Hey, Hey, Hey, ba fam it is Mandy Woodruff Santos. I am here with a very special guest this week. Marina Franklin is a veteran comedian. She's an actor. I mean, you say multi hyphen it, but there's not enough hyphens I think in existence for what this amazing woman has done and pioneer in her space. Actor writer, she's a host. She has been a standout premier comedian for years now. I'm not going to reveal her age, but when you see her, I mean I swear you could not guess,
and she says it in her stand up. She ages very well. But to be so experienced at her craft, She's got some amazing work coming out now that's actually available for y'all to check out. I encourage you to check out her comedies special single Black Female, It's Hilarious
on Amazon Prime. She's also a part of this really amazing documentary series on FX called Hysterical, which is taking a real look behind the curtain at the comedy you know, the comedy club scene, and what it's like to be women in that scene, and especially for folks like Marina coming up and trying to break out in the very crowded space and a male dominated space, and it's a wonderful project that she's a part of, which we'll talk
a bit about on today's show. But let me stop with my rambling and introduce y'all and say hello to Marina. Thank you so much.
It was a good ramble, Was it all right? Okay? Yeah, the intro was spectacular. I'm always cringing because I forget I need to change the bio on my website. So I appreciated what she did there.
Does that mean really not a viciously likable person, Marina? I mean that was years ago, someone who gets asked for bios all the time, and I'm just like, ugh, someone else write this viciously likable?
Someone else wrote that. Yeah. I was like, okay, I mean I think in that year, in that year.
Okay, I don't even know what that means. Like that means like, you know, you can't throw it, but you're gonna smile afterward on stage?
You know. The thing is is they always wonder are you a likable comic? Are you know? On stage? Like some comics have an edge where you wouldn't want to approach them afterwards, and some comics are likable. So that's me.
Oh, okay, you're the kind of comic that you want to hang out with. I don't know. I kind of feel like, don't I mean, to be a comic, don't you need to have I mean, you need to have this like bit like this, this razor sharp wit and ability to give people shit and give them a hard time and call them out. But then yeah, be likable enough for folks to want to come back for more abuse.
Well, no, I mean I don't know. Most of the comics I know, you wouldn't want to hang out afterwards. Oh no, okay, Oh no, they're they're smart, they're quick. I mean, the most of the ones that I know. I'm not speaking for. There's a lot of comics these days, so I'm not speaking for all of them. The comics I know they're pretty, you know, they have very strong personality, So hanging out with them after the show, you I wouldn't do that.
Okay, it does feel like, I mean, what's it like from your perspective? Because you have been in this business for how many years? Now?
Twenty two years now?
I guess yeah, yeah, so over the I mean that's a generation, right, so over the past twenty years. I mean, how have you felt the scene has changed for black female comics. Do you think that it is better than ever? There's still so much we have so much room to grow and so so much further to go. What's it like from your perspective?
Well, it's definitely on the right path. You know. You have a lot of black female comics working now at the same club, like the Comedy Seller where I work, you know, mostly that's where that's like my home club. You'll have three black female comics on one show and it's not even a thing anymore. And that's and they don't mix y'all's names up, and they don't mix our names up, all right, they better not, you know. Yeah.
I mean, but what's interesting is it's it's such a good path to be on because now we're getting the opportunity to see, oh, maybe I should change my joke. Maybe we're talking about the same things. You know, when I was the only black female comic in the room going on stage, I was the only one representing black women. Now there's three or four five black women there, and I've got to go, oh, well, she's talking about that too.
Now I get to work on my craft the way white men have been working on their craft for years, you know, because they're always going up against someone who may be talking about the same thing. And that's that's part of the craft of stand up is having original material that's unique to you. So it's on this way, it's in a good direction. But I would say that, you know, continue to do the work. You know, we we can't all be Tiffany Hattish, you know, that's the
name that is commonly. This is what you know they tend to do, is they'll they'll find one, you know token. I would say, she's you know, black woman, and go, that's the that's who we want you go into an audition to go can you be more like her? Can you be more like Tiffany? And we're not. You know, we're not a monolithic right isn't that the word I always get there? Word bro And we're yeah, we're not.
We're yeah. I think that's how it goes. But you know, we're all we all have very unique different ways of approaching comedy, styles, acting, everything. We all look different. There's just Sheer' z Amata, There's Nicole Bayer, There's Yaminika Sanders, there's Marina Franklin. You know, there's Wanda Sykes. You have all these options now to choose from, so that shouldn't
be the excuse, and yet it does still happen. So you you know, you go into these rooms, you have these conversations, and you see that even though I'm having the conversation with women and I see the change, I still see some people are stock.
Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I was gonna say, it's it's so ironic to me because I I don't know funnier people than the Black women in my life, like hands down, and that just may be, you know, indicative of just the collective trauma that you endure as like a black woman in this country. But we are the funniest people. I mean, I swear to god, I don't laugh harder than I do when I go to the black female Facebook groups for Peloton, black what is it? Black Girl Magic?
Peloton addition, and the I'm in a planting group black women who love gardens, Oh my.
God, Oh I have to check that out because I do love to garden kill the plant I'm trying to bring back my baby tears.
There's a lot of there's it's a safe space for any plant killers, plant homicide is a common topic. But when I tell you the comments and I live for them, so I am. I'm so excited because I agree with you. Why don't I know more? You know, Why can't I, at the top of my head come up with like black female comics off the top of my head. But you are sort of having this this big moment, you know, well into your career now you are You're touring with Jim Gaffigan, right.
Well, I'm not touring with him, but I do shows for him when he's in the city or when he asks, you know, so like I did shows for him, you know, when the pandemic just started. We were doing like shows for cars basically, you know, he had all these dates like yeah, so, and it was just a way to still honor those tickets and give people a chance to get out the house, you know. And he asked me if I was if I would want to every now and then Jim would ask me to do a show.
I'm not his regular tour person. And then before you know, I was booked actually to do Radio City Music Hall with him. And the pandemic happened so recently, you know, as things are in New York coming back to some sort of normalcy. He asked me to do Radio City.
Music Hall and I said, yes, of course you did.
I was like that, I said, yeah.
Yeah, what was so? I think you're from Chicago.
Right, Yeah, I'm originally from Chicago. I you all over Chicago. Yeah, I moved around a lot, which is part of my routine or was. I don't talk about that as much. You know when I when you first start, you're kind of do and you're like, you know, this is my ancestry, this is what happened, this is who I am. So I grew up in Highland Park, Illinois, which is predominantly white. It's a Jewish neighborhood too, which by the way, i'm twelve percent of my twenty three and meters. That's what
they told me. And actually it went up this summer. I don't know why, anyway. So I grew up in Highland Park and then moved to the South Side of Chicago, which was a black neighborhood on the South Side Chicago. Then moved to the suburbs of Chicago, which was a multi like diverse neighborhood. It was like the utopia of diverse, interracial you know, black and white people, schools, everything, So I had all of those experience, so I'm like a chameleon, you know. I had to adjust.
Yeah, absolutely. I know you've talked about in previous interviews sort of feeling like, well, it was too late for me, or in your stand up like it was too late for me. By the time I moved to a black neighborhood like or a black school area, I was white. As far as they were concerned.
I didn't have the skills. I didn't know how to I didn't know double Dutch. And I talk about that in my routine because that was a very traumatic moment because it was about playing, you know, kids play, and the way the girls were playing on the South Side of Chicago double Dutch, and I really wanted to play, but I know I didn't know what it was, and they didn't understand why I didn't know what it was. And so on my block, I trained, Oh.
Really like Rocky, like black Girl Rocky double Dutch. Sure that's got to be like a cartoon or something.
Yeah, I mean, and I remember them like, you gotta jump, you got you gotta jump wild at first, you gotta make sure your legs are wide open. Sounds crazy, but that's exactly how you jumped in order to learn and then eventually your legs will close in and you'll be fine.
Yeah. I did some double dutch back in back in the mean streets of Union City, Georgia.
Oh yeah, and turning right turning was important, like and.
Sing during it because there were songs. So you were like you had three, four or.
Five turn around, pop up, twist it off.
I don't know. We got to show you double dutch aerobics. Anyway, that's conversation for another time. There's actually aerobics now around double dutch. Talk to me about since Brown Ambition. First of all, our show we talk about everything under the sun when it comes to wealth building and career and as black women, especially just normalizing those types of conversations.
And so I want to hear you know, just before we kind of get into a bit more personal story and what I'm excited to talk to you about your dirtey and your recovery from breast cancer. I would love to talk to you and just hear you know, what's it like making it as a comic financially you know, and how has the pandemic impacted your business? And how has that been for you and how have you been able to get through it?
I mean it's not easy. I mean, but I I'm a older comics, so twenty two years. I have a sort of like the longer you do something, the more people, you know, the more opportunities you have, the more people take care of you, you know, the more you commit to a career. So I was I did okay, you know, I was fine. I wasn't working. I collected unemployment. I'm not like, you know, one of the ones who had so much money that I couldn't collect unemployment. I collected unemployment.
You know. I learned to pivot. That was the word, right.
Yeah.
I did my podcast Friends Like Us, and I sold T shirts and face masks and coffee mugs, and I did my own virtual zoom shows instead of like doing other shows. People would ask you to do their virtual Zoom show. And I said, why, I know how to get on the internet. Why am I always giving my product away? So I did my own Zoom show and I had people come on and open for me, and I would make you know, like five hundred dollars just in my kitchen.
So you were out there side hustling with the best of us.
Yeah, yeah, I was. I was sorde hustling, and then I had some money saved. So I was fortunate to have done that. But a lot of times I thought about what if I was just starting, Like I remember when I first started as a comic, you know, how I was really like struggling waiting tables or you know, I was working at a consulting firm answering the phones. What would have happened if I had nowhere to go to and it would have been very tough. I really
don't know, you know. I think about the younger comics and how difficult this must have been for them. Yeah, So I try to keep that in mind whenever I'm like kind of relaxed and oh I did this so well, I go, you know, but it could have been different, So I keep it in mind.
Absolutely, it's like it's time to count your blessings. But also it's a bit of survivor's guild. I think a lot of folks are like a teeny tiny bit well, healthcare is also a big one, and that is, you know, especially if you're an artist and you're or you're a creative person and you're in the city, and I recently became independent and launched my own business as well, and I couldn't have done that as easily as I did. And I'm I'm pretty transparent about that if I didn't
have my husband's you know, health care. And I think what I wanted to ask you about is how do do you have health care as a comic, Like, how does that work? And is it expensive? Because in the middle of a pandemic, you know, at a time when our health is really in jeopardy, it's insane to me that we have so many Americans still, you know without that access.
Yeah, I mean I have health insurance. I had to when I was getting breast cancer, you know, dealing with that, I was forced to really pay attention to what health insurance I have.
When did you find out when were you diagnosed with breast cancer? And at that time, what was your status with your health care?
Well, so that was two years ago, and I was paying for health insurance through SAG and it was very expensive. And then when you have breast cancer and you have these bills coming in and you find out, oh, they're not going to pay for everything, and learning how to navigate that that was all new to me. You know, I never had breast cancer before. I never had like emergency situation where I had to figure out how to
pay for stuff. So it was hard because you're you're new in your diagnosis, you're afraid, you're not sure if you're going to live, and then you're on the phone with people begging them to pay for your bills. And a part of that is humiliating because then you go, well, why, you start going into like why didn't I do this with my career? Why am I? Why am I in this position? Why am I not married and using my
husband's insurance? You know all those things, and when you have an emergency like breast cancer, you do need to, you know, do what you need to do to take care of those bills. And I had other friends who told me this is what you need to do, this is how you need to set yourself up, this is you know, look ato all the programs and so that was very helpful. Your friends really are your best advocate. I had a young they write me this morning about my set, and she was like, I really appreciated it
because I was just diagnosed and I'm thirty eight. And I said to her, let your friends be your best advocate. So keep them around, keep them, keep them, keep them around. And you know whoever that is. You know, it could be a stranger that all of a sudden becomes your friend because they are better at being an advocate for you.
Yeah, well take me back to that.
So I'm going to flash as I'm talking about this.
No, I mean, well, it's fresh, right, I mean, so, what's your So a couple of years ago you were diagnosed. How did you find out that you had breast cancer? And then what stage was it?
You want the real story or well see the joke. And it is true. I say this on stage. I was when I was having sex. I don't have it anymore, but when I was, I don't I had. You know you it is fine.
Married and it's not that great on the other side, so keep going. It's just woo.
Well, but you're right, but they usually the truth of the matter is you women usually do find it during sex. Huh. You know a lot of women, well, their partner will find it, you know, to fill something That wasn't my case. My partner was asleep, so I had time to fill around and found it on my own.
Oh man, So you were you. I mean you weren't. Were you weren't intending. It wasn't like I'm going to do a breast exam for my own health and benefit, but you were. You found it yourself by feeling.
Badly basically, and I had time. I mean, that's really what it was. I was like, oh, I know how to take care of me. So and I was like, oh, what's that. So that's how I found it seriously, and then I was like and then I woke them up. I said, hey, you feel this. Uh he was like, yeah, I do feel that. Then I I would take showers and I would do the thing like I felt like, I was kind of ridiculous, but I would. I was like, I do feel something. And so I went in and
I had it checked. And the first time I went in, they said, we don't really think you have anything. That was the first time.
This was a gynecologist.
That was the the the not the guynecologists. But they send you to the person who does the mammograms. You know, they could send you to different locations in New York. Sometimes it's not all in the ones. That's that's another whole thing. But sometimes you have to travel to like eighty six Street, go to the place where they do that, and that first time they said, well, we see something, but it's not big enough. And that was the year
before I was actually diagnosed. And then that year, literally a year afterwards, I went told my doctor again, I said, I do still feel something, and I noticed when she was doing feeling around doing the ultra sound. Which is important to mention because a lot of women have dense breast tissue. You can't find everything with the mammograms. Sometimes
you will find it with the ultrasounds. So it's important to mention that if you have dense bress tissue, you have to always ask for an ultrasound, and you have to ask because a lot of times they don't offer it.
Okay, and they did not.
Yeah, they did not find mine. With a mammogram. They found you know, calcium shows them a sign of something. The ultrasound gives them a little bit more information. And then that same doctor a year ago said, oh, it's probably nothing. This time said, you know what, it's gotten a little bigger, so we'll just do a biopsy just to make sure. And I didn't understand what a biopsy meant. So I was going to the commedy Stone. I was like, I got to get a biopsy tomorrow and they were
like Marina. I was like what, completely close? And then I realized everyone was like, Brina, that's serious. And then I went back in for the biops, the biopsy I had like to and that's when, Yeah, that's when he was like, my doctor, my guynecologist actually called me, which apparently they're not supposed to do. But she wanted to get in touch with me right away. And it was a Friday night, and she said, we're shocked, but yes,
you do. You have breast cancer. And then that moment I was really I was in a state of shock pretty much.
Did she leave it at that? I mean, I feel like no.
She told me. She was like, I'm gonna have my husband do this. He's gonna be the surgeon. You're gonna go in on Monday. We're going to take care of this.
They wanted to do a lump, so it's called a lumpectomy. Did you have the lump removed right away?
You don't really know exactly right away. That's the thing that's sort of like a lot of women don't understand is they have to make that decision. It takes time for them to make that decision, and then you also have to make that decision for yourself. So it's all based on what your diagnosis is in the stage of your cancer. So they can't really tell you that until they know the stage. They kind of have an idea. And that's what was confusing to me, because I was like,
I thought you said I was stage one. What happened? What's going on? You're still doing more? Because what happens is they'll tell you the initial stage and then they still do more tests after. And I had several biopsies after that, so I didn't just have the two in the beginning. I had several. I had, like you know, like I had to go in like two more times or three more times. And then also they had to do the left breast as well, just to make sure.
And then sometimes they see something and they're not sure, so yeah, it's a lot. And then then they take it and they go, well, we're seeing stage one, but we have to really still figure it out. Now they do a genetics test. Two.
If you do you have a history in your family.
Yeah, my aunt had breast cancer, but she was always like, oh, you know, people don't really talk about it in your family.
It's really interesting in your family, they didn't talk about it. Yeah, my neighbor and Lynn, I'll give her a shout out. She was the inspiration for me to even do a show like this because I had her over and she's kind of like my auntie here in the neighborhood and she had a double mass sectomy and told me that about her breast cancer story. And she said that she found out when she was at her grandmother's doctor's visit.
Her grandmother couldn't drive herself, so she Lynn was just there in the background, like I'm taking your doctor, and just casually her grandmother mentioned that she had had breast cancer and so did her mother and everything, and Lynn said, it just wasn't talked about.
You.
They would make up other ways people died, like they would tell you that they, oh, they were just sick or they had a you know, a heart condition or something. But there was some kind of stigma to that breast cancer. And that was how Lynn found out that she had this family history of breast cancer and started to get screened and then you know, they found it and it was super aggressive, even though she had detected it early. So I don't know why, why why do you why?
In your family? I know you can only kind of speak about your experience, but why don't you think it was something that was talked about.
I think it's just it's it is like specific to black culture, black families, the mistrust in medicine. It plays into all of that, you know, and the way we talk about health in black circles. You know, that's my assumption is that's where it's coming from. But I also because I do remember my grandmother and the way she would talk about the mistrust of doctors. You know, my grandmother never had breast cancer, but I remember the way she would talk about things. It was like, you know,
everything except for what the doctor said, you know. And I would think, on my this is my aunt on my mother's side. I think that, you know, that side of my family's just not that close. And so you you grow apart. You kind of hear about someone in your family like having something, but no one's really invested because we're all living our daily lives. But it's important, I think you because you start to realize when you have your own emergency how important it is to stay
connected with your family. And then you go, oh, well, this is a learning lesson about family. You know, don't don't do that. You know, if anything, the pandemic probably taught us that too. It's like stay in touch with your family because you just never know, you know, what's going on with them. And I would say, like my family on my mother's side definitely is very It's not as connected, it's not as close the conversations were had. You know, even with my father. My father will put
these drops in his eye. I was like, I just knew him as putting those drops in his I guess he just needed drops in his eyes. And plus I was young. You know, when you're young, you go, you know, the old people, they do things you don't really care. You know, you're like, ah, how long are the old man doing stuff? You know, But after a while, when it starts to affect your life, you realize, oh, those drops meant some day I may have glaucoma. Conversations should
have been had, you know. But you learn, and then you try to tell people that are younger than you how it's important. Hopefully they listen, Hopefully they retain it.
I mean, and just as you were speaking, I'm sitting here like of course. I mean, you think about that.
They used to call this guy the father of gynecology, and he pioneered so much research and advances and female gynecology by practicing on black women, like practicing on our bodies and using us like you know, using us like mice in an experiment, and you think of that being just like so horrific, but it's having real So bringing it back to modern day, I mean, this is the fact that we're not maybe talking about it or or hearing about it so often. You know, you found yours luckily,
you know, because you're you know, doing your thing badly. Listen, listen so bad? Did that? So do you do you keep in touch with that guy to let him know thank you so much for that night.
You think you save my life.
So after the testing, after the testing, when was it that the you're dealing with so much? I mean, you're you're probably emotional in stress and all of that. When did the bills start coming? Was that immediately? Was it later on?
Did you feel like a they started talking you about the bills right away? Well? Really, oh god, there's no like. Look I just gotta just I said. Look, So they start they ask you for your insurance. The whole step of the way. There's no like, oh, you know, you don't come in and they're like, oh my god, you have breast cancer. There's none of that, you know there there it's a job for them. You know, they're dealing with a lot of women who have breast cancer. You're
one of many. And I went to you know, I went through it rough because I went to a city hospital. And I went to that city hospital, which I don't recommend. I mean, you know, if you if if you can avoid going to a city hospital, if you can't, it's okay. They do a great job there too. But I what I would say is your wait time is going to be longer. I used to sit and wait like sometimes six seven hours just to be seen. Yeah, because it's a city hospital, they're dealing with, like, you know, other
emergencies that come before you. Sometimes there's there's no like there's no one holding your hand and being like oh miss Franklin. You know, not not overwhelmingly no, you know, it's like what insurance do you have? You know, that question comes at you hard. It's almost like they take you to the back, they counsel you about you know, we need that money. Yeah, you know, I mean they that it's a business. So when you walk in, you know,
that was the thing I didn't realize. I was like, oh my god, Like this is what people were talking about when they say they have a pre existing condition and they get treated like this. It's it's horrible, you know. And then you get that one person that works there that's an angel and that is really taking care of you and that's really listening to you, and that does happen as well, So you just got to find them in those spaces.
Did you feel prepared to advocate advocate for yourself? I know you said that your friends were really important, but when you were in that position and not feeling like you had someone in charge of making sure that Marina was okay and that you sort of had to be that person, did you feel prepared to, you know, be outspoken to to get the care that you needed. Did you feel like you had to do that a lot?
I never had to do that before. This was the first time that I actually had to like even think about my body in the way. And I've learned a lot about myself, like I don't listen well. And because I had a friend and I knew right away because I had a friend who had breast cancer and I called her immediately. She was right after the doctors, the doctor when she gave me the diagnosis. I called my friend Jenny, my friend, and I cried, you know, and
I was like just bawling. And then she was just like, Marina, it's okay. I know I'm gonna get you through this because you just don't think it'll ever happen to you, and then you just don't know how to process it. And she was just listening, and then she says, I'm going to go with you. I'll be an advocate for advocate for you. I'll be your friend. You know, I've been through this, I know how to take you through. And you're going through all that, so you don't even
know what to think. You know, you have someone there that's really helping you. So, you know, my instinct to reach out. Thank god that was there so that I didn't do it by myself because my family not here, you know, my family's like all in Chicago and San Francisco. So I really had to rely on friends. And then eventually I I you know, I say this on stage,
I have thirteen friends with breast cancer. So you know, you say, you say it's one, and it is one and eight by the way, so it's a it's an epidemic, you know. But when you say to that to people, when you say one in eight to people, they don't really respond, you know, because they don't they see those little stick figures and they go, eh. But you say you have thirteen friends with breast cancer, and all of a sudden you go, I go, exactly, yes, it's real,
it's serious. And so I have thirteen friends with breast cancer. I took three of them will go with you know, I would swap out friends, you know, and they would go in and listen for me. Sometimes I wasn't listening, and then my one friend Jenny told me to record big I do that biggest advice, Yeah, I do. Ask the doctor's one. No, No, it's important because I yeah, I would listen to it and I would hear myself
ask the doctor a question they had already answered. So I knew I wasn't listening, and that's how I knew. I was like, I got to continue to record every time I go in because that's how I get the information. Because I would hear and I go, oh my god, they just answered this question. And also I didn't even hear this while I was sitting there.
Was it just because you were overwhelmed? You think, or kind of my mind wanders a million different directions during a converse. It's a real bad happen.
No, I have a d D too. I used to Yeah, podcasting taught me how to listen.
Yeah, my god, turn your tabs off, and yes, absolutely.
I'm so much better. People used to say that they could see me fade while I was listening to them, and I was like, oh no, you could see that. I thought I was playing it off, and they're like, no, no, it's obvious you're not listening. But this, this taught me a lot. And yeah, listening to those audios back and I can still listen to them to this day. If I wanted to just get more information and it saved
my life. It actually taught me, Like, as I listened to it, it taught me about my staging of cancer. It taught me, you know that I have to get like an uncle type test that tells me what type of treatment I'm gonna get. And that's what I mean by there's a certain point in this where your staging goes up after they do the lump actomy. Now, when you decide to get the lump act to me or you decide to get a missect me, those decisions are based upon your genetic you know, history, and your stage.
Well I was stage one, but after the lump actomy, I was stage one, hey, which I was like, what's that about? You know? And then my doctor told me what that was about was that the cancer they found it had traveled intro many marine nod which is in the actual breast tissue. There's nodes within the you know, you have your lymph nodes, there's nodes within the breast. Rarely happens now very important. I listened to that tape when she talked about that. So when I went for
my I forget, I'm forgetting the name of it. When they do the HISS they do the information about your actual cancer, I forget, oh genetic, I forget what it's call. It's the uh, it's something. It's where they actually finally analyze it and tell you what type of treatment you're gonna get. Okay, and there's a different person for that while they had read it wrong.
Oh lord, Yes, from the beginning or.
This was after everything, after my lumpectomy, after my surgeon. It told me I was staged one job, one job, and I went in. But the thing is in memory, no, which is what I have, is very rare to see. So what the person saw, or what they thought they saw, was cancer that had spread to my chest. So they had staged me wrong. They staged me at two like B which told said that the treatment would be chemo for a year and then radiation. It was wrong.
I thought you were going to be heading toward chemo. You thought you were at stage two.
I knew I wasn't. And when I went back to which was my Then you get an oncologist, right, which is different from your surgeon. All these doctors. I thought it was just one person you go to. No, so I go to the oncologist, and then oncologist says is And I remember my uncle saying to me, he's a doctor. He said, make sure you don't get a doctor straight out in June or July. I said, he goes, you know why, and I go, no, he goes, they just graduate from school. I go, oh, so city h hospital.
They give me it on colleges. She looks young I bring my Irish friend in to advocate. She goes, Oh, Marina, she goes, I'm going to tell you something. This young lady should be good someday, should be good someday, but not today. Run And sure enough she had told me that I was staged two with you know, confidently, without really looking at that chart. I said, can you get can you get your father in here?
Now?
I said, can you get the head surgeon who's in charge of all of you, can you bring him in? And he looked at it and he said, yeah, this is done wrong, this has been analyzed wrong, and it's important for her treatment.
I mean, good for you and your friend to even because I in that situation, I mean, you feel like the doctors have all the power and everything they say is you know, Bible, but that's so not true. And yes, for you to advocate for yourself in that way. So what was the treatment plan then when you were stage one stage one A?
So after we figured out that they were wrong, and we figured out the real treatment and with the real number was one A. It's just radiation, so no chemo. Also, the unco type test gives you a score. So the doctor will say to you, you have an option to do chemo. But the unco type test, which is not available to everybody. It just depends on your exact cancer. You know, mine is progested. I can't say it estrogen positive. You know her too negative. So because of that, I
get that test. Not everyone gets that test, and that'll tell you a score, and that score tells you whether or not you do chemo or not. And I was like, and my.
Score one that really puts you on your butt? Is that right?
Yes, yeah it does. And so what happened was all so the the rules had changed for radiation and chemo. Women with one a just six years before I was getting diagnosed, would go through chemo. So I had met a woman. Actually I've done stand up to cancer comedy show and after the show, I met a woman who said, oh, you didn't do chemo and you were wanted I go it. And I felt horrible because she was the same stage that I was, but just six years ago. It just
you know, medicine is always learning. Yeah, So I did radiation, and I did radiation for the month of October. Actually we're going into the month the anniversary three years during Breast cancer Awareness Month, I was getting radiation?
Was that last year or the year before?
Two years?
Two years? Okay? Yeah, so you when were you kind of giving.
In twenty nineteen?
By nineteen? Yeah? Are you answer free? Now? Do you have?
I don't call it cancer free because you get cleared within like five years. They say, really, But I you know, I never really look at it as that. I look at it as I'm good for now and uh, and That's probably not the best way to look at it. But I'm always being healthy. I'm always you know, since that time I'm vegan, you know, I I've changed my whole life around. I've made some strong choices. Try to cut out sugar, you know, as much as I can. I try not to have sugar, Okay, things like that.
Because also they wanted to put you on. They wanted to put me on a hormonal drug called tamoxifin that I opted out of. So that was like what that was done. So tamoxifen is is commonly used for women with hormonal cancer, you know, with estrogen, a strong level of estrogen feeding the cancer, and that would have caused hip it could it could, it could be. It's different
for everyone. Some women have no reaction to it. My friends all said hell no. So three I did my own research, right, since I have thirteen friends, I could do my own studies. So I was like, how many of my friends were okay with it? And like three of them were like, hell no. And they told me how long it took to get out of their system a year even in trying it. And then I had one of the nurses told me she had to get a hip replacement because of it. So it's intense. It
can be intense. And then one another friend of mine, out of you know, three of them said no. One of them said she had no problems, she had nothing. She had one night of sweats and then she was fine.
I have so many questions now because my neighbor Lynn had a hip replacement not long ago. Ooh, I'm wondering. And she was also a answer survivor. Lyn's going to be like, stop talking to me about this, man.
Oh. I mean there's books about it. There's called Estrogen Matters. I haven't read that book. There's so many cancer books I have, but I need to still read.
I mean, it's the well, it's the diagnosis and the treatment, but it's also I mean the I know in your case. I mean, actually I didn't ask this, but you didn't have to have any reconstructive breast surgery or anything like that, right.
Yeah, lumpectomy is just an entury taking it out. Then they they do the testing, and that's what you know. When they actually take the cancer out, they look at it and that causes the difference of staging. Oh gotcha, okay, and that. Yeah, and then it's just they just sew everything back up. They take the lymph nodes out. Yeah, they take your lymph nodes. They take a they'll tell you how many they take out. And for about a salad month, I couldn't lift above my I couldn't do this,
even that wall behind me. I used to do finger crawls just to get my arms. I couldn't do this. I couldn't lift a suitcase. I had to travel as a stand up. I couldn't carry things. I had to like decide which stuff I was going to take to the gig.
And you've incorporated your your story into your stand up what is funny about breast cancer? And also a lot that you have turned well, actually I've laughed a lot just from the story that you told. No I imagine that, but I guess I'm just asking Irish accent. I wasn't sure if you had said Irish. I was like, maybe she didn't say that. I was waiting.
Sometimes it could sound Jamaica. Do you have a Macon and Irish? But yeah, that was my Irish friend.
Well I love that. You know you going back to what you said earlier about being a black comic, there's more of you now out there, black female comics, and you do have you know, you storytelling in general. You know, I'm a writer. I always just try to if it's my story, I know it's unique. But incorporating into your stand up, what was that like for you? When were you ready to to tell that story and to laugh about you know, this really serious issue that was terrifying.
I told it right well, not right away, but I did have a mentor who told me who had also gone through his own struggles. He had a stroke, so he was like, you know, if you don't talk about it now, you're going to forget it. So you need to do it right away while it's still fresh. And he was right, because it's an It's an amazing thing. How even as I'm talking to you, some of the things I've I've forgotten because I don't I don't I'm
not still dealing with it. Well, I don't talk about those, you know, those specific moments, you know, and some of the pain starts to fade a little bit, you know. But I think in talking about it while I was raw was very therapeutic for me. You know, I didn't know what I was doing. You know, I've been a comic for a long time, so I kind of had the tools to know how to explore that material on
stage without feeling like horrible. But a lot of times I would, you know, I was scared, you know, I was vulnerable up there and not sure if people were going to laugh, and sometimes they didn't sometimes because you know, no matter what, the audience can read you. So if you're not sure, they're not sure. And I could tell they were like, oh my god, she's really going through this right now, so you could they felt everything I was feeling. And now when I talk about it, it's
just nothing but laughter, you know. Because that material, over time, it got better. I started to chisel away at it, you know, and I also made it, you know, more of a show, and it was prepared material but also it's not as raw, so I would say, you know now that I do it. The one thing I do try to remember is that this is not These aren't just jokes. These are jokes that are possibly saving someone's life in the audience. And that's why I always say,
you know, early detection is your best protection. It really is. You know a lot of women, you know, I did Radio City Music Hall and a doctor actually said to Jim Gaffigan's wife, you know what, Marina mentioned something about when was the last time you've been in for your checkup? So you know, those conversations hopefully it sparked something in that room. And Radio City Music Hall.
Well, the pandemic. I'm not even gonna lie. I did manage to go to the gynecologist this year, but I had I had a human child, maybe not or a couple of years ago, and it had been I mean, I hadn't been seen by a doctor since I had I gave birth. I was like, that's it, I'm good. Just no one touched me ever again for a very long time. And you know, I got my check up. But you mentioned earlier, and it's so true. It was one of those appointments that was very easy to cancel
when the pandemic was raging, pre vaccine. In all of that, that worries me. How do you what would you stay to women at home who are I don't know, I mean, and I for you, it wasn't even about going to the doctor. It was just doing a self examination.
But it can be the difference of one year. I had a friend who one year was had no stage of cancer to the next year being staged four. So you don't want to put it off, you can, you know. It really is the difference of early detection, you know, And that means you know, it's every six months. I believe maybe that's just for me because I just came out of radiation, But so after radiation you go in every six months for a mammogram, just you know, after
you do the surgery. But I think you're supposed to go in for you know, mammograms like once a year. I believe I got it.
So we're going to put that. Don't worry, no pressure, I know you are you were Marina Franklin. You are not here to represent all medical professionals, but I have no but for listeners, we're going to put in the show notes I've got it the guidelines for your age. I'm thirty four. My co host Tiffany is in her early forties, and I know I'm just now. I'm like, Tiffany,
you get your mamogram. I don't know if she's done it yet, but she's like, yeah, I need to do that, because once you turn forty, it's it's it's definitely encouraged.
It's getting younger and younger. That's the thing. The woman had just wrote me was thirty eight, I have young woman. It's getting younger and younger, you know. And so you know, I tell women you got to advocate for yourself. At any point you feel something, go in and don't let them tell you otherwise you are your best advocate.
Yeah, and that's also free and your Irish friend it's also I mean on this it's and I was, you know, you wonder you mentioned younger women especially are getting it at a higher rate Black women. Among younger Black women getting breast cancer have double double the mortality rate of white women. Like that is astounding to me. And part of the reason is, like you said, access to quality healthcare.
Maybe you're going to the clinic in your area, but is it you know, are they so overwhelmed with other patients with seemingly more important or bigger and more emergent conditions, And will you advocate for yourself or will you you know, will you trust that that hairy doctor who's working on you? And black women are just not as likely to have that proper healthcare or to have the actual insurance to
pay for things like preventative care. And I a piece of research that I was reading that really just blew my mind because we talked about the self examination, right. I went to the gynecologists earlier this year and she felt me up and I always hate that part. I feel like she's judging my my boob shape and things
like that. But like actual there, whether it's a clinical physical exam or your own you know, clinical physic, your own exam physically, you know that they you learn like what to feel for and how to do a self examination. But it's actually not that good at detecting breast cancer. And the best way is to get that imaging, to get that MRI. And now we know ultrasound based on your experience, so I don't I just wanted to say that in case people are like, Okay, I'm gonna feel
a little bit here and there. But it's like, go to the doctor, especially if you're over forty and ask for that, Mammograham, because especially in your case, like you've shown that even if you and you felt something and they still were like, nah.
Not really a deal.
You know, that's wild.
Imagine if I had said, no, I actually want a biopsy on this, which you can do so in that year, when they said, oh, let's you know, we'll just it's not I could have said I still would like a biopsy and they would say they would have had to have done it.
Yeah, that's great. Is that malpractice? I don't know, how could you do?
No, it's not. That's the thing. As you go through this, you're thinking about mail practice the whole time. If you see all the stuff I've seen, I mean, the stuff that I went through was like insane, you know, from them reading my my chart wrong, you know, from one A to two, you know, possibly a full year of chemo had I Let's let's say I didn't speak English
very well. Let's say I didn't understand English very well, and I'm just going in there and I'm here by myself, and I don't have a family member in the room, and they told me that I was I had cancer and I was staged.
To be or whatever.
I would have gone through the chemo and I didn't have to. So that is why it's it's super important to pay attention. You know. It's like, there's no such thing as paranoia when it comes to cancer. All of it is is valid and legitimate. And when you go in there and you have these concerns, you know, what's what's going to help you from the fears. Bring a friend in to calm you down, you know, but you need to go in there and be like, this is a life and death matter. Absolutely.
Yeah. I love that you said friend too, because sometimes moms are not the best option if you have a mom, like they don't exactly de escalate.
Mace. That was her gift to me, Okay, which we had more time to talk about that whole other story.
It's been a couple of years. You mentioned the medical bills. How are things now, I mean, how are they covered? Were you able to fight for you know, the coverage that you needed to get those bills taken care of? What's the financial impact?
I mean, I mean now it's fine because I you know I was able to get the insurance I needed for it, and yeah, fine, you know I'm still paying for some of it. You know, some of it you pay off monthly. You can always talk to them about lowering your bill. That's another thing. You know, a lot of times you don't realize the conversations you have with the in financial departments with all of this. It's just it's just a conversation, you know. And they will knock some off of your bill.
They'll do that for you, absolutely, and negotiations so hard. Yes, be nice. My sister is an insurance claims adjuster and she's she's the person I'm like, you're too nice for that. She's probably not. She's probably like, yeah, you got it, you're free, We got you. But well, Marina, it has been, you know, such a pleasure to have you on the show, and oh awesome and honor, thank you for thank you for coming, and thank you for sharing and opening up.
I want everyone to check out Marina's work. We're gonna link to your social handles. Go check out the documentary on FX Hysterical, which has Marina and a bunch of other amazing no it's literally called Hysterical that's a documentary and oh what else You're special on Amazon? Single Black Female, which I love? What what else is there?
Oldre?
I don't want to miss anything? What else you want?
Have podcast that?
I say, Yes, it's your podcast, Friends Like Us, Friends Like Us. I love the tank.
This is my tanks chop. Friends Like This is my logo. Friends Like Us is a podcast that features women of color talking about hot topics and it's it's mostly comedians, but we do have guests on that know more so, we often have doctors on, and hopefully this month we'll have my surgeon. I would love to have my surgeon on. My surgeon. By the way, just a tag that story
about going to the City Hospital. The reason I went to the City Hospital is because she was a black surgeon and I wanted her, so I suffered.
There that I could have her.
And she's amazing. She's like one of the few in New York City.
I finally did my research to find a black guynecologist and it was I cried in her office and I did not know that I was going. I did not know that it meant something to me until I felt the difference. I felt it in I get the.
Right black guy in a collegist. Not all black guy know collegists as are the same. Because I had one that I was like, I will not be going back to.
I've only the one.
Oh no, sounds like, but no, so get the right one.
Yes, absolutely do your and it's such a pain in the ass to shop doctors, but it is important, especially when it's your health.
Well.
Yes, thank you so much again, Marina, y'all, thanks for listening. Back to our regular Brown Ambition next week. Marina, I can't wait to see more of what you accomplished and I'm definitely going to be following you and thank you again for joining Brown Ambition.
Thank you for having me