Inspiring Breast Cancer Stories with Pam Winnie, Delmonica Cobb & Jodi Gonzales

Rich Bennett 0:00
Hey, everyone is Rich Bennett. Can you believe it? The show is turning ten this year. I am so grateful for each and every one of you who've tuned in, shared an episode, or even joined the conversation over the years. You're the reason that this podcast has grown into what it is today. Together, we shared laughs, tears and moments that truly matter. So I want to thank you for being part of this journey. Let's make the next ten years even better. 

Wendy Beck 0:34
Coming to you from the Freedom Federal Credit Union Studios, Harford County Living presents conversations with Rich Bennett. 

F1 S3 0:43
The man 

at. 

Rich Bennett 0:52
Large. 

F1 S3 0:53
Today, I'm going to get 

going. 

Jodi Gonzales 0:58
No, no, no. 

F1 S3 0:58
The truth is, 

October 17th. 

Rich Bennett 1:05
2015, that's when I launched the first episode, which was not a true podcast. It was only on YouTube and a local radio station. So I wanted to feature this one because these ladies never got the opportunity to actually talk on the podcast. And since the podcast has a lot more listeners than the radio station did, or even the YouTube channel, I felt the best to go back in time and replay this. So this was the very first episode. And my guests were Pam, Winnie Dell, Monica Cobb and Jody Gonzalez. Check it. Out. My name is Rich Bennett. We have three special guests here this week with it being breast cancer awareness. I wanted to bring these three and we have Pam Winnie, who is a breast cancer survivor, also owner of art. We also have Dell. Monica Cobb, owner of DEI DIA massage, right? 

Delmonica Cobb 2:10
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 2:11
Okay. And another breast cancer survivor, Jodie Gonzalez, the one you may hear laughing in the background every once in a while. So we're going to turn it over to Pam. Pam, tell us a little bit about, I guess, how it all came about to you. Start in art history? 

Pam Winnie 2:28
Well, basically, I'm an artist by trade, and after going through breast cancer, I didn't like what I saw in the doctor's books as the after pictures. And I thought, I'm an artist. I can do better than that. So I set out to find out where I could go for training for Paramedical tattooing. I didn't even know what it was called at the time, right? So 

I went to Texas and California and Florida and learned from some of the best technicians out there. And that's how I started my business. Primarily, I was focused on just doing the aerials for breast cancer survivors because I wanted to make them look like you could. 

Rich Bennett 3:21
Okay. 

Pam Winnie 3:24
And I also learned about permanent makeup because a lot of my ladies that go through cancer, they don't have after chemo. 

Rich Bennett 3:32
Right. 

Pam Winnie 3:33
They may not have their eyebrows come back so I can tattoo their eyebrows back on born interesting and also eyeliner and lipstick. But that's how I got into it. 

Rich Bennett 3:44
And how long have you been doing it now? 

Pam Winnie 3:46
Oh, five and a half years. 

Rich Bennett 3:47
Five and a half years. And you're like, All right. Okay. 

Pam Winnie 3:52
So South Main Street. 

Rich Bennett 3:54
Now, Monica. 

Delmonica Cobb 3:55
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 3:56
All right. First of all, because you two know each other, right? We do. And how is it that you two came about knowing each other? And I guess you guys also do some stuff, work together somehow, or you refer people to her and vice versa? Yes. Okay. 

Delmonica Cobb 4:10
Yes. We met through a mutual surgeon. He's actually a surgeon. That reconstructive breast. Okay. And by working with him through something else, it was a, you know, through breast cancer. But, you know, after speaking to him, he referred me to Pat. And then once we met, we just kicked it off. Really? It's a connection that was just out of this world. It really where, you know, we just start to talk and everything. And she was like, well, you know, you're a massage therapist. We actually have space here. So. 

Rich Bennett 4:51
No, I don't know. You tell me where she's at. Right. 

F1 S3 4:56
Right, right. 

Delmonica Cobb 4:57
So I said, okay, you know what? Let me talk to some people, you know. So I did. And we're working in the same building. We're neighbors. 

Rich Bennett 5:05
Are really. 

Delmonica Cobb 5:06
Neighbors. Yes. And then I was telling her, you know, I really wanted to give back. Right. So. Well, how do you want to give back? I said, well, you know, breast cancer survivors, you know, they are not necessarily informed about lymphatic massages. And I do manual lymph drainage. And she was like, wow, Well, that's something that we could really use here. So that was just that is the connection there. Yeah. So that's what I did. 

Pam Winnie 5:33
I trained in that. So, you know, as a breast cancer survivor, you have to be very careful about having massages done because if it's done the wrong way, you can develop edema. Oh, right. And that's a fear for any of us who have been through it. 

Delmonica Cobb 5:50
And it's swelling of the soft tissue. Yes. And with manual lymph drainage 

therapists, what they use is a very light touch to filter and purify the lymphatic system. With that, you're removing cell debris, inflammation, bacteria, by way of the lymph nodes. So that helps out tremendously and their recovery. 

Rich Bennett 6:16
So I guess for you, too, most of the most of your clients, you're getting her through surgeons or I mean. 

Pam Winnie 6:26
Well, I am. And word of mouth as well. 

Rich Bennett 6:29
Right. 

Pam Winnie 6:30
Which is how Jodi found out about Jodi. 

Rich Bennett 6:34
Jodi, Jodi, Jodi. Well, why don't you go ahead and tell us your story. 

Jodi Gonzales 6:39
My story? 

Well, I'm a breast cancer survivor. I had a unilateral mastectomy and through chemo, I continued to work just to keep a sense of normalcy about my life. And I can do something different with my head. Every time I went in for treatment, different hat, crazy like. And then I'm like. 

Rich Bennett 7:02
Okay, I'm. 

F1 S3 7:04
There for a. 

Jodi Gonzales 7:04
Minute. I met somebody else that was kind of doing the same thing, and she'd bring me in this long pink flamingo hat and we'd trade off hats and everything. So the last treatment, I figured I needed to do something special. And so through a women's networking, a local women's networking group on purpose, networking, 

we friend of mine due to retirement, referred me to a call Don, who I actually already knew, 

and she referred me to Pam. I was just looking for an artist because I wanted to paint my head, so. Okay. And so Pam painted my head and she was. 

Rich Bennett 7:51
Permanent, right? No. 

Jodi Gonzales 7:53
Not that one. 

Yeah, we can shave right now and see what's left. But no. So she did it with watercolors. The group of us kind of came up with a design and had music and scripture on it and flowers and butterflies and all kinds of interesting stuff. 

Pam Winnie 8:11
So with your. 

Jodi Gonzales 8:12
Friendship and then kind of like, I think Pam has this effect on a lot of people because we met and it was like, we've known each other for forever, just like y'all. 

Rich Bennett 8:21
I was going to say, I should have had you brainstorming. You could paint my head. 

Jodi Gonzales 8:24
Yeah, I. 

F1 S3 8:26
I. 

Rich Bennett 8:26
Need to think about. 

F1 S3 8:27
That. 

Rich Bennett 8:29
I'd be afraid to see what you paint on. 

Jodi Gonzales 8:33
So then through that, I became a patient customer. I don't know what you call me. First client. A client of Pam's. 

Rich Bennett 8:42
Okay. Jodi owns a business right here in Harford County, too, that we didn't even talk about, so I don't know. But your work there 

is work. 

So 

they're going to go ahead tomorrow. 

Jodi Gonzales 8:58
Am I going. 

Rich Bennett 8:59
To be 

any specials they have? What else? I am in trouble with this. Okay, go ahead, Jerry. 

Jodi Gonzales 9:09
I work at Classic team sports and we do. 

Rich Bennett 9:11
Owns with Jimmy this shirt. 

Jodi Gonzales 9:13
And this shirt. And but so we do a lot of the local rec teams and high school teams and also some of the businesses in the area. We do screen printing, embroidery, promotional products, anything you can think of, but they're very supportive of the community and I love working and just being involved. 

Rich Bennett 9:35
So that's one of the questions I want to ask because it seems like with that and with those with hard for Karen Living, our big thing is supporting local businesses. But you guys, you said that they also support a lot of community work. What kind of things do they do in the community? 

Jodi Gonzales 9:52
Well, they support a lot of the fundraising, the teams that do fundraising boosters and that sort of thing. They'll donate items and, you know, help get and get certain things in place for activities like school after prom parties and. 

Rich Bennett 10:08
That type of. 

Pam Winnie 10:09
Thing. So. 

Jodi Gonzales 10:10
Yeah. 

Rich Bennett 10:10
Okay. Dale Monica? Yeah. You're staying in there. Just listen. And I know you have something to add to that. Yeah. 

Delmonica Cobb 10:20
Well, you know, I just want to tell you that the power of touch is so important when you think about patients, just young patients, even infants that are in the hospital, and they talk about how, you know, when you touch them, you know, they they they just become much better. Right. And then also, you think about hospice patients, the power of touch is also important there as well. And you can just increase their the rest of their living. Okay. But when you think about, you know, your veterans and you think about your breast cancer survivors, you know, they're very strong, you know, And for them, I offer a discount. It's the year I. 

Rich Bennett 11:03
Get the veterans and breast cancer. 

Delmonica Cobb 11:05
And breast cancer survivors. Yes, I do $50 massages for the both of them. And that's year round. And that's their price. 

Rich Bennett 11:13
That's good and that's really good. 

F1 S3 11:16
She's awesome. 

Jodi Gonzales 11:21
Oh, yeah. Yeah. 

Pam Winnie 11:22
See? Right. 

Rich Bennett 11:23
Oh, 

of course. 

Hey, what about you? 

Pam Winnie 11:32
Well, with what I do with. With helping breast cancer survivors, it's it's one of those things that people don't really think about it until you have to. Until you go through it. And, you know, when you can finally look in that mirror and your scars aren't the first things that you see anymore. Right. It just it means something. And I've had people say, well, the only ones that's going to see them are you and your husband. So, you know, we're important. We need to feel it's like that, that step to being. 

Rich Bennett 12:07
Given a more confidence. 

Pam Winnie 12:08
Normal, you know, your new. 

Jodi Gonzales 12:10
Normal back to back to that new normal and. 

Rich Bennett 12:12
You get more confidence as well. 

Jodi Gonzales 12:14
Right. Right. 

Rich Bennett 12:15
Okay. I think a lot of people out there ignored is because they they say, oh, this could not happen to me. But tell us how important it is to go to your doctor all the time to get checked and all that. 

Pam Winnie 12:30
Very important. Extremely. Yeah, mine. Mine was detected through a mammogram and it was suggested to me that I go for a biopsy because something showed up right. And 

thankfully, they had the previous X-rays to go by so that they could see there was a difference. And mine was caught very early. I dodged the chemo bullet. I didn't have to do radiation because it was caught early. And 

of course, any time you have that word attached to you, it's it's very upsetting. And you go through all kinds of emotions and the whole range. And I was a basket case for a while, but then I just realized, well, you know, my way of handling it was with a sense of humor, and it's not always appropriate. But that's the way I handled it. And 

I just tell women all the time that, look, Jody shared the picture Mammy's gram, because it's that's the key. A lot of women don't don't find it on their own. 

Rich Bennett 13:51
Right. 

Pam Winnie 13:51
Mine was very deep. I would have never felt it. And I had a rather aggressive type of cancer and 

it was so it was like by the chest wall. So I would have never felt the lump. And not all cancers are lumps. 

Rich Bennett 14:08
Oh, really? 

Pam Winnie 14:09
Yeah. There's. There's many different kinds of cancers out there. And and it's scary. So, you know, and it is scary, but that's why you get yourself checked. 

Rich Bennett 14:21
Because I guess. Well, and support comes in because of that, too, especially if you have friends and family around and you know like I said, the supporters and their to and that's a big plus and with people like you yeah you guys doing what you do and I know you're not just with the tattoos the massage and all that but with your mindset is the best you for what you've been through. You're probably make people feel more at ease. I would think. 

Delmonica Cobb 14:52
It's very important to have someone that makes you feel very comfortable when you're being serviced. The person that brought us together, which was a mutual surgeon, he referred a very personal friend of mine and of course I took them to Pam and just instantly that person felt so comfortable in her chair. And did you want to talk about her? 

Rich Bennett 15:18
Yeah, because I was going to say, I guess with you being a woman and doing it with women, but I guess they would feel more comfortable. I don't know if they feel comfortable with a guy doing it. I mean. 

Pam Winnie 15:30
Some don't. Yeah, right. And and and you bet in that room, right? No, I kind of know what they go through and the whole healing process and and with with the way I work, I use topical anesthetics. So even though people think that injury can attest to the. 

Jodi Gonzales 15:48
People, if you're not comfortable, she'll make you comfortable. 

F1 S3 15:52
Or. 

Pam Winnie 15:53
And you can be surprised how much you do still have a feeling, even though a lot of women don't have a lot of feeling after going through mastectomies, there is some sensation still there, and I use topical anesthetics to keep them numb through the whole process. 

Rich Bennett 16:10
What exactly is topical anesthetics? It's you have me lost on that one. 

Pam Winnie 16:14
Well, it's a cream. It's a numbing cream. Oh, really? 

Rich Bennett 16:17
Okay. Mm hmm. 

Pam Winnie 16:18
And then? Then I use a gel. Like, once the skin is open, I use a gel, and that's for the eyebrows and eyeliner, too. 

Rich Bennett 16:24
Okay. 

Pam Winnie 16:25
So pain is not our friend? 

F1 S3 16:29
No. 

Jodi Gonzales 16:30
Not at that final stage. It's not for sure. 

Pam Winnie 16:34
That's just putting the icing on the cake. 

Jodi Gonzales 16:35
Yes. 

Rich Bennett 16:37
And I guess with if you have some people that will not go to the doctors, but they can always check for themselves, too. Right. But like you said, not all cancer has lumps, right? 

Pam Winnie 16:49
So, Yeah. 

Jodi Gonzales 16:51
Yeah. You can't do it all yourself. 

Rich Bennett 16:53
Wow. All right, so you hear that people get out there and get checked? Definitely. Without a doubt. I mean, how often? Once a year. 

Jodi Gonzales 17:01
Go for your regular annual 

female doctor gynecologist appointment, and they will always send you to a mammogram annually. Yeah. And then if they're following something, they'll either have you come in every six months or every three months or every month, depending on what they're watching. 

Rich Bennett 17:17
Thank you for listening to the conversations with Rich Bennett. I hope you enjoy today's episode and learn something from it as I did. If you'd like to hear more conversations like this, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so you never miss an episode. And if you have a moment, I'd love it if you could leave a review. It helps us reach more listeners and share more incredible stories. Don't forget to connect with us on social media or visit our website at Converse stations with Rich Bennett dot com for updates, giveaways and more. Until next time, take care. Be kind and keep the conversations going.