for asking um champion empowerment was really born out of my own need for healing and transformation after going through a divorce and being my children being abandoned by their father because he stated he needed to restart his life as it as though he was never married or had Children, and has lived such for 12 years now, and just really understanding that, how could I really help my kids if I was also still sitting in the pain of all of that and so many of us as women, we're so focused on our children and our career and all of the things that we sometimes forget. We exist in all of that. And I wanted to change that for women. I wanted I help women who feel stretched thin just really learn how to create joy and balance in their life without guilt. So I do annual events. Every year I have a she nominal women's. Brunch, which started from my book. She nominal women. I do a lot of Sister Circles, and then I do a lot of either health speaking on different platforms. I do a lot of work with the American Cancer Society, speaking on a lot of their platforms. And then just when other people call and say, Hey, I have a platform I'd love for you to share your story, and also people know, just give someone my number. If they're diagnosed, just give them my number. And I get a lot of those calls as well. I'll just answer and they're like, I just got diagnosed with breast cancer or with this type of cancer, and I was told I should call you, and I keep my phone on and open for that reason, because people have to know that they're not alone, and if they just need to sit and breathe on the phone, cry on the phone, scream or just talk it through, that's what I want to have my phone available for. So those are the ways that I just go out into the community, whether you're just feeling stretched thin as a woman, and you need to find balance, or rather, you have heard those words you have cancer, and you need to be empowered to know you can get through this.

Erin Brinker: 51:10

I have found, well, not I have found, it's true that there are outcomes for certain demographics that are that are generally worse than others, and I know that African American women are more likely to die of of cancer or lots of other ailments than, say, the white population or the Asian population. Do you have a specific focus on the black community? Because I know that that often people don't feel like they're getting the support that they need.

Tasha Champion: 51:38

Absolutely. I recently joined with American Cancer Society to be a voices of black women ambassador, and the goal is to enroll 100,000 plus women into research. It's all just lifestyle tracking, so there's not, you know, a blood draw, or they're not swabbing for sales or anything like that. It's really to track the lifestyle so that we can really begin to see and create better treatments for black women. Because, yes, we tend to have a lower diagnosis, but we have a higher death rate. Now that's also because culturally, we don't talk about it. My cousin, who passed away from breast cancer, she didn't tell anybody until pretty much about two months before she passed away, she thought she was going to get through it, so she stayed silent. I talk to people all the time who don't want to tell their children, who don't want to tell their siblings, they don't want to tell their mom, so there's this culture of silence that I really want to help black women and black families breakthrough, because if we're not talking about it, then what are you telling your doctor? When you go to the doctor, you can't tell them a family history if your family is staying silent about it. So we have those barriers. We have to understand that, yes, years ago, and a lot of us are hurt by the fact that years and years ago, black people were mutilated for science, and so that's also in the back of a lot of people's mind and at where we are now. We want to really work to help all of us understand that if we do not communicate and help one another, we will not be able to have advanced research to help generations ahead of us.

Erin Brinker: 53:28

You know, one of my favorite sayings is that secrets keep you sick. And whether you're talking about a physical ailment or a mental health issue, secrets do keep you sick and you just, you know, validated that that saying because you're absolutely right, if you're not reaching out to your support network, if you're not letting people in, you're carrying that burden all on your own, and we're not designed for that.

Tasha Champion: 53:50

No, no. So people don't have a relationship with cancer where you guys are just in secret with each other. You need to communicate. You need to talk to people let cancer know that you're not in this fight by yourself. You got people that's ready and battling with you.

Erin Brinker: 54:04

So, Dr Vora, I think every woman who's listening to this and every man who's listening to this needs to call their doctor today and get that first screening of, you know, whatever is appropriate for them, whether it's prostate cancer or breast cancer or some other kind. What is that? What is the first step in the Kaiser system? Do you go to the you go to your general practitioner, and if you you do, you have the right to say, No, I want a cancer screening, even if your doctor says, you know, I'm not sure that you have the right risk factors. Can you just ask for that?

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 54:35

Absolutely, in fact, within Kaiser, if you're a woman above the age of 40, you do not even need to have a doctor's orders for a screening mammogram. Oh, so absolutely. So you can

Erin Brinker: 54:48

just call and make an appointment. Yes, if you if you are above the age of 40, and

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 54:53

it's been less than 365 days since your last screening mammogram, you can call and make an appointment.

Erin Brinker: 54:59

Wonderful, and I will tell you, yes, they're not the most comfortable things in the world, but neither is getting your teeth cleaned, and you got to do that too. So, you know, go get it done. Go get it done. So absolutely. So Tasha and Dr vora, thank you so much for joining us today. I want to really quickly. Tasha, what are your websites or Instagram, or how do people find and follow you on social media?

Tasha Champion: 55:24

Yes, thank you. So for Facebook, it's Tasha, she nominal champion. So phenomenal, but with an S, so we are empowering more women. So she nominal. Instagram is the she nominal coach, and you can find all of my services at she nominal.com,

Erin Brinker: 55:41

wonderful and Dr Vora, how do people learn more about becoming a Kaiser member, or finding services on Kaiser or at Kaiser?

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 55:52

There are so many resources. The website provides a whole bunch of resources where they can find everything about becoming a member to what other services are offered. We are very, very big on screening. In fact, Kaiser is applauded by almost every national platform for its screening measures and early detection,

Erin Brinker: 56:13

excellent. And that's kp.org which is really easy to remember. Kp.org Well, Tasha Champion and Dr Rena Vora. Thank you so much for this discussion. You both are an inspiration, and it's a message that everybody needs to hear.

Dr. Reena Vora, MD: 56:26

Thank you so much. Thank you so much for having us and giving us this opportunity.

Erin Brinker: 56:31

What an important and uplifting message for this month and every month. Screening is scary for me. I'm the first one to put my head in the sand, but peace of mind is worth walking through that fear. Seriously, I'm a ruminator. I I know other people do too, but if there's something to think about that's going to stress me out. Unfortunately, it gets set on the loop in my head. I have, I've had lumps over the years, and because of my family history, I you know it would happen. I'm like, Okay, well, this is my turn. I thought it was cancer. Thankfully, none of them were malignant, and dealing with them as soon as I found them meant that I didn't waste time and energy worrying about it. I remember sitting in radiology waiting for a scan or for results, and there were women at various stages along their journeys in there, waiting with me. They were as diverse as can be, young, old, fit, heavy and everything in between. I say this to say that cancer can hit anyone today. We're talking about breast cancer, but it's a good idea, as we talked about, to get screened for colon, prostate and other cancers so you can catch them early. Early detection gives you the best chance of a positive outcome. I've been a patient at Kaiser Permanente, or a member of Kaiser Permanente for many years, and they're pretty proactive about reminding me about when it's time for a screening. I shouldn't rely on that. However, I'm a grown up, I could manage myself. So I add reminders to my reminders to my calendar, and you should too. It's really easy, and it's an invaluable, invaluable, invaluable gift to give to your loved ones. Again, for more information about breast cancer in general, please go to breast cancer.org to get information about joining Kaiser Permanente, please visit kp.org or talk to your HR department at work. One final thing, can't talk about breast cancer in the Inland Empire without talking about Nancy Varner, she is one of the founders of the believe walk in Redlands, and it started out as a small local walk, and they have raised millions of dollars over the years for breast cancer research. Unfortunately, in 2019 after a 13 year fight, she lost her battle against cancer. And it's a battle. It's a you know, it she always positive, kind to everyone, just a beautiful spirit and a beautiful human just through and through today, the Nancy Barner Center for Women's Health at Redlands Community Hospital is another local place where people can go to be screened and to get information about breast cancer. Her legacy continues, and I want to say thank you to her family, and she's not around to hear but maybe she's listening from above, Nancy, thank you for your dedication and your commitment to this cause, because you have made such an incredible impact, and with that, we are out of time for today, even listening to the making COVID radio Show. I'm Erin Brinker, have a great week, everyone. The