The Charging Station
The Charging Station Podcast is your safe space to recharge, renew, and refocus. Hosted by Tracey Massey, a Certified Grief Coach and Mental Health advocate, this podcast dives into real-life conversations about grief, mental health, self-care, and the journey of embracing life after loss.
Each episode provides practical advice, inspiring stories, and a supportive community for those navigating life's ups and downs. Whether you’re in the middle of a tough season or simply seeking encouragement, The Charging Station is here to remind you that you’re not alone, and that you have the power to thrive. So grab your coffee, grab your tea, grab your water, grab your wine. Whatever your beverage of choice is, grab it and have a seat on the couch.
Welcome to The Charging Station.
The Charging Station
Pink, Purpose, and Perseverance with Special Guest Angel McCaskill
Tracey sits down with breast cancer survivor and advocate Angel McCaskill to trace the path from a Stage II breast cancer diagnosis to a life of service through Earth Angel. Faith, practical choices, and clear boundaries turn fear into purpose while demystifying screening, treatment, and recovery.
• hearing “malignant” and anchoring in faith
• aggressive chemo plan, staging and response
• mastectomy and reconstruction choices explained
• maintaining normalcy during recovery and parenting
• praying season not sharing season as a boundary
• how mammograms work, dense tissue and callbacks
• waiting anxiety, portals and better questions
• hair loss, identity and unexpected resilience
• Earth Angel’s origin, community events and education
• From a Survivor’s Eye book and resources
• sustaining advocacy with rest, grace and support
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What's good, everybody? Welcome to the Charger Station Podcast. It's your girl Tracy Massey of Living My Empowered Life and Grace and Grounded Journeys and all that good stuff. Hey Boo, hey boo, hey boo. Welcome back. You know, I love me some you. If you are watching, then you see that I have a very special guest today. It's red that we get guests on the show. But in honor of breast cancer awareness month, we have a special lady here today. I'm going to give her a moment to introduce herself right after we take care of the house business. Now y'all know what to do. Welcome everybody that's new. Hey y'all, hey y'all. You can be listening to anything in air anywhere, but you are giving us a moment of your time. So I truly, truly appreciate you. Stick around for the shenanigans, okay? Because we have a good time over here at the China Station. And for all my returning listeners, you know, I love me some you boo. Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back. So go ahead, grab your coffee, grab your tea, grab your water, grab your wine, whatever your beverage or choices is. Have a seat on the couchy couchy couch, and let's get into it. Today, I have the Angel McCaskill. She is a wife, she's a mom, she's a survivor, she's a leader, she is just someone who just has an extraordinary spirit. Every time I see Angel, she's just smiling. Like she's just smiling every time I see her. But her story is one of courage and it's remarkable. And you know, we say breast cancer survivors, but I'm just gonna go ahead and say Angel is a breast cancer thriver. Okay, so I would like to introduce to you all our special guest for today, Miss Angel McCaskill. Hey Angel. Hey girl, hey, though.
Speaker 02:Oh my god. Look, thank you. Thank you.
Speaker 00:Don't you start because if you start, I'm starting.
Speaker 02:I know it's October is that month. It's that month. Yeah, it's it's like you, you know, you celebrate, then it takes you back down memory lane, and whoo, you just be like, Yeah.
Speaker 00:So tell everybody a little bit about yourself. Tell us who you are and what you do.
Speaker 02:Okay, so I'm Angel McCaskill. Uh, like she said, I'm a wife, I'm a mother, I'm a grandmother of five. Oh my gosh, never thought I would be saying that. And uh, yeah, I mean, I I love life, I love to go, I love my birthday. I'm a Leo, I'm one of them. I am very serious about Leo season. And this season here, October awareness, uh breast cancer. I love October. I hit the ground running and I don't stop until the 31st. And then I'm like, ugh, yeah, I'm out. But yeah, um, I'm I'm a native of York, South Carolina. Um, and I've been in Charlotte for like eight years, was came from Gastonia, North Carolina, where my husband is from. All the McCaskills are there. So uh we met 28 years ago, and uh yeah, we still we still doing this thing, and um my passion is definitely uh Earth Angel um and my breast cancer, just spreading the awareness of breast cancer everywhere I go. Um, and like you say, Tracy, I smile all the time. I I that's just me. Like I try not to let too much get me down. Um, if I do, I don't stay down long. I just you know bounce right back up because it's life, and you know, it's just you gotta keep going and you can't give up. So yeah. Uh yeah, I work and try mine. I mean, with you something everybody out work. I know that's right. Edit that I've been in banking for 30 years, so ready to retire.
Speaker 00:You I only got 50 more years to go.
Speaker 02:That's easy. I know only, right? Hey, look, and by the time okay, now I forgot we're gonna be live, never mind, but yeah, it might be longer than that, with the you know, the way the world listen, Lord, it's me, Tracy, not Margaret.
Speaker 00:You know, my heart to my heart's cry Jesus, Lord Jesus. Well, like I said, Angel, every time we do work together, and I see every time I see Angel, she's she's smiling. And the I love when the month of October rolls around because that's when I I get to see Angel in all of her pink, like every day that I see Angel, she's wearing pink, and I'm just amazed at how much pink she has because I'm like, okay, what's she gonna wear today? Angel like a fashionista, like I am.
Speaker 02:So we you are, yes, you are, but you know, and believe it or not, out of all that pink, I'll still go buy some more new pink when the when the new month rolls around. And I got plenty of pink in my closet.
Speaker 00:I love it. Keep a rotation, sis, keep a rotation. So you're gonna wear something new, so let's talk about your journey with your um journey through breast cancer. Take us through the day where you were officially diagnosed.
Speaker 02:Okay, so I was diagnosed August 10th, 2007, a week before my birthday. And I just made that clear, my birthday is very important to me. And I'm like, what? What is going on here? But the day I got diagnosed was, well, let me back up July 27th. I found the lump in my left breast. And that that was a Friday, so I'm thinking I can't see my doctor until Monday. So that was a long weekend of not knowing like what is this, or you know, if it even means anything. But I really didn't think about it, being that because I didn't think it would be breast cancer anyway. So I'm just like, oh, it's just probably like a fibroid cyst or something I hear people talk about all the time. So I'm like, but I still was serious about my appointment. So I made my appointment. I saw my um Dr. Monday, that Monday. Well, not my doctor, because my doctor was on maternity leave, so I had to see somebody else, but I didn't care who was in the office because I wanted to see whoever was there because this we I had already gone through the weekend of, you know, just knowing I have a lump in my body and I don't know what it is. So I got the appointment um on the 3rd of August with a new doctor I didn't know. First time meeting her and everything. She did my biopsy and all of that and sent it off. She said it takes seven days, and it did. Seven long days. But I try not to think too much about it because, again, in my mind, I'm still saying, Oh, it's probably just a little, you know, little sis they talk about. You know, people talk about that all the time. They have sis in their breasts, girl. You know, I'm still thinking, like, it still can't be this. So October the 10th, I go back with this doctor that I met for the first time to give me my results. And my husband wanted to go with me that morning because he knew I was gonna go um back to for the follow-up. He's like, You want me to ride with you? And I was like, No, I was like, I'm good. It's probably I mean, it's nothing, you know, it's not gonna be anything. I'm good. So I'm you know, going up 8.5, went to the doctor, see Dr. Hudson, you know, first time, second time again. She's giving me my results, and I had been reading a couple things that week about like benign and what's malignant and things like that. So I really wanted to. Well, I thought I was, you know, kind of like a nurse or something because I was googling a lot of stuff and trying to research stuff anyway. And I heard already diagnosed myself with stuff, but it wasn't it, it still wasn't breast cancer, though. I was like, Yeah. But doctor, um, the doctor came in and she said, We got your results back. And uh, she flipped a little chart and she said, Miss McCaskill, um, it's malignant. And so I said, I've been researching, I knew what benign meant, and I knew what malignant meant. And so she didn't form her lips to say benign. So I'm going, like, wait a minute, she said the N-word, that's the other one, you know, like malignant. I'm telling Tracy, I sit in that doctor's office, and I was just numb. I mean, numb.
Speaker 00:And for the audience, sorry, so the for the audience, for those of you who don't know, benign means there's no sign of cancer, malignant means there is cancer. So just imagine sitting in a chair and hearing the M-word.
Speaker 02:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So that's not what I expected to hear. And so I, you know, uh, she said, I'll give you a few moments to, you know, I'll give you a few moments. So she stepped out, and I'm still sitting in there, you know, I'm sitting in there like stiff as a board. I hadn't moved yet, because I'm still trying to grasp, like, did she say what I think she said that? So I really had like a I tell people all the time, I think I had an out of body experience. I left my body because it was just numb and stiff and stuck, like, because I couldn't believe what I heard. And so I called my husband and I said, Hey, trying to sound normal, regular. No, that was not working probably with him anyway. But I called him, I said, Hey, it's malignant. And I was he was like, I was like, I got breast cancer. And without, like, he didn't skip a beat. He jumped in, he was like, That's all right. We was like, he was like, God got it.
Speaker 00:And I was like, Okay, man of God. For our ladies who are single, let me just step right here. For our ladies who are single, including myself, that is what you need in a partner. That man stepped in and brought you right back to the cross to remind you, like, hey, God got us. We know the situation is not what we thought it would be. But yeah, yeah, hey man, shout out to him.
Speaker 02:Yeah, look, yeah, yeah. And I was like, man of God. I said, okay, then Pastor does smoke now. You know, but I was still like, you know, I said, okay, God, he handled this very well, you know, like golly. So, and that kind of reassured me to be like, okay, this is really um, he's positive, so I'm gonna be positive about it, right? So um, I'm I'm leaving the office. I mean, you know, I told her, you know, thank you. Um, I don't know, I don't remember too much after that. It was like a fog, you know. I I know I drove home because I got back home, but I was literally, you I don't know that movie, but it's like you're driving and you're just driving, and it was just a day of like, it's like it was like foggy. I was driving down 85 and I was just like driving real slow. I wasn't even doing like 50. Now you know I probably got loaded lady. Girl, I was like, I was just driving trying to get home real slow. And um I remember getting to the Mount Belmont Mount Holly sign because I lived in Gastonia then, and my doctor's in Charlotte. And I got to the Belmont Mount Holly sign, and as soon as I went under that sign, the Lord said, You shall live and not die. So now that I just took it. Yeah, yes, that's all you need.
Speaker 00:That's all when God speaks like that. That's all you need. You can cash that check, take it right on to the bank. I took it I took it right on to the bank and cash it, and I knew it, and I stood on it from that day.
Speaker 02:Trace, I promise you, I stood on it from that day and I did not look back. Not one time did I think something was gonna go left, something was gonna go wrong, something was gonna go crazy. Not one time. Doctor appointments, visits, surgeries came up. I mean the whole journey, not one time did I think I was gonna die.
Speaker 00:I didn't mean that. Oh, God, so good.
Speaker 02:God is so good. I just I stood on it. I mean, when I tell you I stood on his word, and that was it.
Speaker 00:Amen. So, what was the first day for you with with treatment? So, okay, take me back. What happened? Did they set you up for surgery first? Or did you have to do chemo?
Speaker 02:Okay, okay, so after I was diagnosed, I had to go see an oncologist. Okay. And oncologist specializes in, you know, cancer, no matter what kind it is. But I went to see an oncologist, they determined how much treatments I was gonna have, you know, depending, you know, the size of it and everything. So I was a stage two, I was stage two, and um no hormones involved or anything like that. So I didn't have to worry about my treatment, it was gonna be different than others maybe have gone through. So I didn't have any um hormonal things going on. So that was a good thing because that was that was a good plus. And so my treatment consisted of 12 weeks of aggressive treatment, chemotherapy. So every two weeks I had two drugs at the same time, and then the last the third week, I had one, and so every three weeks I was doing chemo. Two weeks I was doing the two drugs, one I was doing that one drug for 12 weeks. I had an aggressive treatment because why? It's aggressive in us, African Americans. It is very aggressive in us, it spreads really fast, it grows really fast. So they have to jump on. Oh, they don't play about that, they don't play about that at all. So after that, um, I met, um, I started doing my chemo treatments in Huntersville because that's where North Cross was at the time years ago. So it was up there at North Cross. I drove up there every well. My husband took me every uh two weeks for treatment, and then the third week I went and did the last one. So then after they saw the shrinkage of chemo, how it worked so well, shrunk it down to like a little P size. That's what they wanted. They put a marker where it was so they'll know where to go in and do surgery, and it shrunk down all the way down. So when they when I was finished, before I was finished, it was already shrunk at a small you know, it was little, like almost gone. And then I had to have surgery, and so I chose to remove the breast entirely, which is a mastectomy versus a lumbectomy.
Speaker 01:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 02:So I had the entire breast removed, and then I considered it plastic surgery instead of just like you know, letting it, you know, just be flat. Because my in my mind, I'm thinking I was born with two and I want two back. You know, like you know, just you know, and I read because I told you I did a lot of reading. I read that it was mentally, it helps you better, you know, just what you went through to not see it ever like flat, it's just you just see a mound and they put it right back up. Plastic surgery, you know, just put it right back up, and so that's what I chose to do.
Speaker 00:Yeah, and you know what? It's amazing that we do have that choice, and it's a good thing that we have that choice. So, you know, everybody's journey is different, and so you do have the option to choose whichever one is gonna make you the happiest. I know for me, God, if I ever have to go through that, I think I would want to get um plastic surgery as well. Because I'm like, I've had the girls for a long time, you know, they come in a set. Like, can we just get them back to that? And then I'm like, um, can you add a little extra stuff? Like, make the right make make a match now.
Speaker 02:Listen, you know, I was I was probably like a negative a. I was very, very, very small. But while we're here, doc, let's talk about something. So, Dr. Um Pele, he was so good. He's the surgeon I met. We was talking about sizes. I said, Can I go like up a couple of cups? You know, he was like, sure. So I said, let's go up a couple, you know, to a C. Take me to a C, Doc. We're gonna go to a C. My husband coming there talking about somebody D. He said, No, no. He said no, because she won't be able to walk, she'll be bent over and can't walk.
Speaker 00:Seriously.
Speaker 02:Said, you don't even like breasts like that, no way.
Speaker 00:But this is not for you. I gotta carry them around. Yes, yeah, just take me up. Just go see is good, Doctor. See, man of God, I was just praising you that look at you.
Speaker 02:Like what you just did. I know, right? I was like, C that's why we yeah, but yeah, so I got me a look, I got an upgrade. I we here, we already do something, so let's lift this side and let's let's increase, and that's what he did.
Speaker 00:I would I would do the same thing.
Speaker 02:What I mean, we're here now. Let's go ahead. I'm getting something, I'm gonna get something. Yeah, we're here now, so let's say ain't no stopping. So, yeah, and that was the journey of my surgery. Of course, you know, it's the process of that. You gotta get the tissue expander in, the tissue expander out, the mound put in, that put out, go back and then actually get the input in you know, implant in. So it's a process of that healing and everything, had to heal after the mastectomy also before you could even do that. So that journey was probably about a like a four to five month journey of just the healing and getting everything back to normal. So, yeah.
Speaker 00:So, with that recovery time, was that uh part for you? Like, how was that for you mentally going through all of that?
Speaker 02:Um the recovery time was it wasn't bad at all. Um, I just took it easy and you know, relaxed. Uh yeah, I just just took it easy, read a lot, meditated, um, just relaxed because you know, I'm a I I go, I'm a person that stays on the go all the time. And so I don't know. I say, Lord, now if you want me to sit down, you could have told me another way, but you gotta be that I've had conversations with God like that all the time.
Speaker 00:Like, sir, did you have to be that dramatic? We have to do this.
Speaker 02:Yeah, I mean, because all you had to do is just say, sit down, and I I I think I would have probably like probably not, but that's what you do.
Speaker 00:You just you just as hard-headed as I am. God knows how to talk to his daughters, okay? He knows we're not gonna sit down unless he makes us sit down.
Speaker 02:So, Lord, I'm sorry, and yeah, and and he did, yeah, and he did. So I but you know, my recovery time still consisted of, you know, my children were very small, so they were very sports, they were playing sports and stuff, like little league football and things. So I was still going to that, you know. I still like make you know, push my way to the games. Um, you know, I told myself I was like, hey, I had chemo Thursday, I'm coming out here Saturday. I said, I'm gonna need a touchdown or two. And I'll tell he did it too. He did it. He man, he was he did four one Saturday. So that's like you know, I was still doing that, I still led praise and worship at my church that Sunday. Like, so I still did like that stuff, but like through the week, you know, pretty much. I just, you know, during that recovery time, I just relaxed.
Speaker 00:You know what? Now that I think about it, sometimes in our recovery, our recovery is assisted by the thing if we can keep some type of normalcy, you know, because you're dealing with this big thing that is that's abnormal. So the thing that we can do that can give us just a taste of normalcy really, I feel like helps us in our recovery time. Because I remember when I that year that I was sick back and forth in the hospital, just being able to go take a 15-minute walk was just that little glimpse of okay, it's not gonna be like this forever. So I'm glad that you you still did those things in moderation, of course.
Speaker 02:Oh, yeah.
Speaker 00:Um, but yeah, as hard as it may be, because a lot of times we we get in our minds, sometimes depression can show up, and depression makes us want to lay there and not do anything, but it's it's a fight that is worth fighting if you can just get up and sit up in the bed or do one thing that gives you that normalcy, yes, absolutely.
Speaker 02:So that that helped me a whole lot.
Speaker 00:Yeah, so how did it feel for you to ring the bell?
Speaker 02:What was that day like? You know what? I'm and I'm kind of like I'm kind of I'm kind of salty about that because I didn't go to it. They didn't have the they didn't I didn't ring the bell, they didn't have it.
Speaker 00:Oh find a bell and we're gonna have you ring the bell.
Speaker 02:I wish I had a little they didn't even have the bell. I don't know if it was so long ago. I didn't have the bell, they didn't have the bell up in Huntsville. My last treatment. I mean, they celebrated us, and we yeah, you know, like you know, it was you know, we we were happy because you know I would have had pictures. Absolutely, I mean I would have had the proof I rung the bell, yeah. I don't have none because there was none, but they did celebrate and say, like, you know, it's your last day, you know, and that my nurse was wonderful, and we hugged, and you know, we did all of that, everybody was like clapping, but I did ring a bell, but now they do that now, and then you know, certain centers have them too, but no, I didn't ring the bell, but my last treatment I said, thank you, God. I made it through my last treatment. I I said, Thank you, God. I I didn't have a lot of sick days, um, you know, just every once in a while, but for the most part, yeah. It was I prayed for the journey to be good, though. Like I prayed for God to be in every step of the way from the doctors, the nurses, from even people, family, friends. Like some I I couldn't even share with some people. Yeah, let's talk about that. Yeah, and and let me tell you how let me tell you how clear he was about that. He said, This is a praying season, it's not a sharing season.
Speaker 00:I felt that in my shanana, yeah, he dropped it just like that. Say that again for the people in the back.
Speaker 02:Praying season, not a sharing season. Bye bad, baby. I was like, okay, God.
Speaker 00:So it's about Job's friends, like we think about the book of Job. The book of Job is like, I feel like Job, the book of Job is my life.
Speaker 02:Yeah.
Speaker 00:And you think about Job's friends, like my pastor just preached a sermon, What about your friends? She broke down Job's friends and how what they were saying opened up for Job to be like at first, Job was like, all right, I'm rolling with it, blah, blah, blah. But then as soon as Job complained, instead of those friends turning around, turning his complaint into praise and worship, or you know, acknowledging God and encouraging him, they started complaining too. And then when you start sharing with certain people, certain people, they will begin to put their fears, their fears, their thoughts, their insecurities, all of their stuff on you. And you're the one that's actually in the trenches in the battle fighting, but now you got Tom, Dick, and Harry yapping, and Susan May and Polly Joe over here yapping too, and they're not doing anything for your recovery.
Speaker 02:Listen, I got family, I love them to death, but it's some family. I don't want to call you and hear somebody die. Listen when I'm trying to live.
Speaker 00:So end the podcast right there, amen.
Speaker 02:So I didn't even get to tell, you know, a lot of you know people like that until later. They knew after you know the journey. I mean, not after the journey, but they knew I was going through the process, but God said no.
Speaker 00:You times like that, you really got to tighten up your circle. Like, I don't want anybody that's gonna speak anything negative over me. No, no, no, no, no, because that's not what I need to do.
Speaker 02:I don't need to hear ain't ain't whoever died from it. I don't need to hear none of that. Uh such and such across the street, miss Lucille up the road. I don't want to hear nobody died of breast cancer, and so and God did just that. I didn't meet a soul. No, I mean, nobody told me. I didn't I didn't have any contact with them until after, and and they knew they couldn't handle it either. So a lot of them, a few of them they were spared, they couldn't handle it, they would have been on the float, they couldn't handle it. And they and we talked about it and laughed about it later, with you know, some of them they was like, Yeah, I'm glad God told you that.
Speaker 00:Yeah, yeah. I mean, you gotta learn quickly the seasons that people are in in your life, yeah. You gotta learn that quickly because it it's it could literally be mean life or death for you.
Speaker 02:Absolutely, absolutely, and he had already told me I was gonna live, so I wasn't trying to hit nobody around me talking about anything other than that, yeah.
Speaker 00:And that's like the act of obedience. So, y'all see how key obedience is on your walk? Yes, very that's a good reminder, right there, Angel. Thank you for sharing that because that was a good reminder for me, like how key obedience is when God tells you something, you better hold on to that thing. It may not make sense to anybody else, but just hold on to what God hold to it and and and run with it, you good. Well, I love how you have turned this journey into purpose and how you are impacting lives of other women and black women, you know, because we we tend to not pay attention to a lot of things, like we could have have something bugging us in our bodies, and you know it's not right, you know it's something that's that's a little off, but because we're we're the nurturers, we're the ones that's taking care of the family, we put anything and everybody above ourselves and our health. But yeah, I love how you advocate for women to go get these mammograms. I remember when we first started working together the first time we met, you asked me, Have I had my mammogram? You asked me how old I was first, because you didn't you didn't believe that I was I was over 40, number one. And I was like, Thank you, girl. But then you said, Well, have you had your mammogram? And I'll you like when I told you, you know, my my regimen, like I get my test done, and you say, Good job, keep it up. But I love how you advocate for us to get this done. So tell me when did you start Earth Angel? And I I I know the purpose behind Earth Angel, but can you just share with the audience what the purpose behind Earth Angel is and and what your advocacy consists of?
Speaker 02:Yes, so Earth Angel was birthed uh January 2008, a little few months after I was diagnosed. The Lord just gave me two words, Earth and Angel. And I wrote them down in my little journal, and I didn't know what it was gonna be. I just wrote them down, closed the book, and to say, like, I don't even know like what it's gonna be, but he'll reveal it later, I guess, or you know, whatever. So, and that's what I did. I just wrote them down, put it away, and then 2008, he told me what it was. It was like, you know, you're gonna encourage, you're gonna empower, and you're gonna educate the people, everybody, on the awareness of breast cancer. I was like, okay, still didn't quite know like how I was gonna do this, you know, or whatever. And then so that's when I started with the lunches and the walks and added other activities to keep the community, you know, abreast on the importance of it. And this one thing just led to another. One event opened up doors for another event, Charlotte Radiology, you know, just put me on a postcard. I mean, that's that's the favor of God, too. But I was like, I I'll be a face. Pray, you know, to be a face for us.
Speaker 00:I love it. And I I get so tickled when I see your commercial pop up on my team. It's so amazing. You know, and you just you just put your heart into every aspect of what you do. Like you can just literally feel the intention and the events that you put on and in the the programs you have going on and the walks, and just again, that bright smile just pops up. It's like you literally live and love what you do. And I feel like that goes a long way. You can feel God's presence in what you do. So how do you how do you maintain, like you said, this is the busiest month, but you really do advocate year-round. So how do you maintain your health and your mental health in the midst of pouring out for others?
Speaker 01:Oh God.
Speaker 02:Oh, I don't know. Like, I think God just gave me the strength to do all of that, and He just keeps my cup running up. And then it's you know, I meet people that keep me inspired. I meet people that keep, you know, they pour into me. I meet a newly diagnosed survivor. They give me fuel to be like, I gotta be there for them because I'm looking, I know where they were first year, two years, five years, six years. I know where they were. I I you never forget the whole journey. Just, you know, just keep praying and just asking God to just continue to allow me to the strength to keep going. And he he gives me strength, and I sit down more now, you know, and I listen to my body when it's you know, um, that's the biggest thing. Yeah, he says sit, I'd sit.
Speaker 00:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 02:Even if I want to be in five places in a day, I realize I can't. Yeah, and just taking that time out, trying to, you know, uh now to exercise that I'm still working on.
Speaker 00:Don't tell me that because you know, you know, I got you in that area.
Speaker 02:I know you got me. I know, I know you got me in that area. I just got, but and and I think our new building gonna help us, yeah, help me even more to really get serious about it when I, you know, it's gonna be right there. It's what is this use? No, yeah, so you know, could always, you know, do better in that area, but just you know, just God giving me strength to continue to just keep pouring because he pours into me and I'm able to pour. I'm not pouring from an empty cup, he's gonna feel fine.
Speaker 00:My mentor always says, serve from your saucer, and that stuck with me, you know, because again, we as women, we're gonna be we're gonna be pouring and pouring, pouring. But one thing about that saucer that's coming from your overflow. So when you can serve from that saucer, shout out to Maddie James. When you serve from that saucer, you're serving from your overflow. And my pastor always said, tells us, you know, she's graced for this. Because I look at my pastor, I'm like, girl, you do it a lot. And I I understand how she can because she always says, God graced me for this. And so that's been my prayer lately. Like, God grace me for the things that you you have us to do, you know, and but also again, listening to my body and making sure that I take care of this vessel because we only get one, you know.
Speaker 02:Only, yeah, yeah. And you know, getting those mammograms, you know, um, that's so important. I can't stress that enough. People are free, you know. I meet a lot of people that are afraid. Yeah, that's the reason why they don't get them. But you know, I tell them it's it doesn't hurt, it's just like a few seconds of uncomfortable, you know, just a little, you know, just a little mashing here and there. And I tell people if the tech hurts you, they are not doing it right.
Speaker 00:You're doing it wrong, exactly.
Speaker 02:They're doing it wrong. You should feel you know, it should not hurt. It should not hurt.
Speaker 00:I've had how old am I now? I've had nine of them now. And the only time I felt uncomfortable like real uncomfort and a little pain was right when it was it was time for my cycle. So, you know, they're there, your breasts are tender at that time, anyway. So you're sensitive anyway. That was the only time that I ever really felt like pain, but then I learned, you know, don't go when it's the brown that time of the month. Yeah, but um, it's more for me, it was more uncomfortable because it's just awkward, like the way you you have to stand and do this, you know, it's just awkward, but it's really not a painful thing. You gotta hold it, hold it up here, you gotta yeah, it's almost like you're playing twister.
Speaker 02:Hey, look, put this chin here, push your butt out, yeah.
Speaker 00:It's almost like you're playing twister in the hair. Like, can we find a new way to do this?
Speaker 02:Because it's just wild.
Speaker 01:Thank you.
Speaker 02:And I think when they get to pulling on it and pull it out, like I got implants in here, and so they gotta push that implant out and mash it in and get the oh yeah. But I mean, again, it's new moments. That's what I've been saying. Did you die? Did you die?
Speaker 00:Right.
Speaker 02:But if you don't get them, you could die.
Speaker 00:You could let's just be real, yeah. You could and I don't get it. I have a funny, funny story. So I'm I'm a little heavier topped, as you know. You work with me, but a lot of people in you know, in power cast land may not know that I'm a little hefty up top, and so I have to go back, and this is the the the first time this happened to me, I was terrified because I got that call that you got to come back in. Yes, and they don't tell you why you're coming back in. All they had to do was tell me you have dense breast tissue, we just need to do a different method, we need to do ultrasound. You know, yeah, terrified. Yeah, because I think they need to do better with that, they do need to do better because I'm sitting up here thinking, oh god, what's happening?
Speaker 02:Immediately your mind goes to that.
Speaker 00:Yep, something's wrong. They found something's wrong immediately, immediately, and that wasn't the case, it's just that I have denser breast breast tissue, so I actually had to go. Um, I don't get the call back now because I think they have um more enhanced technology because they do I have to do uh I think it's a 3D type so they can see through all that breast tissue, but I'm like, girl, that terrified me. And I couldn't I immediately I prayed, but I couldn't say anything to anybody because I didn't know what was going on and I didn't want to scare anybody and I didn't want anybody to scare me, but that was terrifying, yeah.
Speaker 02:It is. I I don't know. I I wish I would could be a part of that process of that that process just sucks to me. It's it's always been horrible. I I don't know if they can just I don't know what they can do, but I do know when they changed up the way I used to get a mammogram, and then I would have to get the ultrasound. Um like after that, they changed that up because the further you go out with you know your years of survival, it changes up. You don't have to do all of that as much. So when they first made that change, I was arguing with the um the uh doctor because I said, I don't like this. And she was like, What? I said, I usually go over there in the in the office, and the man tell me he goes over my results right then and he tell me what's going on and see me next year, whatever. Now you tell me you're gonna mail me something in the mail. Boy, they laughed at me for a minute, and I was like, Who do I need to talk to about this? Because I don't like this process at all. But thankfully, my chart puts it in there a little bit earlier. Boy, the minute I see that my chart pop up, boy, I opened it up so fast because you can see on my chart before the letter comes. Yes, because that mailing thing, now that mailing thing, it comes about two or three weeks. Yes, who's gonna wait that long?
Speaker 00:But of course, if it was bad news, you were here before, but still, I'm still yeah, the the waiting process alone is just so nerve-wracking because it's just so many things you can think, like, okay, did they forget to call me?
Speaker 02:Like, right, right. But you know what? Now, that waiting process, I will tell you, it's still about the same with me with that waiting process because I just went this, I went this year for my mammogram, and I'm sitting out there, it's still it's still a nervousness and everything that comes with it, you know. Like you would think, oh Angel, you're 18 years out. It's still with that. What's that?
Speaker 00:The the the angst you may feel as you're waiting.
Speaker 02:I just I was like, you know, I just want to probably start praying. You know, I say, okay, you know, try to take that nervousness away. I pray for him to take that nervousness out of my, you know, I don't get anxiety over it, but I just be like, okay, God, you did it before. I had a good exam last year. Let's do it again this year. Just like little pep talks out there while I'm waiting in the waiting room. And then I might talk to a few women in there if I see they'll looking a little nervous too. And you know, I'll strike up a conversation with them. But their waiting doesn't get easier. Um, it doesn't. It really doesn't.
Speaker 00:That's real.
Speaker 02:Yeah. Yeah. Because you can always think of you know, what if this time I go is you know, this. But immediately when it does that, I just think positive and I just I because I know that's just the enemy trying to come in with doubt and you know, come in and make me have fear now. So I'm like, oh no, buddy, get back. Let me go, let me just go ahead and pray. So I just we out we out there praying. They I take a few pictures while I'm waiting.
Speaker 00:Just gonna take a picture now.
Speaker 02:Angel's gonna be a little bit more. And the funny thing about that is I can't believe I have no picture of my bald head. You don't nope, I think it's in one of my old phones from like you know, probably a long time ago before they could transfer all your stuff over and all that you lose your stuff. I don't know, unless I didn't take one. I have not one picture of my bald head. Can't believe it. I cannot believe that I can't believe it. Because I would have probably showed it, maybe. I don't know, but and you know what, Tracy? That was another piece that I thought was gonna be the hardest for me. My hair, yeah, and it wasn't, but I thought it was gonna be the hardest because I come from, you know, always have gotten my hair done from you know, school, middle school, high school. I, you know, my friends in York can tell you I was the only one going to this stylus, uh, a well-known stylus in Rock Hill. I was the only one going there getting my hair done back then. And so my hair has always been done. I always have had my hair done. I used to go every two weeks, like you know, high school and all of that. And then as I got older, I always been a one week. I go every week to get my hair done. So I thought that was gonna be the hardest part. So my stylist, we had talked about it. She took me shopping um to get two wigs because she wanted me to have two different looks, you know, if I wanted like a more of a curly kind of look, and then if I wanted like a pixie kind of cut, you know, look. So we picked out two wigs. She went, I'll never forget that she took me that day to pick them out because I knew my hair was gonna be gone after a while. And I we made a plan. You come over here, I'm gonna shampoo you, you know, and then just shave you, you know, let you know, little pieces here and there. Go ahead and just take them off. We had a plan. So one night in the bathroom, I was at home and I went to scratch my hair, just rub my little hair up in there, and a clunk of hair was in my hand. And I said, Oh boy. And so I got up, went in the bathroom, I said, I'm ready to wash my hair. I knew it all was gonna just slide off when I washed probably because my hair follicles was dead from the treatment anyway. They I was just holding on, I was trying to hold on to my little straw set I had at the time. And my husband said, What are you getting ready to do? I said, I'm great to wash my hair. I thought you and Sheila was doing this together. I said, I'm great to do it now. And I went in there, and sure enough, Tracy, it said, shoot, slid right off. Wow, and and I think of passage, yeah. Yeah, I put it in a little ziploc bag, you know, and I was like, wow, uh yeah, I still got it. Yeah, I still got it in a little ziploc bag, and well, I thought it was gonna be the toughest, and it did not, it was not, it was not at all. I said, Thank you, Lord. And my husband was like, he was probably in there thinking, like, oh my god, she's gonna come out crying, you know, he didn't know what to expect. Probably know what to do. He wasn't gonna know what to do if I had come out there and lost it. But he just he was like, You good. I was like, Yeah, I said, Yeah, I was like, Wow, this was the toughest part. I thought about this whole thing, and it wasn't, and yeah, so I was like, Okay, and my head, my wigs right there, rock my wigs when I went out, my big earrings.
Speaker 00:Let's just be real, Angel. You got the face for a bald head now, you really do, because you got these cheekbumps, yeah.
Speaker 02:I brought, yeah, I look like my daddy, it's just except with earrings when I put on some big earring, I look just like my daddy because my daddy was, you know, bald head. I and my brother, you look at my brothers now, and that's what I look like. They all bald now. You know, I'll come to your desk to borrow like they receive, though. They they got that receiving hairline, they had to give it up. Oh my gosh, you know, come to your desk. And they yeah, gone.
Speaker 00:I'm coming to your desk to see a picture of your brothers.
Speaker 02:Yeah, yeah. I'm I'll show you. I was like, and that's me, that's what I look like right there. But I have no picture, I have no picture of me, and I thought that was that was just rare, but you know, hey, everything happens, you know, for a reason. That's why that's why I look at my journey, you know. I sit back and sometimes I say, you know, what I went through, it was for it, it was it was for purpose for Earth Angel to even, you know, begin. And it was part of my journey, you know, to encourage people along the way. Because had I not, you know, it might have been something else, but you know, just that that that was my journey. Um, and he used that for that purpose. And you know, I got a book, right? Tell us about the book 2019. Lord came back around again. I was like, Lord, I'm done with all this stuff now. But uh he came back around and gave me a book um entitled From a Survivor's Eye. And that was just I wrote every day of what I went through, you know, jotted things down to help me remember. So when I share my story, you know, I'll never forget it. Didn't know that that, you know, my little journal was gonna turn into a little seven-chapter, little mini little book. It's not long, it's not a long read at all. But um, I was grateful to write that book, write it and uh publish it.
Speaker 00:It doesn't have to be long to be impactful.
Speaker 02:Nope. Nope. It was it's on Amazon, Kendall. Um, I don't do too many of the hardback copies now. I mean, I probably would if I get some orders, like a lot of orders or something. I would do it, whatever, but it's on Amazon. Yeah, I do.
Speaker 00:I want to make sure I put in the show notes a link to Angels book as well as a link to Earth Angels. So tell us what's going on with Earth Angels. I know it's a busy month, so let us know what's what you got going on this month.
Speaker 02:Okay, so now I I'm all over the place, but I'm gonna tell you what's going on Saturday. Saturday is my luncheon. It's a um simply peak luncheon, and it's called like a tea party theme. And uh, oh my gosh, it's always a good time just to see the survivors there, um, you know, support one another. We may have somebody from like one year to 20, 30 years survivorship. We celebrate them, we remember the ones that we lost, you know, that lost the journey. Uh, we remember them, and we just to come together and doctors. My uh doctor friend of mine will be there. She'll be on hand to share with us anything you want to ask her, she's there to answer it. Look, free F-R-E-E. Yeah, you know, because they're gonna charge you. Ask some questions when you go to your doctor, whatever. But she and she's been faithful to every year. She only missed like maybe a couple of years. So she might my friend good Dr. Fran will be there. Um, I got someone that works, um, she used to work at Charlotte Radiology, but she's with the Novant now. She'll be there, tell you how to do exams, and just you know, kind of share with you what she looks for when she's looking at you, you know, your breast, like you're talking about that disc tissue. She talks about that all the time too. Um and we just have fun, just a fun day. Everybody put on your pink and just you know, we come on out and we just have a fun day of celebration.
Speaker 00:Um, so we have a link to that event in the show notes as well. Any other things happening in the month of October and throughout the year? I know you do certain things throughout the year as well because people can look at this podcast anytime. So we want to make sure we touch every base.
Speaker 02:Okay, so yeah, I try to do a walk. I just did a walk in July, so I try to stay around July uh for my walk, and it's in Gastonia. I've been doing it in Gastonia, but this year, well, 2026, we're talking about trying to tap into Charlotte um and do a uh breast cancer walk. I mean, I just participated in um the pink cupcake walk, which is Molly Grantham's walk. This is her fifth year. I just did that Saturday. Um, and I always do making the strides, but I haven't touched Charlotte yet. But so we're thinking about coming up here and doing one in Charlotte. But I did do my third um walk in Gastonia, July.
Speaker 01:Okay, awesome, awesome.
Speaker 02:Yep, so organizations can invite me, uh, churches. I go to churches, I'm going to um two churches next um Sunday. I'm going to Genesis Church in Gastonia, and then another church in South Carolina gonna be the third Sunday, too. So we'll go to churches as well and um share my journey. Um, Thursday coming, I'll be at a walk at the pavilion. Um, the 704 Run Club invited me to come and share there too. So I'll be there, share my story there Thursday.
Speaker 00:Awesome.
Speaker 02:See, busy lady, busy, busy. Yeah, and I love it. Is that the crazy part? No, you're supposed to love what you're doing. I love it, I love it. I would do it. Man, I can I'll wake like I wake up for work, it ain't the same passion as if I'm going to do something with Earth Angel. I I mean, I jump right up and be so excited. I gotta get motivated and prayed up to do my day job. But Lord say, you know, until the Lord say do it full time 24-7. I'm you know, gotta do what I gotta do.
Speaker 00:Yep, stay right there. Yep, that's what I tell everybody. Like, I've had multiple people ask me if I'm leaving. I said, God hadn't told me to move. So until you say move, until we say move, we gotta stay planning.
Speaker 02:Well, we said earlier, obedience is that's the key.
Speaker 00:Obedience, obedience, yeah. Well, Angel, thank you so much for joining us on the Charger Station podcast. I'm so you, you the GOAT.
Speaker 02:Thank you. I'm just honored to be on here.
Speaker 00:Well, I'm honored to have you, and I'm so very proud of you and the work that you're doing, and you know, you know, whatever I can do to support you. You know, I got you, booth.
Speaker 02:I know it, I know it. Thank you so much.
Speaker 00:All right, guys, until next time, thank you for joining us on the charging station. Make sure you connect with Angel, make sure you are subscribing and following us on all the socials. You can find me at Living My Empowered Life on everything, everywhere, right here on YouTube, everywhere. We we all over channel, and don't forget, um, the Soulful Escape to Thailand retreat is coming up October 22nd through the 30th of 2026. Booking is available now. We only taking 10 people, so get on it, get on it. All right, guys. We're gonna close out, but remember, God loves you, I love you, and it ain't nothing you can do about it, boo.
