Episode 10. A Health & Patient Advocate - Finding Her Voice through Endometriosis

I’m excited to introduce you to Shantana Hazel on Happiness through Hardship – The Podcast talking about her journey with endometriosis and how to be a patient advocate no matter your diagnosis. She’s the founder of Sister Girl Foundation, the author of 28 Ways on How to Advocate for Your Health Care and A New Me – Mind, Body, Soul, Health & Wellness Journal and has been recognized with numerous awards around the world for her dedication and commitment advocating for women’s healthcare. While she’s the life of the party, full of laughs and always willing to grab a karaoke mic, she has lived with life altering pain and deep anguish from endometriosis since she was a teenager. Sixteen surgeries and nearly three decades later she took the pain and turned it into purpose. Shantana is committed to ensuring that women with chronic illnesses including endometriosis and cancers aren’t suffering in silence and receive proper care.

Shantana’s story is full of inspiring words, lessons on resilience and how to advocate for yourself after a health diagnosis (endometriosis and more)….so please listen to this episode and if you like rate, review and subscribe. This helps with our podcast ranking and increases the chances of others finding it.

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2zidDGw

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2WNFc3k

Stitcher: https://bit.ly/2WOsaTl

Shantana and I also share the importance of journaling or documenting conversations and information after receiving any diagnosis. I believe that having a medical binder or digitized folder with files, notes and thoughts can be really beneficial (listen to mini-episode 1) and she agrees. As she puts it in today’s episode, we all get “brain fog” when going through stressful situations and having notes on not only what we learn about our diagnosis, but how we feel with any side effects related to them can be helpful to keep handy in a journal. (See links below for both Shantana and my journals.) We also talk about the importance of gratitude in our lives and have a blast playing “The Grateful Game” at the end.

Episode 10: Endometriosis

Shantana Hazel – A Health & Patient Advocate- Finding Her Voice through Endometriosis – Show notes links:

Sister Girl Foundation: www.sister-girl.org

Books: “A New Me – Mind, Body, Soul, Health & Wellness Journal” and “28 Ways on How to Advocate for Your Healthcare” – https://www.sister-girl.org/Books.html

Endometriosis: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/endometriosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20354656

Gynecological Cancer Event – SIMS Clinic – Yale Medicine’s Sexual, Intimacy and Menopause Clinic: https://www.yalemedicine.org/departments/sexual-intimacy-and-menopause-program/