According to my interview with therapist Sharon Kwon, the biggest emotions Asian Americans deal with is guilt and shame — can this play into your medical care, as well? Today, you’ll meet Mary Dee, who discovered she had stage 2 breast cancer and wanted to treat it holistically. She's now the Chair of the Board for TheBreasties.org.
Mary needed to advocate for her care when she challenged doctors realizing that nobody looked like her, not from an age standpoint or from an ethnicity standpoint. They were selling her traditional courses of treatment, and she wanted statistics about survival rates for the drugs they were offering. She also shares how her Thai heritage played into her ability to challenge authority, the racist comments she experienced growing up, and why it’s so essential to find joy, whatever you’re going through.
Lastly, you'll hear how she fought guilt and shame when her successful business faced a lawsuit, and how she worked to find joy anyway.
One of my favorite quotes from the interview:
You know, Asian brothers and sisters walked into the doctor's office and they're feeling like they're being a little slighted. We can say, no, no, this is your opportunity to actually take a stand for yourself because this isn't, it missing might be deeper than just your one situation. There could be something systemic here and we want to tackle that. And we only do that when we speak up. And when we create courage and some bravery, even though it feels a little scary, we do it anyway. And we lean in and we say, no, doctor, I actually need you to answer some questions for me and help me get this information so that I can make a good decision. I want to trust you. And I believe you're good at what you do, but I, I'm not doing my job and I'm not doing right by me. If I don't ask a few questions. And if you need some of those questions, I guarantee you there's, you know, depending on whatever you're going through, find your community and someone there has probably already made a list of great questions for you to ask.
For more show notes and links to the things we mention, visit the blog: https://www.fcksavingface.com/podcast/mary-dee
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Are you a high-performing woman struggling with imposter syndrome? Check out my free guide to free yourself from doubt, guilt, and shame.
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