Breaking Norms: Jessie Morales’ Breast Cancer Journey

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Determined Society with Shawn French Episode: From Diagnosis to Determination | Jessie Morales Breast Cancer Journey Date: March 13, 2026

---

Episode Overview

In this heartfelt episode, host Shawn French sits down with Jessie Morales to share her journey through a recent breast cancer diagnosis and treatment. With her husband Andrew by her side, Jessie opens up about the whirlwind of emotions, lifestyle changes, and the importance of community, vulnerability, and determination in battling cancer as a young mother. The conversation explores not only the clinical aspects of Jessie's journey but also the impact on her family, her approach to parenting through illness, and the powerful role her online community has played.

---

Key Discussion Points

1. The Shocking Diagnosis & Immediate Reactions (02:00 – 16:49)

• Jessie shares the initial steps leading to her diagnosis: self-discovery of a lump, history of dense and cystic breasts, recent breast lift, and the process of mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy.

• The emotional moment of reading "highly suspicious of malignancy" in her report, collapsing in the kitchen, and facing "the real" for the first time.

• Quote: “I remember just reading it again... I dropped down to the floor and just started crying. I was in the kitchen and from that moment, it was like, real in my mind.” – Jessie (14:00)

• Waiting for answers: Difficulty enduring the “waiting game” between biopsy and PET scan.

• Finding out her cancer was stage 3 (with lymph node involvement), but celebrating that it was not stage 4 metastatic disease.

• Immediate and radical lifestyle changes: “...we just transformed our lives overnight. Because it wasn’t that that caused it, but it was something that was going to help my body in the fight. Changing my terrain.” – Jessie (15:53)

---

2. Facing Cancer as a Young Mother (06:14 – 34:42, 27:55 – 35:45)

• Jessie was 33 at diagnosis, breaking the stereotype that breast cancer is an “older woman’s” disease.
• The instinct to go to Instagram instead of Google for support: “...if you have the type A personality, you want to know all the details. So start to finish, the first day of me going to get my biopsy done, I wanted to video it, because if it did turn out breast cancer, I wanted to share that journey. I wanted to share every raw bit of it.” (08:15)
• Vulnerability on social media: Creating “The Breast Chapter” page, sharing unfiltered moments, and connecting with other young women in similar circumstances.
• The mental weight of being open: “I have other women coming into me and telling me their diagnosis... it’s really heartbreaking. It’s heavy. Sometimes I need to just... watch my girls and smile and be happy for a minute and just take that little mental break.” (40:00)

---

3. Family Dynamics, Parenting, and Communication (27:55 – 35:45; 64:18 – 68:01)

• Jessie and Andrew’s approach: Total honesty with their young daughters, using the right words ("breast cancer") and making them part of the journey—e.g., including them in shaving her head.
• “We want them to be included in everything. And if they have questions, we want them to feel comfortable coming to us and asking about it.” – Jessie (29:04)
• The emotional toll: Guilt on days she can’t “play with them” or “tuck them in.”
• On slowing down and gratitude: Cancer has forced the family to be more present and cherish everyday moments.
• Framing challenges as opportunities: “Now when I get those chances, I get to tuck them in to bed... I cherish it.” (71:54)

---

4. Treatment Process & Tactics (36:00 – 48:46)

• Jessie’s regimen: Weekly chemotherapy, then planned bilateral mastectomy, radiation, reconstruction, and 5–10 years of hormone blockers (for estrogen/progesterone positive cancer).
• Describes the chemo room experience—mostly older patients, sometimes isolating, but also a place for connection (e.g., meeting people who follow her Instagram).
• On chemo: “I do not want to do chemo. It is not fun. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I do not enjoy it.” (36:44)
• "Scanxiety": The stress before each major test/scanning for metastasis or recurrence.

---

5. Body Image, Social Perception, and Identity (50:05 – 54:32)

• Decision to shave her head rather than “cold-capping” to try to preserve hair.
• The loss of hair as both an emotional and public experience—feeling less feminine, navigating stares at the store, but also receiving unexpected encouragement.
• “I know rocking it is easier than being depressed about it. I just show up and I’m just proud to have a bald head.” – Jessie (51:55)
• The ambiguity of people’s reactions: “You never know what other people are going through...” (53:55)

---

6. Mindset: Determination, Presence, and Perspective (34:42 – 35:45; 56:46 – 62:33)

• “There are times I think I am so lucky because I have stage three. And it’s like, who really says that? Who thinks they’re lucky they have stage three cancer?... That’s just where I’m at in the cancer journey.” – Jessie (34:11)
• Handling the “what ifs” with intention, presence, and focus on gratitude and faith.
• Visualization and reframing: Looking forward to post-cancer dreams (travel, family trips), while also emphasizing the power of “living in the moment.”
• “This is just my chapter... That’s not my whole story.” – Jessie (35:33)

---

7. The Power of Community, Support, and Partnerships (38:11 – 69:18)

• Online connections through Instagram and beyond—building supportive relationships not just for Jessie, but for others following her.
• Andrew’s unwavering support: stepping up with childcare, household responsibilities, and emotional steadiness.
• “He’s been my rock. He’s been there every step of the way. He’s been every chemo. He watches the girls when I can’t do it... I wouldn’t have been able to get through what I’ve gone through without him.” – Jessie (63:48)
• Discusses real masculinity as showing up with tenderness, strength, and reliability.

---

Notable Quotes & Moments

The Emotional Impact of Diagnosis

• "I remember just reading it again...I dropped down to the floor and just started crying. I was in the kitchen and from that moment, it was like, real in my mind." – Jessie (14:00)

On Vulnerability and Openness

• “I wanted to share every raw bit of it, all my emotions, and not just the positive that you see on Instagram, because that's the real life behind it, is that it's not always positive.” – Jessie (09:21)
• “I just show up and I'm just proud to have a bald head.” – Jessie (51:55)

Discussing Family Bonds

• "We want them to be included in everything. And if they have questions, we want them to feel comfortable coming to us and asking about it." – Jessie (29:04)
• "I wouldn't have been able to get through what I've gone through without him. ...He's been my rock." – Jessie (63:48)

Mindset & Perseverance

• “This is just my chapter. That’s not my whole story.” – Jessie (35:33)
• “Now when I get those chances, I get to tuck them in to bed and everything like that. So I think that's a new outlook that we have, is to slow down. And I get to give them a bath tonight. I get to make them dinner. And sometimes I don't get to do that. So when I do, I cherish it.” – Jessie (71:54)

---

Standout Segments with Timestamps

• Diagnosis and Initial Emotional Response: (02:00–15:47)
• Radical Lifestyle Changes Post-Diagnosis: (15:53–16:49)
• Communicating with Children About Cancer: (27:55–29:03)
• Chemo Experience & Social Media Connections: (36:00–40:45)
• On Coping with “What Ifs” and Fear: (43:50–44:56)
• Body Image and Public Perception: (50:05–54:32)
• Discussing True Masculinity and Family Partnership: (64:04–66:19)
• Learning Presence and Reframing Family Life: (71:54–73:02)

---

Themes and Tone

The episode is raw, intimate, and hopeful. Jessie’s candidness challenges stigma around illness, showcases the realities of cancer as a young parent, and highlights the necessity of both inner determination and outer support. Shawn adopts a compassionate, empathic approach, anchoring the conversation in relatability and perspective—especially as both share the deep fears and joys intertwined in family life and health uncertainties.

Listeners will feel moved by Jessie’s resilience, inspired by the Morales’ family bond, and grounded by the reminder that being present and vulnerable, even during life’s darkest chapters, can be a source of strength—not just for oneself, but for an entire community.

---

For More and To Support

• Follow Jessie Morales’ journey: Instagram @thebreastchapter
• Share this episode: Especially with anyone facing health battles or seeking inspiration in adversity.
• Key takeaway: Whether you’re fighting, supporting, or seeking understanding, you’re not alone—and sharing your story might be the very lifeline someone else needs.

Transcript

[Sean]

Oh, guys, the therabody pro plus series saved my behind. And let me explain to you what I mean by that. A few weeks ago, I had flu a. The body aches were so bad to where I was waking up every two hours on the dot. Couldn't stay asleep for more than that. Extreme neck pain, back pain, and leg pain. And I finally started using my brain. I said, hey, I have this amazing technology in my house, and I had my wife run that theragun on my shoulder blades, my neck, my traps, anything you can think of, my lower back. And then I threw on the jet boots pro plus. And let me tell you something, guys, the pain instantly started to go away. But the most important thing that I want to stress is therabody just isn't for recovery. When you are beating your body up in the gym, it is for everything. If you need to sleep better, if you need some relaxation, do yourself a favor and use these products. I was able to sleep, and because I was able to sleep, I started getting better. My symptoms started going away, and I recovered within a day, but I was down for four to five days total. And I just got to tell you guys, what an amazing technology. So our listeners through March 31, 2027, can get 15% off their first order. Now, this is us only. The only thing that you need to do is go to therabody.com, pick up a Theragun Pro plus or some Jet Boots Pro plus and dive in, guys. Use this technology to help you recover, to make you feel better and even sleep better. Use code word determined. And Remember, this is us only. Your first order. TheRabody.com code word determined. If I had an oncologist, I'm like, hey, dude, you got stage three cancer. I'm like, what the. Yeah, like, yesterday I was fine. Now today you're telling me I got stage three. There's only four stages, dude.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah. We ended up seeing the oncologist. Me and my husband were in the room and I asked, what do you think this is? And he says, I think you have breast cancer. We are stage three. And I remember looking at my husband and trying to hold my shit together because I start getting emotional. I know it's gonna make him get emotional. And from that moment, it was, like, real. That was when we started to change our life around.

[Sean]

When you say change your life around, what are. What are some of the things that you guys did?

[Jesse Morales]

Immediately, we wanted to prepare my body for the fight. I'm going to flip the pages in this chapter, and I'll be done. See you later. Yeah, I want to be done with it.

[Sean]

Have you ever thought of, like, what if. Foreign. What's up, everybody? Welcome back. Today I have an amazing story. You know, as a father and a husband, I. I think I can relate to this a lot because one of my worst fears is dealing with something that my guest today is dealing with and seeing how it can impact the family, impact the kids, and. And bring a lot of, you know, scarcity and a lot of unknown to the energy in the house. But today I have with me Jesse Morales, and I. I saw her page on Instagram, the breast chapter, and immediately got hooked because it was so relatable. And she was talking about her journey in going through breast cancer, and I was lucky enough to connect with her on Instagram. And then her amazing husband Andrew is also here. We've built a friendship and had a lot of going back and forth and really trying to get this thing set up today. But we're going to tell her story today. She's an amazing individual, super brave and strong. Welcome to the show.

[Jesse Morales]

Hi, Sean. Thank you for having me.

[Sean]

I'm super excited to have you here. It's like, you know, we've, you know, like, the virtual world, right? It opens up this gateway to meet so many amazing people. And when I ran into your page, I immediately fell in love with your energy and your. Just everything that you were talking about. Because, again, like I said in the intro, this is something that I worry about. Right. And you have two beautiful girls. You know, I have two girls and a boy. So, you know, this is super relatable for me. And I've had scares before. You know, there was. Yeah, there was a time where I had. My liver enzymes were really high.

[Jesse Morales]

Okay.

[Sean]

And they're still high. And I went through the CAT scans, the. The ultrasounds. Right. It's very scary. And then I did the. The CAT scan and the MRIs with contrast without contrast, and nobody could figure. We don't know what this is. So we want to do a transjugular liver biopsy. I'm like, whoa. Like, what are you talking about? Well, it's when we go through your. Like, I get it, but, like, why are we here? And one of the doctors said something stupid. You know, we got to make sure that, you know, that you don't have cancer in your liver, and we're gonna, you know, really dive into your pancreas to make sure there's no cancer there. And, like, as you know, I told you before the show, my grandmother pass from pancreatic cancer. And I know the success rate there and the life longevity is very, very low. So it was very scary. And I remember going through that, and it was so hard for me to even put my children down to bed. I remember one night, I'm already.

[Jesse Morales]

It's hard.

[Sean]

I remember my youngest, she was probably two, and I remember putting her to bed one night and then going out in the hallway and just going in the corner and just losing it.

[Jesse Morales]

You're already making me sir. I'm tearing.

[Sean]

You know, thankfully, nothing was there. They still don't know why my liver enzymes are high, but apparently my biological father is, you know, pre diabetic.

[Jesse Morales]

Okay.

[Sean]

So that's the reason. Right. So we're doing what we can to manage it. But, like, you're. You're. Your openness and vulnerability to share your story has just been inspiring.

[Jesse Morales]

Thank you.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

It's just hard.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

But I think it's important to share it because so many people are going through it, and you don't realize how many young people are going through it. I was 33 when I found out. So you think when you think of breast cancer, you kind of have this image in your head that it's older women and you don't think. I mean, I'm 33. It's just 33. It's young. You just, you. You don't ever imagine it happening.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

So I thought it was just really important to get my story out there and let other women know that you're not alone in it and they can have someone to relate to.

[Sean]

It's amazing, Jesse, because, you know, I can think of, you know, if you. If you have 10 people. Right. That get the diagnosis that you've. That you've been given, I think maybe one or two of them is going to talk about it and try to inspire people and let other people know that they're not alone. When people get the diagnosis that you got, a lot of times they go inward and they. They don't really share what's going on. But you use this as an opportunity to let people know that they're not alone. Has that. Has that trait always been something that you possess?

[Jesse Morales]

I wouldn't. I think so. I'm. I'm a very open person. I tell it like it is, and I felt like it's just something that needed to be shared. I guess I've always been like it because of my background in nursing and helping people.

[Sean]

So based on your nursing background, it's educational. Right.

[Jesse Morales]

So you.

[Sean]

You're. You're with patients, you're with doctors all the time. And something like this is an opportunity to educate. And that's really what you've. That's what you've done. You're. You're educating people on your journey from really start to finish. And, and, and it's, it's needed out there because there's a lot of people like, like you said earlier, that, that are young, that are going through this, and if they could come across your page, you know, they can, they can have hope. And I think that's so important.

[Jesse Morales]

So when I first got diagnosed as a, as a millennial, you. You don't use Google anymore. You, you go to Instagram, you're trying to find someone else's story so you can relate to it. And you don't go to Google anymore. You kind of go to Instagram. And that was the first thing that I did when I actually got diagnosed, was went into the search bar and put in breast cancer. And I found a bunch of young women because the younger women were. Some of them were sharing their stories. So I found a bunch of younger ladies on there, and I started looking at their stories, and I saw that they actually already had Instagram before they got diagnosed, and they didn't show the complete story of it from start to finish. And I felt like that was where it was really lacking and that I needed to share that part because I was looking for answers and I couldn't find answers anywhere. And I'm young and I don't know what to expect. And I felt like if I was feeling like this, there's multiple women that are feeling like this. So I needed to start my journey. I needed to start it from the very beginning. So that was my thing, was I'm going to show everything, because if you're like me and you have a type A personality, you want to know all the details. So start to finish. The first day of me going to get my biopsy done, I wanted to video it, because if it did turn out breast cancer, I wanted to share that journey. I wanted to share every raw bit of it, all my emotions, and not just the positive that you see on Instagram, because that's the real life behind it, is that it's not always positive.

[Sean]

That's true.

[Jesse Morales]

Really emotional. And that's where I found, as I gained so many followers, is because I was open and honest about my situation and I wasn't just sugarcoating anything.

[Sean]

No, you made a whole other page.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah. Yes.

[Sean]

You made a whole other page. Right. And it exploded. And, you know, it's. It's. It's been a cool thing to watch. I mean, hey, I'm a positive dude. Like, I already know the outcome. Like, six weeks, you know? Six weeks, let's ring that fucking bell. You know what I mean? And that's the goal, you know? But walk me through, like. Okay. You know, when you had the biopsy, were you feeling a certain type of way? Was it. Did you find a lump or was it just like a. A normal mammogram and something popped up? Walk us through that.

[Jesse Morales]

So I actually found the lump by accident. Me and my husband were sitting on the couch.

[Sean]

Uh.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, our girl. We were just chilling on the couch. My girls were running around. And I don't know what it is, but women tend to sometimes feel their breasts. And I felt a lump. And I actually have cystic breasts. So my lump. My breasts are kind of lumpy. I'm used to it. I also. Two years in 2000, almost. Yeah. Two and a half years. In 20, 23, I had a breast lift. I did have two young children, and they were down to the floor, so we got them lifted up.

[Sean]

You made them happy again.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes. So I had a lot of scar tissue and everything there. I mean, still healing, so there's lots of new lumps and bumps and everything in there. And I was just like, it was normal to feel lumps, so I kind of felt this one. And I was like, a little red flag went off. And I was like. To my husband, I was like, this feels a little weird. I was like, feel this. And he's like, get it checked out now. And I'm like, no, it's just a cyst. Like, I don't. There's nothing. It's cysts. I have dense breasts. It's. It's fine.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

And he's like, absolutely not. Call your doctor right now. I was like, okay. So I caved. Ended up calling my OBGYN or my gyn. Got an appointment two days later. I went and saw her, and she felt it, and she thought it was a little irregular also.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Jesse Morales]

So we got the mammogram and ultrasound. And where the red flag was is when I was getting the mammogram, she did my pictures, and she sent me to go get the ultrasound. And while I was waiting outside the ultrasound room to do that, the mammogram tech called me back and said, I want to get a few more pictures. She goes, it has nothing to do with your lump. But I did see some calcifications. And I was like. I was like, that doesn't sound great, right? She's like, if the radiologist sees it, he'll want you to come back. I'm just trying to save you a trip. I'm like, great, that's awesome. So after that, then I went and did my ultrasound and I went home. I was just. In the back of your mind. You're like, that just didn't sit right. I got home and within four hours, I had the report, and. Which is very quick. And I remember my husband was out in the garage, and I opened up my phone and just kind of did a quick glance, and I see, like, three parts on the report. Highly suspicious of malignancy all over. So I run into the garage and I get my husband, and I was like, I just. I'm literally shaking. I, like, put my phone up. He goes, I don't know what this is. I gotta. Let me shut the garage. So he comes in and I give it to him. And I remember just reading it again. I go, highly suspicious of malignancy. And I dropped down to the floor and I just started crying. I was in the kitchen, and from that moment, it was, like, real in my mind. We didn't know anything yet, but we. The doctor hadn't even called yet. We're still waiting on everything. I ended up calling the doctor because I hadn't heard from them. I was like, I got it on my portal and I haven't heard from anyone. She goes, okay, we'll give you a call back in a little bit. They gave me a call back. She says to me, she goes, we're going to refer you to a breast oncologist. And when you hear the word oncologist, it's terrifying. We ended up seeing the oncologist. He wanted to do the three biopsies. Not one biopsy, but three, because it did spread to my lymph node, which was another hard pill to swallow. When you hear that it's not just in your breasts, it's in your lymph nodes now, because then you're thinking that it's metastasized all over your body. But me and my husband were in the room, and I asked the breast surgeon, I said, without the biopsies and with what we know right now, what do you think this is? And he says, I think you have breast cancer. And I remember looking at my husband and. Sorry, looking at my husband and trying to hold my shit together, because if I start getting emotional, I know it's going to make him get emotional. So I'm just trying to keep a smile on my face. And the surgeon's just like, I think you have breast cancer, but you are young, you are going to beat this and you have a really good chance of survival. He goes, and if it's not for some reason, you are going to have the biggest party of your life and you are going to celebrate. And I said, okay. But after leaving that appointment, that was when me and my husband kind of took the real fact of that this is breast cancer. And even without the biopsy, that was when we started to change our life around.

[Sean]

Was that moment when you say change your life around. What are some of the things that you guys did immediately?

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, we did all the research and all the things that you do when you first get diagnosed with cancer. Why did this happen? What can I change? What can I do? What causes cancer? All the things we started getting rid of all the toxic pots and pans in our house, all the cleaning products. We went to non toxic for everything. Shampoos, conditioners, body products, every single thing. Deodorants, our food, all organic, no artificial sweeteners. We just transformed our lives overnight. Because it wasn't that that caused it, but it was something that was going to help my body in the fight is changing my terrain. So we decided to start that before we even got the diagnosis officially. We wanted to prepare my body for the fight.

[Sean]

Hey guys, we're gonna take a quick break and we're gonna slide into our recovery segment brought to you by therabody. What an amazing technology that therabody has and it was founded on a really cool story by Dr. Jason Worsland. It was founded on pain. He got into an accident and had this extreme pain in his arm and found that percussive therapy really helped. So he created the very first version of the theragun with the makita drill just to pilot and test to see if his pain could be relieved by by percussive therapy overall. And surely it was. So now birth to the theragun and now therabody who has a multitude of products to help you recover emotionally and physically. And some of the products even help with stress, meditation and better sleep and just overall better wellness. And when I had Dr. J on the show earlier in 2025, it really spoke to me because his platform was founded out of out of physical pain and the determined society was founded out of emotional pain. And so it felt natural for us to partner up. So here we are, an official partnership with therabody and I want to talk to you about some of their products today that I've been enjoying that I think you need to understand and know more about so you could potentially implement them into your life. And I'm not going to get into a big deep dive of the actual science and everything like that. I'm just going to give you some anecdotal information based on the products that I'm using and that my wife is actually using too, that is helping us out a great deal at home. Because the great thing about these products, guys, is you can use them anywhere. You can use them in the gym, you can use them at home, in your bed, in your living room. Hell, you can even drive with a Thera Theragun Pro plus in your car and use it on your quads, use it on your arms, whatever that is. The first thing I want to talk about is the Theragun Pro Plus. I bring that in my gym bag every day to the gym. And when I'm warming up, I use it to warm up, I put it on my arms. Whatever body part I'm using that day, I activate those muscles. And what I find is I'm able to move my body a lot quicker and I'm a lot stronger on those days that I do actually bring it and utilize it. I just think it's a great way to understand your body and the connection between your strength and your muscles and being warm and being able to perform. Because it's one thing to go work out, but it's another thing to perform while you're doing it. And the Theragun Pro plus helps me do that. Another thing that I really, truly enjoy is the jet Boots Pro plus. These things are wire free. There's no hassle, there's no cords, there's infrared LED light, there's that compression therapy. And I've been having bad pains in my ankles, both of them, actually, for about a year. And I don't understand where it's coming from. But when I started using the boots religiously after a leg day or after a cardio session, I throw those boots on and I find myself a lot looser. Afterwards, I find myself lighter, and then the next day there's no pain in my lower extremity like my feet. The other thing that I really enjoy is that product really helps me recover a lot quicker. And let's face it, that's the most important thing when we're trying to move our bodies or we're trying to succeed in life is we want quick recovery emotionally and physically. And these products help me do that and they can help you do that as well. One of the other things that I really want to go into, because it's helping my wife out a ton with. With headaches and being able to distract from the noise in our mind, and honestly, it helps me with that too, is the smart goggles. Whenever we feel a slight headache coming on or things are getting really heavy, just in our minds, just thinking about all the stressors, all the things out there that we can't control, we throw the goggles on, get in a quiet place, and there's. There's different cycles on there and different intensities of vibrations and massaging that you can either turn it up or turn it down. And what I really enjoy is it allows me to focus on what's going on with just me. And I think about things. And the massaging with the smart goggles relieves either headaches, and it relaxes me and relaxes my wife to a point where we can fall asleep better. We are preparing to kind of downshift and shut down and slow down for the evening. So I heavily recommend them. The other thing it's really good for is just creating a peaceful time in your day. And what I found since using the smart goggles and then the other products is it works for me, it works for my family, and I know it can work for you too. So I want you guys to think about things that you are struggling with. If it's lower back pain or you wake up in the morning, your neck is tight, I'm gonna tell you, the Theragun pro plus will help that out. They have cold therapy on it, hot therapy. I mean, think about that. When I opened that box and realized that I could have heat therapy and cold therapy and a theragun changed everything for me and also really made the thing that I hate doing the most is warmup. Made that very easy for me just by applying it to the muscle group that I'm going to use before I do it and in between sets, which promotes quicker recovery between sets. So if you're looking to go high volume or to lift heavy weights, I strongly consider that all these products are there to help you move along in your day with less pain and recover quicker. So go check it out, because now, like I said, the official partnership has begun. And from now until the end of March, in your first order, you get 15% off your first order, not every order. So if you're going to buy some stuff, load up there in that cart for that first time, and you get 15% off go to therabody.com and at checkout, the code is determined. So let me know how you guys like it. Until then, stay determined. I think there's two types of people, and when you're faced with something like that, ones that are going to find the solutions and step the fuck up.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

No matter what it is. Because it's gonna be hard no matter what. Right. It's gonna be a journey and there's gonna be great days, there's gonna be bad days, but then there's other individuals that just lay down and let, let it just kick them and say, that's it. That's all she wrote. And I, I just. The. The latter is, is hard for me to relate to, but I've never been through it either. You know what I mean? And, and you know, it's like listening to this story like you were talking about calcifications, scar tissue, you know, and also too, like, that could also come from breastfeeding, you know, like, you just never know. And I remember at one point my wife was actually called in because they, they, they found some stuff and it was calcifications from breastfeeding and scar tissue. And she just had dense breasts. But the last one, they said, we need to take more pictures. And she immediately texted me. And the feeling that I had, it's gut wrenching. I was like, do you need me to come down there? You know, like, like at what office are you at? It's. It's one of those things as a man and a husband, like you want to protect and you, and you realize at that moment, and I'm, and I'm sure Andrew thought the same or felt the same way, you know, once you got the report and then, you know, the biopsies and everything is like, there's nothing I can do to fix this. That is bone crushing for a man.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

How long ago was the diagnosis?

[Jesse Morales]

November6.

[Sean]

Oh, like, like very, like last quarter?

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah, like just last year.

[Sean]

Not a very good journey through the holiday season. Holy shit. No, the doctor finally, you know, you get the biopsies and from that point on, they just came. How long did it take to get those results back to give you the actual news?

[Jesse Morales]

So it actually, I got the breast biopsies done on November 4th, and I got the results back on the 6th. So two days later, which was.

[Sean]

That's quick.

[Jesse Morales]

That was quick. And that's the hardest part about cancer so far, is the waiting game at the beginning. It is so hard to wait for answers. But luckily I did get those Answers pretty quickly. The radiologist had called me. I didn't even speak to the doctor, and she had told me that, you know, they did come back positive, all three of them. So cancer in the lymph nodes. The calcification was cancerous, and the lump was cancerous. So three spots. And then she had mentioned that I would be getting a phone call later on from the plastic. Not the plastic surgeon, the breast surgeon. And right then he called the next week and was like, well, the next step is going to be a PET scan because we need to see where we're at. And that was the next terrifying thing.

[Sean]

That's anxietizing, right? Because now you're like, okay, because your biggest fear is it metastasized and it's everywhere in your body.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

And then you got to go through that. How long do the PET scan take us. Results take to get back to you?

[Jesse Morales]

It's such a blur. I think that one was pretty quick, too. We had to wait longer to get the PET scan, though. So the waiting of just waiting to go get the scan was a lot. But it. We got the news, and we were driving in the car, and I just remember celebrating. We literally. We jumped out of the car, and we. He called and said that it had not metastasized. We are stage three and not stage four.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Jesse Morales]

Because of the size of the lump and into the lymph nodes, because they did see that it was a couple lymph nodes, two or three lymph nodes. But yeah. So no metastasis.

[Sean]

And it's a great point to celebrate. Right. Especially in that moment. And, you know, a lot of people can go, well, you know, hey, I still have cancer. This still sucks, but, you know, again, at least it's not metastasized. And then, you know, it's, like, centrally located, and.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

And the treatment options are definitely better. More. A little bit better and more direct. Right. And, man, I just. It's so hard because, again, like I said in the beginning, it's my biggest fear because the. The babies, man. Like, the babies. How did you. How did you work through that? And how do you still work through that? You know, that's. That's a scary thing.

[Jesse Morales]

It's really hard. That's. We are. You have to know your children, how they process information. And we know that our girls process things with great detail. We need to give them all the details.

[Sean]

That early, huh?

[Jesse Morales]

That early.

[Sean]

They're like their mom, dude. They.

[Jesse Morales]

They need the details. They ask the questions. Even being so little, my oldest she's very intelligent. She scares me. She's so smart. So we told them that everything. That mommy has breast cancer. We did use the word. We want her to know the correct words. We said, I tell her. I tell her that I have bad tissue in my boob, and we need to get it gone. We need to take it out. We need to use medicine that's gonna make it go smaller, and then that medicine also will take away mommy's hair. So she's aware. And we. We read books. We. We do everything. We had her a part of shaving my head. Both of them.

[Sean]

I saw that. Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

We want them to be included in everything. And if they have questions, we want them to feel comfortable coming to us and asking about it. So that's how we entered them into this journey, was just. With great detail. And it's kind of just been easy for them to understand what I'm going through. But then it's also hard for them at times when Mommy feels really bad and can't tuck them in at night. And that is when it's like a dagger in the heart because they love daddy, but they want Mommy at night, they want Mommy to tuck them in. I'm always there, and sometimes it gets to be really hard, or it's really hard when I'm having a bad day and I'm just laying on the couch and I feel guilty that I can't play with them because I don't have the energy to do it. So it's been. It's been really hard.

[Sean]

That is hard because, you know, to your point, if you're on the couch and you're not having a great day, physically, you just can't do anything. No. You can't do anything about it. But mentally, you're still turned on.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

And you're like, these are my daughters. I need to be out there playing with them. And, you know, I want to be interacting. But there's times where you just can't do that. You know, that's. That's very hard. And it just. It's a. It's a reminder of. Of where we're at right now. Right. It's like, I'm going through this, and, you know, and kids, at times, you know, they. They can still. You know, they can still. They can still push buttons, and they're going to be kids. And I. And I also think it's beautiful, too. Right. What were some of the questions that your oldest daughter asked you that. That you said, like, she's so smart. It scares me.

[Jesse Morales]

She she wants to know. I think she's going to be a doctor, honestly. She wants to know more about the body. And she's like, well, what do you mean about the, the tissue and stuff? So you explain or what the medicine does. Why does it take your hair away and stuff. So you have to explain that the medicine's so powerful that it's killing the cells and shrinking the tumor and everything. So then it also destroys your hair. So.

[Sean]

But, no, but look, that, that's, that's good.

[Jesse Morales]

She's just. You. She's. She wants to know everything.

[Sean]

Oh, man, that, that to me, a five year old. Tell me about the body. Tell me about the tissue. Like, what a special girl, you know, and, and, and it's, it's got to give you some type of, like, when you're sitting there though, and you see him, you know, playing around and, and you know, with, with Andrew and, and with each other, that, that has to give you some type of, you know, you're not feeling well. It's just like, I'm actually really blessed.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh yeah.

[Sean]

You know, like to have these beautiful children and to experience this and you know, and to go through something like this, this is, you know, people go through hard all the time.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, and I, I think that we all think our problems are bigger than everybody else's out there. Right. No matter what it is. You know, I was, I was there the, I was sitting there the other day, and this doesn't really apply, but the perspective does. And I was going through some stuff because what I do is very hard. It is a hard business. And, you know, it's not sunshines and rainbows that everybody sees on Instagram. This shit is full difficult. The back end of it. Right. And I was just kind of in my shit. I was like, man, this is so hard. You know, this is wrong. That is wrong. And then I saw a video pop up from a friend of mine that lives in Eastern Europe that has been just not on Instagram in about a year. And he's, he's talking about this video, in this video about his daughters are in Qatar right now. And I'm like, holy.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh my God.

[Sean]

Like, oh my God. I'm like, I messaged him like, bro, are you good? And we, we exchanged, you know, some voice notes over Instagram. And you know, he got choked up, I got choked up. And then I instantly said, like, we're all going through things, but our problems are not necessarily bigger than anybody else's and some people are going through harder things and it really gave me perspective to. To kind of sit back and just like, okay, yeah, the thing that I'm going through right now, that's gonna be fixed, you know? And. And thankfully, I. I talked to him today. They're hopefully on a plane out tomorrow, so they're. They're gonna be safe.

[Jesse Morales]

But.

[Sean]

But, like, the perspective, right, of, like. And even in your situation, like, there's. There's other situations that are amplified more. And, I mean, you're here, right? I mean, we're hanging out, you know, and. And. And you're. And you're doing well through the treatment. Of course, there's days where you're not feeling well, but there's always some. There's always a point that you can look at and go, okay, you know what? I'm. I'm all right. Like, it could really be worse, but it's really hard to think that way when you're going through it, you know?

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah. Yeah, definitely. There are times that I think that I am so lucky because I have stage three. And it's like, who. Who really says that? Who thinks they're lucky they have stage three cancer? Like, I'm just so grateful that I don't have stage four, but that's just where I'm at in the cancer journey is that. That's something that I'm thankful for. It seems so big to someone else who doesn't have cancer, but that's like a blessing for me.

[Sean]

Because I'm listening to this right now, right. And if I had an oncologist tell me, like, hey, dude, you got stage three cancer? I'm like, what the. Yeah, like, yesterday I was fine. Now today, you're telling me got stage three? There's only four stages, dude.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know what I mean? And. But that. That says a lot about you as a person, though, right? And. And I think that in these moments in this battle, you're going through this fight, and it just. You're in the. You're in the trenches, right?

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And no matter what you are faced with in the years to come, you're going to be able to call on this experience, be like, I got through that.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

This ain't like, I got this. Right. But you're always going to be able to find your way through something. And when it's all said and done, this is building you for something that you don't even know what's coming.

[Jesse Morales]

This is just my chapter.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

That's not my whole story.

[Sean]

No, no. And. And that's a great point, because a Lot of people make it the whole story.

[Jesse Morales]

Yep.

[Sean]

And you can't do that.

[Jesse Morales]

I'm gonna flip the pages in this chapter.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

And I'll be. See you later.

[Sean]

And hopefully in six weeks, we can close a damn book. Right?

[Jesse Morales]

Yes. At least we'll get that chemo, Bell.

[Sean]

Yeah. Right. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. What? Five, six more? Five, six more.

[Jesse Morales]

Six more chemos.

[Sean]

You go every week or every week. Okay. Okay. Wow. What's that experience been like, oh, God, Ed.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, my God. I. I keep telling my husband every. Every car ride there, I'm like, I do not want to go. Like, I don't want to go. It's like the least thing you want to do. It's just you. You finally start to feel better, and then you have to go and get hit with it again and go through all the side effects and everything all over again. And I keep saying, like, I can't wait because I haven't had my breast surgery yet. Like, cut me open, do the surgery. Like, I'll do that.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

I do not want to do chemo. It is not fun. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I do not enjoy it. I don't. I don't like it.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

I want to be done with it.

[Sean]

What's the community like in there? Because, like, every time you see, like a movie or something, you guys are. Everybody's in a chair and they're talking. You got some people that are positive, and you got the. The cranky. The cranky one over there. What is that? Is that real? Like, what's that like?

[Jesse Morales]

It honestly is. It's weird being the 33 year old in the room, because it is a lot of older patients, and I didn't really think about that. Going in to my first one, you're kind of just like, let me get in there. Let me get started. And then when you open the doors and you get in there and you're like, oh, my gosh. Like, I'm. I'm really the youngest person in here.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

And it's just weird being there. But. And it is. It's not. Some places do have, like, private rooms where you can be in a private room and do your chemo. Not in my infusion center. Everyone's just open and next to each other. So that was like a new thing, too. I wasn't expecting that. But everyone is. There are the friendly people that talk to you and you have conversations about. There are some other people that are just snoozing away passed out, and it's. It's a.

[Sean]

It's a weird environment, I would imagine. And again, like, whether someone's talking, whether someone's quiet or sleeping, it's all good. Right? Everybody's going through this and they're handling it or getting through it the best way that they can. You know, I would imagine, though. Have you made any friends in there?

[Jesse Morales]

Well, people have found me from my Instagram.

[Sean]

Wow. So I feel like a fucking celebrity in there.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, it's so weird. It's. Yeah, I think I've gotten reached out, like, three, two or three times. I was in one of the. I got a private room once because it was my birthday, so they gave me a little private room. It was so awesome. And the whole staff came and sang Happy Birthday to me. So everyone in the Fusion center heard it, and women was going by, and she was like, oh, happy birthday. She goes, you're Jesse from Instagram or the breast chapter. I was like, hi, nice to see you. And then someone else has run into being like, oh, my gosh. Like, so it's cool. Yeah, but it's. It's nice because then I get to, like, see a familiar face now. So now I get to see them every time and go and talk to them and see how they're doing. And we talk on Instagram now, and so it's nice.

[Sean]

That's pretty cool, though. You know, like, it's. It is nice to be recognized. You know, it happens. And it's one of those things when it first happens, it's like, yeah. What? Wait, what? This is, like, this is weird. Happened to me at a restaurant with my wife one time, and it was a. The. The server. He was a cool dude. He's like, yeah, man. You actually were commenting back to me on. On YouTube. He's like, wait, was that you? I go, it's me. Yeah, it's me. I. I'm. I'm a control freak. I. I don't. I don't let anybody in my DMs or. Or comment for me.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Because I like the community aspect. Right. Because you can build friendships that way. But. But, yeah, I can imagine that would be weird, you know, because it's. It's a shock. It's something completely different. Right?

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah. Well, yeah. And then they're like, oh, I'm. Blah, blah, blah. And we talked, and it's. It's like, I do talk to every single person, but it gets to be a lot of people. And I'm like, wait, like, tell me your story again so I can, like, remember what we talked about. So because, like, I'm exactly like you. I have to talk to every single person. Like, I comment back to every single message that I get. I try to, at least, because there are a lot of them and a lot of people are going through what I'm going through, too. And it's, It's. It's a little depressing, too, because sometimes I tell my husband that it gets to be a lot because I have other women coming into me and telling me their diagnosis. And it gets really, like, sad because you feel for these people, like, they're going through the same thing you're going through. And when you're getting like, 20 messages like that a day of just recent diagnosis, it's like, it's really heartbreaking. It's heavy. And sometimes I'll tell my husband, like, I need to take a break. Like, I need to just watch my girls and smile and be happy for a minute and just take that little mental break.

[Sean]

And it's super important to do that. Right. You can't always respond.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Right away. Right. And I think most people would understand and to a point where I was very, actually surprised you saw my message to you, because, you know, you didn't know me. I didn't know you. I saw it. I'm like, I gotta follow. I gotta follow this. Like, I, I. And I love these stories because they're relatable and they're. And they're real. And when you responded, I'm like, oh, okay, cool. So she saw it. And then, you know, somehow, then Andrew followed me, and we, Me and, Me and this guy started talking a lot.

[Jesse Morales]

Best friends.

[Sean]

Yeah. It's like, it's my homie, man. It's like. But that, but that's, like, the cool thing about it though, too. Right? And, you know, if anything, you know, once you beat this, like, now we all know each other, we're all friends, and it wouldn't have been that way if this didn't happen. And so, you know, it's like, there's always a silver lining. Yeah. But doesn't take away the, the struggle and the heartache. And, you know, the reason why I wanted you on the show is not just to tell your story, but it's also, you know, in life. I, when I was creating this program or this platform in the show eventually was, I want to wake up in a society where people wake up determined to chase their dreams no matter how they feel emotionally, like, through determination and discipline. Right. And to me, that means something because you can. You can, you know, be motivated one day, and then the next day, you just don't take action on shit. Right? And I wanted to inspire and bring hope. And to me, when I look at you and what you're going through, that's the ultimate determination, is to not just wake up every day and do your treatments and fight and keep a positive mind and inspire people, but also be a wife and a mom. That's a lot to handle.

[Jesse Morales]

It's a lot. It gets heavy at times, but I just look at my two daughters and my husband, and that's just what keeps me going.

[Sean]

That's awesome.

[Jesse Morales]

That's the reason why I wake up

[Sean]

in the morning, man. Mm. You know, it's so funny because, like, having these types of conversations makes me feel really silly for the moments that I'm just annoyed in my house, you know, I think it's normal. Like, you know, like. Like, hey, don't tell me, Andrew, you don't get annoyed with this chick. I'm telling you right now. Like, everybody gets annoyed with. With their children, their spouse, listen, their friends. Like, Danny's dumbass right there.

[Jesse Morales]

I'm going through cancer. And we still get annoyed with each other, and we still fight.

[Sean]

And that's the thing. And that's like, what are we fighting about? You know? But. But it's just so important to acknowledge those things, because it isn't sunshine and rainbows. It is a lot of, you know, emotion going back and forth. You know, have you. This is a hard question to ask, and I ask it with love and empathy. Have you ever. Have you ever thought of, like, what if?

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah, it's terrifying because. And that's another reason why the Internet's so scary, too, is because you do see other people's stories, and then you're like, holy crap. If that can happen to them, that can happen to me. What if the chemo stops working? What if they don't get everything in surgery, and then that just leaves you down a bad path? And I try to quickly get myself out of that headspace because I don't want to go down that road, and I want to stay positive.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

But, yeah, it definitely. So I think it would cross anyone's mind.

[Sean]

Yeah. How do you get out of that?

[Jesse Morales]

It's. I honestly, I don't even know. It's just a. You start going down it, and you just got to pull yourself back. You just got to think about your family, and you just got to think of the good and everything that I have good right now and the Lord and everything. And that's how I kind of get my head space back into it.

[Sean]

That's a good strategy. That's a good strategy. And the reason I asked that question is because, you know, it's hard.

[Jesse Morales]

It's really hard.

[Sean]

So I think everybody's always asking, what if we live in a world, like, where the craziest shit can happen? Right. You know, for me, you know, my kids are in a prep school. You know, I'm blessed. My wife is a teacher there, and, you know, they're in a pretty safe environment. But I. There's times when things go on in the world.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh.

[Sean]

Like, I. I can't even. Like, when I get my wife and my kids out the door in the morning, you know, put them in the car, tell them all I love them. I'm like, I don't even want them to be at school today. Yeah, that's my. That's my everything. All. All three of my kids and my wife and I. And I. For the longest time, I think it was when the Minneapolis thing happened recently, I'm like. And then I had a gentleman on my show that his daughter Meadow was killed in parkland. And I'm like, dude, like, this could actually happen. And so I. For like, a week or two, like, I'm. I literally, when my family would leave, I would cry.

[Jesse Morales]

Really?

[Sean]

Yes. Because I just thought, like, this is. This is too heavy for me. It's like, what ifs always happen.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, it's like the other night, I'm watching a show with my wife, and this is actually a really good show. It's called. Oh, my God. What is it? It's on Apple tv. It's Harrison Ford's in it. Jason Siegel's in it. Oh, my God. What is it? I. I can't remember. But we. We just started watching it the other night, and Jason Siegel is the one that was in, you know, forgetting Sarah Marshall.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, yeah. Yep.

[Sean]

And his wife had passed, and now he's an absolute fucking wreck. Like, yeah. He's got women for hire over. He's drinking. There's some pills in it, you know, out there. They're like, mess around. But he's got a daughter who's in high school, right? And she also, you know, went through the same thing he did when basically what happened is he lost his wife in a car accident. And I'm just like, yeah, what if? And I'm like, fuck. And I looked at. I looked at my wife. I go, jackie, I don't know if I can watch this right now. And she goes, that's a funny. This is. This is good. I'm like, no. I'm like, what if. Like, what if? It's like there's always this what if with anything, you know, and that's why I asked the question, because, you know, I. People make fun of me and say, do you drive like a grandma? I'm like, yeah, because what if, like, I like to keep the front of me, the back of me, the sides of me clear, and if I have to go 60 so my wife and my kids don't get that call, then I'm gonna go 60, you know? But it's. It's an amazing. It's a crazy thing just to think of, like, all the things that can happen in life.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

You know, I don't know. I don't know what my point is with that, but it just. It's, you know, it's a scary thing. It is, you know, very. So have you had the surgery? You haven't had the surgery?

[Jesse Morales]

No, not yet.

[Sean]

So what's the process? So you, You. When is that scheduled? Or do you do that after chemo? Like.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Jesse Morales]

So I do chemo first, and then I will have my bilateral mastectomy after that. I will do radiation, I believe, for three weeks, so that's Monday through Friday every day. And then I will have my reconstruction surgery with plastics, and then I will do hormone blockers for either. I think it's like five to ten years.

[Sean]

Oh, wow.

[Jesse Morales]

Because I'm a.

[Sean]

My.

[Jesse Morales]

There's different types of breast cancer, so I have estrogen progesterone positive, so that means that that fuels my cancer. So they have to block those.

[Sean]

Oh, wow.

[Jesse Morales]

And in order to have less of a chance of reoccurrence, they do the hormone blockers for five to ten years after it.

[Sean]

Pill form.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

I'm on an. I'm on an estrogen blocker, too. Yeah, I'll probably never get off of it, though. Probably never get off of it. You know, that, that, that, that there's this whole medical plan.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

Right. And so we. We started in November, and I think we're in March. Right. I don't know. This year's flying by.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Like, I don't know about. For you, but, like, were almost done with Q1.

[Jesse Morales]

Mine's like snail speed.

[Sean]

Really? I'm like, oh, my God. I feel like it was just Christmas, you know, but again, you know, everybody has a different perspective and things like that. So, you know, all goes the way it's going to. Right. Six weeks, we're gonna ring that bell. And then your surgery, your double mastectomy, and then reconstruction with plastics. What's the time frame there?

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, we're at like a year.

[Sean]

Okay.

[Jesse Morales]

Year and a half. Yeah.

[Sean]

So right around next holiday, this coming holiday season, you'll be. You'll be ready to rock and roll.

[Jesse Morales]

I hope so.

[Sean]

Now you will. We got to think like that, right? Yeah, we got to think like that. But the good news is you look good bald.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, thank you.

[Sean]

Yeah. You know, she doesn't have a weird shaped head. Man, that's good.

[Jesse Morales]

Side profile. Yeah, it looks great.

[Sean]

Looks great.

[Jesse Morales]

It's. The hair's growing back.

[Sean]

I see that.

[Jesse Morales]

I see little peach fuzz.

[Sean]

Little peach fish fuzz. That's good. What. How was that with. For you? Like, I mean, I'm 47 and I'm thinning in my hair and it's getting gray and I'm like, oh, I need some hair product. You know, I need to. I wanna. I wanna build this bad boy back up. But, you know, what was that experience like for you? You know, saying, okay, we're just gonna. We're gonna. We're gonna sit down in this chair, just gonna do.

[Jesse Morales]

There was. So there's a thing that's called cold capping, where you can try to keep your hair or it's just let the chemo do its thing and take your hair. And I did the research, and it just had too many cons for me, so I figured it was one less thing to worry about. Let's just get rid of the hair. And I'm not gonna lie, at the very beginning, it was easy because I just wanted it gone. It started to come out and it was like, let's get rid of it. We got rid of it. And that was an emotional thing because, you know, you saw the video. My husband and my daughters are both shaving my head. And so the waterworks come out. But then after is when the real, real mental battle came with it, because, yeah, I'm bald. I don't. I look in the mirror and I don't see myself. I see. You see the people do the side eye in the store, and they're looking at you like, what's going on with this chick? Why does she have no hair? So it's really hard. You don't feel feminine. You don't feel pretty in your clothes anymore. It's. It's. It's hard. But I know rocking it is easier than just being depressed about it. And so I just show up and I'm just proud to have a Bald head.

[Sean]

You know, it's funny because. Not funny in a. In a comical sense, but, you know, you're like. You said you're at the store people, side eye.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, yeah.

[Sean]

What the is wrong with people? What do you. But, like, because. Because here. What do you think is going on?

[Jesse Morales]

Like, yeah, yeah. I don't. I'm hoping that they're like, oh, she. Does she have cancer? And like, is that why? Or is it just. She thinks she. I don't know, she's going crazy and just chopped her hair.

[Sean]

Britney Spears over here. Like, what's going on?

[Jesse Morales]

Exactly.

[Sean]

She's going batshit crazy.

[Jesse Morales]

Exactly. But, yeah, you get the stairs all the time, but then you also get the people that come up to you random. I've gotten it so much. They come up to you and you're just like, you are beautiful. Your head is beautiful. And it's the weirdest compliment ever. Like, you got a good shape head. Like, thank you. But it's. It's so nice too. And I've had that multiple times. Target at the cancer institute, the nurses that I finally, like, didn't wear a beanie one day, and they're like, oh, my gosh. Like, your hair look. You look so good. I'm like, well, thank you. So there's give. It gives and takes.

[Sean]

Yeah. I mean, I'm gonna tell you right now, like, it doesn't look bad at all. Like, it actually looks good. Like, you could. If you decided that's the look you wanted, you would pull it off. And I'm not. I'm not bullshitting you, but it's. It's. I. I think that most people too, you know, I. I think we all think when someone stares at us or looks at us, they're thinking. They're thinking something. Right. When I was super overweight, every time somebody looked at me, I thought they were, like, looking at me going like, you're fat. They probably weren't, right. What if when people looked at you and go, oh, my gosh, she's so young and pretty. I hope she's okay. You never know.

[Jesse Morales]

You never know.

[Sean]

You never know. And so that's why it's kind of like, so important to just. Just dance.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Just like, live your own life and, like, you know, just.

[Jesse Morales]

I just keep walking by.

[Sean]

Yeah. Just keep doing your thing and. Oh, man, I tell you what, it's because we never. We can never be responsible for somebody else. Like what they think about what we're doing or what we look like.

[Jesse Morales]

And that's also something that you learn with cancer is that you. You don't know what other people are going through. Because that woman that's looking at me, it could be a reminder of her sister, her mom who's gone through cancer. You don't know. They could just be like, I know what she's going through. So you just. You never know. Or someone with a pixie cut. Is that pixie cut because your hair is growing back or is it just a hairstyle you wanted? You don't know what people are going through.

[Sean]

Oh, man.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah, that.

[Sean]

That, that. That's. That's a long road, right? Like, even thinking about getting through it and, you know, growing your hair back, that's going to be a process, right?

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I mean, you could do a pixie cut too.

[Jesse Morales]

You know, I heard it's like the hardest stage, too. It's not the baldness, it's the growing back, because it's just all over the place.

[Sean]

All over the place. You know, we had a. A very good friend, Jace, who went through cancer. Young tumor in his chest. He was 26.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, my gosh.

[Sean]

He. He's good. He. He beat it in a year.

[Jesse Morales]

That's amazing.

[Sean]

A year. And to see the progression, you know, I. I knew him before, right. He's involved here with the production company at Grip Media, and we were friends. And then, you know, I had him on my show, like, June of 24. And then he got through it and. And he beat it. And, you know, you know, you. You could see the stages of the hair regrowth. Right. And just like everything and he still goes. And, you know, he. He created a page, too.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, really?

[Sean]

Jace beats cancer. And it exploded.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, really?

[Sean]

Oh, yeah. It was. It was crazy. It got to like 800, 900,000 people like that.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, my gosh.

[Sean]

Yeah. And, you know, but just seeing him go through it, you know, because he's such an active human being, and then having to work back into activity.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

Like, working out and everything like that. And it was just amazing to watch. Like, he is such a strong human being.

[Jesse Morales]

It's amazing.

[Sean]

You know, but, you know, recently he. The other day, he had to. He's like, this is one of the most anxious parts. I've got to go get another scan.

[Jesse Morales]

You know, and it's just scanxiety.

[Sean]

Scanxiety? Is that what. It's anxiety? I mean, I have enough anxiety. Just like. I mean, sometimes I run a little bit too tight, but. But, you know, it just seems to me that there's so many young people now going through it. And, you know, and coming out on top, like, it's. It's truly remarkable. And, like, I don't have a doubt in my mind. You're. You know, you'll. You'll have that. You'll have that hair regrowth in no time. Yeah, you'll be good. Have you thought about what's the celebratory, you know, at the end. At the end, in the holidays? Like, what. What's the one thing that you want to do to commemorate this time and. And put it to bed? Like, what's the celebration?

[Jesse Morales]

Honestly? I'm gonna burn everything pink. That's my celebration.

[Sean]

I don't want pink ever again.

[Jesse Morales]

I was so excited at the beginning of breast cancer. I was like, I'm gonna have everything pink. Everything's gonna be pink. I don't like the color pink anymore.

[Sean]

So you're not looking forward to October?

[Jesse Morales]

No, that's actually when I was. I found my lump was October, too, which is crazy. Yeah. Breast cancer awareness month. Wow.

[Sean]

Wow. It's. Yeah, that's. That. That. The pink thing. That's pretty funny. That's. Some people say, you know, I want to go to Fiji.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, I want to go do this. You're like, I'm burning.

[Jesse Morales]

We do want to do that, too.

[Sean]

You want to go to Fiji.

[Jesse Morales]

But we do want to. We want to take a trip eventually and just, you know, finally relax. But, yes, I'm burning everything as well.

[Sean]

Yeah, that's good, too. That's good. Can you guys invite me over for that? I want to. I want to bring the lighter fluid. Yeah, seriously. Bonfire. We go on bonfire. I'm just burning clothes. Don't worry about it, guys. Everything pink is gone. It's gone. Where's your dream vacation?

[Jesse Morales]

I told my husband I wanted to go over to Europe. I want to go to Italy, and I want to go. We actually are thinking about doing. One of his friends did it. It's where you rent, like, a minivan, a little minivan, and you just go all throughout Italy.

[Sean]

That's cool. One of my friends told me last night that a mutual friend of ours, like, the married couple, they're going to Italy to go skiing.

[Jesse Morales]

Okay.

[Sean]

And it's actually cheaper to go to Italy and ski than it is to go to, like. Like, Tahoe.

[Jesse Morales]

I think I saw that.

[Sean]

That's just fudgeing wild to me. Like, we're talking about Europe here, right? Like, Tahoe is in Cali. Like, it's just crazy to me. So I always, like. I always like to hear, like, These. These plans, though. Right. Because you know what I hope that you do is visualize those moments.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, because I think visualization is such an important part of anything that we do. And, you know, when you can feel those emotions of the attainment, what's it gonna feel like? When I'm in a camper in Italy and going around like, your brain has no idea that's not real.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah. I try to do it more and more because it's kind of actually hard to do as a cancer patient, and I don't see into the future as much as I did before, but it's because I'm living in this moment. Like, this is all I can process at one time, because if I process everything at the same time, it's just overwhelming.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

So, like, right now, like, my brain's focus on chemo. Let's get to the next chemo cycle and to the next one. Like, I haven't thought about surgery yet because I'm focused on chemo. Because if I start thinking about my surgery, then I get overwhelmed, and I start thinking about, oh, what about this and this and this. So, yeah, I am trying to think more of, like, the end game, but I'm, like, trying to also just be present with where I am.

[Sean]

Damn it. You just stole my word. Come on, Jesse. And you were nervous. Come on. Taking the words out of my mouth, I was just thinking, like, this is giving you the gift of presence.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

You know, and. And. And I think that being present doesn't always have to be super positive, either. You. Whatever you're feeling, like, I truly believe, like, if I'm feeling anxiety, you know, a ton of anxiety, one day, I lean in it, put my face in it.

[Jesse Morales]

Yep.

[Sean]

If I'm feeling happy, like, you know, I'm happy, but if I'm. If I'm an angry son of a. Like, I'm gonna lean into that, too, because what I don't want to do is be incongruent to how I feel emotionally. Right.

[Jesse Morales]

You don't want to withhold.

[Sean]

No, you can't. But that. But that also doesn't mean that I downshift and. And retreat from what I'm supposed to do. Right. You know, yesterday, I remember. And I'm very open with my kids, too. Just like. Just like you and Andrew. I was sitting there at my daughter's play. I got to show you guys the videos. It's so cute. And. And I was, like, to the right of me was my older daughter, and then my wife and I just had my like, head, like, in my lap, and I had this overwhelming sense of anxiety. Like, it wasn't anything related to where I was at.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Like, I had my phone in my pocket. I can hear. I can feel it buzzing constantly. I'm like, oh, my God, what's going on? Is there. Is there a fire that I need to put out? But my. My daughter goes, daddy, what's wrong? I go, honey, I'm so anxious right now. She was really? Why? I go, I don't know. I said, it's. I go, it's work stuff. And then I just put my head down and I just took some deep breaths, and she starts rubbing my back, and, you know it. But I was still present, right. Because I was interacting, and I was, like, telling her what I was going through at that moment. And then she brought me back, and then I cried in the damn performance.

[Jesse Morales]

It's like, you had to get it out.

[Sean]

I just, you know, like, yesterday was a whole thing I told you guys, like, off camera. Like, I. I got emotional during the. The wackadoo zoo, and then I got emotional at the very ending of 13 going on 30 last night. That's where I'm at in my life.

[Jesse Morales]

Jesse, you're man straining.

[Sean]

I. I seriously. Holy. Like. But I'm a crier, though. Like, I. I can.

[Jesse Morales]

That's not a bad thing.

[Sean]

I don't think it is either. I think, you know, I agree with. Grew up being told that boys and men don't cry. And what I found is I was always angry because of it, because I never released these emotions, you know, for me now, though, like, if I'm feeling a certain way, like, I'm leaning into that, you know, because I think at that point, then I can understand my emotions. Right? And then I could be better for everybody else around me.

[Jesse Morales]

Exactly.

[Sean]

Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

I. I tell you what. Like, I. I'm impressed by you guys. Like, like, truly, because, you know, again, I've said it time and time again, you know, over the last hour now almost, is to see you guys go through this and see you specifically go through the journey. Right? You're. You're the one directly going through it. But the amount of support and love you have in your house, it's easy to see it. It's easy to see it. It comes out. But, like, you know, God damn it. The. The thing is, is I think it's important as a man to have other men that they can lean on and. And open up to. And I admire you, man. Andrew. You know, it Because I'm. I never. I never want to go through this.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, but I know what a real man acts like when he does.

[Jesse Morales]

I wouldn't have been able to get through what I've gone through without him.

[Sean]

That. That's amazing.

[Jesse Morales]

He's my rock.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

He's. He's been there every step of the way. He's been every chemo. He watches the girls when I can't do it. And he takes care of the house. He's. I mean, I. I would have been nothing without him.

[Sean]

I am.

[Jesse Morales]

I owe a lot to him.

[Sean]

That, to me, is true masculinity. It is because I think it's misconstrued a lot nowadays. Like the Andrew Tates of the world. And like, everybody. This is what.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

This is what masculinity is really supposed to be like. No.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, a real man's supposed to be tender, understanding, strong, and just be there when he's supposed to be. That to me, that's a man showing up when is not going the right way. Right. What are the. What are some of the qualities in Andrew that you may have already known but have really come to light in this journey that you respect so much more?

[Jesse Morales]

Now he's caring to, like, another level of caring. Like, he puts me first. He's always put me first. But, like, this level of first is anything that I need some. If I'm with the chemo and the side effects, it's hour by hour. You don't know how you're gonna feel the next five minutes.

[Sean]

Oh, Jesus.

[Jesse Morales]

And we'll be. I'll be cleaning the house, or I'll be playing with the girls, or I'll be doing something in the house, and I'll just be standing there. I'm like, I can't stand anymore. I need to just go lay down. And he will just be like, go lay down. I got it. No worries, no confrontation, no nothing. Just you go and relax. And he's just always put me first. But this is just like another level of, like, I got it. Don't worry about it. And that's. I mean, we wouldn't have gotten through this journey if I didn't have him.

[Sean]

Yeah. I mean, I think choosing the right partner.

[Jesse Morales]

100.

[Sean]

I mean, you know, it. Choosing the wrong partner is. Is a whole other thing. Right. And when. When you were. I guess not when you're reminded, but when you're shown evidence that you chose. Right.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, like, you know. I mean, thank God.

[Sean]

You know, And I think that you know too It's. It's. You know, I got two daughters as well. And what is going on in your household is so much more than getting through this and, you know, getting ready to come out the other side. What's going on right now is your daughters are watching how a man loves a woman.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

And how a woman deserves to be treated.

[Jesse Morales]

Yep.

[Sean]

That is the most important gift any girl could ever get. My wife always told me, is always telling me this. The daughters get their confidence from how their dad loves them.

[Jesse Morales]

Yep.

[Sean]

That's heavy. Right. Because, I mean. I mean, you see my stuff, like, I don't ever lose it on my son, but my daughters, I can. I can get very frustrated because sometimes I feel like I can't win.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Right. You know, but. But. But they're also too. Those are. Those are my girls. Like, I would kill and maim for them. Right. And my son, too. Like, with my kids and find out, like.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Or my wife. But. But, like, you know, it's. It's just an important topic because there's a lot of dads out there that just because they're home, they think they're there.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And that's not necessarily the case. They're numbing through food, alcohol, porn, whatever, and they're not being present with their children. And a daughter needs their dad.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Just like us. I mean, look, a son and a daughter need their dad. Son and daughter need their mom. Because there's two different gifts that each ones have. Right. Like, my daughters love cuddling with me at night. But if they had their choice. They want Mama. Yeah, they want mama.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

You know, and. But. But in the morning, they all come downstairs and they know I'm cooking the breakfast. Like. Yeah, those. Those are the different things. Right? The different. We don't. We don't really exercise normal general rules in our house. We just do what we need to do.

[Jesse Morales]

Exactly.

[Sean]

You know, like, if I'm not home and the garbage needs to be taken out, Jackie will get up and go do it.

[Jesse Morales]

Of course. Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, if. If, you know, I notice that the laundry's getting. I'm gonna do better at this, babe. I promise. Like, it's in my calendar, but I keep it up. But I want to be able to. To. To put the laundry in, you know, and take it out. The problem with the laundry is I don't like folding it.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, like, that's the thing that me up. Like, I'll. I'll wash it and dry it. Like, that's fine. But I get, you know, I think we're all wired, you know, in a household to really make sure that the home is moving as smoothly as possible, because when it doesn't, then when my wife gets home, she's stressed.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

Right.

[Jesse Morales]

So we have a thing is if I'm given 80, you got to give 20. Like, we. We get it to 100. But, like, say I'm just slacking today. Today, I'm. I'm at 80%. I need you to carry my weight in the 20%. That's what we do.

[Sean]

Yeah, we.

[Jesse Morales]

He knows when I would work long hours, he would fix dinner. He would do. He. He's the cook. I'm not the cook.

[Sean]

I'm the cook, too, dude. I cook every meal. Every. Every one of them. Every one of them.

[Jesse Morales]

But if I'm struggling with laundry and I'm behind. He knows how to do it. He will do it. He'll take out the trash or empty the trash cans. Like, he's there.

[Sean]

He's.

[Jesse Morales]

He's the backbone.

[Sean]

That's awesome. That's good.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Not surprised, buddy. Not surprised. Well, thank you so much for coming on, and it's been great chatting with you. I think we're gonna go get food now, right? We're gonna get some food. And you know what I hope people heard out of this is just your. Your grit and your determination to get through this and to be ready to come out the other side, but at the same time, be present where you're at.

[Jesse Morales]

Always.

[Sean]

Always. Right. Because there's a gift there. Right. And even though it's not something that's always going to be fun, it's important to remember this.

[Jesse Morales]

It taught us to slow down.

[Sean]

Do you know you used to move really, really fast all the time with

[Jesse Morales]

just being busy with work and the kids and just. We're just trying to get through the motions, you know, get to the end. To the end of the. To the night, and you're just trying to get everything done. Now it's kind of like, let's just slow down.

[Sean]

Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

And because I'm not currently working, so it's given us actually more time with the girls. Like, me personally, which I'm actually really grateful for, even though it's shitty circumstances, but.

[Sean]

But. But you still get more time with them. Right. And it's so funny when the reason I asked, like, you move fast is. I feel like the day.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Quick, quick, quick. And once the kids come through the door after school. Hurricane.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah. Yes.

[Sean]

Homework. Can I have a snack? I'm like, I just gave. I gave you snacks, like now you want more snacks. Like, you know, and then it's, then it's dinner, you know, then it's. And if it's, if it's a night, the girls have to wash their hair. Oh, geez, that's another thing. Right. Like my youngest, she doesn't like, you know, because she has a lot of hair. And then my, my middle child, she's like, okay, I'll wash my hair. It's fine. It's no big deal. But like, there's always something going on.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

You know, and, and I think that being able to slow the game down a little bit is something that I need to get better at because, you know, the school, you know, hearing the kids about the kids day, certain things that they're struggling with, the homework, their sports, you know, my wife and her stuff. And then I have my too.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

Right. And, and it's always hard to sit there and go, like, is this a time where I should interject and be like, hey, I'm struggling with this today? Or do I just need to let them have this? Yeah. And slow my down. But then also slow down to a point where I'm actually enjoying the evening? Because that's hard.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah, that's. I realize it's. I get to. That's the thing is what, I get to brush their hair or I get to tuck them in now? Because sometimes you're going so fast or you're just. I'm feeling crummy from chemo and I don't get to do that. So now when I get those chances, I get to tuck them in to bed and everything like that. So I think that's a new outlook that we have, is to slow down. And I get to give them a bath tonight. I get to make them dinner. And sometimes I don't get to do that. So when I do, I cherish it.

[Sean]

Reframing always helps in understanding that words actually have definition and they mean something. Right. So my wife and I have always. We get to like, that is something that is big in our house.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And to a point where like, it's natural to say, like, okay, guys, I, I have to go cook dinner now. You get to cook dinner. And I know what she means.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

If anybody else were in our house, be like, damn, she's telling his ass to get in the, get out in the backyard and fire that damn grill up. That's not what she's saying.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

She's saying you get to have a family that you get to cook and provide for. Exactly Right. You get to. And. And I think that, you know, anytime we. Either one of us says the word have to, it's like, nope. Nope. Because we also want our kids hearing that.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah. Changing your mindset.

[Sean]

Yeah. Like, there's times where my wife will look at the kids, like, you get to go to this prep school. You get to have this much homework. Like, this isn't an opportunity that everybody has the opportunity have.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

You know, so I think just the reframing. Right. Is. Is. Is super important. Like, even when you're, you know, even if you're tired, like, you know, I'll be driving home, you know, and I'll be like. Because turning the switch off is hard for me.

[Jesse Morales]

Yes.

[Sean]

Right. Like, you know, coming from this to whatever it is I'm gonna walk into, like, I don't know. Right. I have no freaking clue what I'm walking into. It's Friday, so hopefully it's Gucci. I don't know. Hopefully it's fine. But you just never know.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

You know, and. And understanding that no matter what it is, this is my family and I get to be here with them. Like, that is the most beautiful and natural thing ever, you know, so. Oh, man. Well, thank you again. It wasn't so bad, was it?

[Jesse Morales]

No, no, it was okay.

[Sean]

You did great. I thought you did great. You know, you. I'm sure you inspired some people, and there's hope. So people that. That listen to this and be like, oh, wow, like, I'm going through this right now. And that's the beautiful thing about this show is we tell real stories.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

We don't click bait people. We don't do any of that. We just. Whatever, Whatever I can connect with on the guest and say, okay, this is the story I can bring out and in a second experience. Right. And I bet you, you wake up tomorrow and be like, wow, that wasn't so bad. Yeah.

[Jesse Morales]

Yeah.

[Sean]

And trust me, it's going to come out very good. I have a feeling about these things. Right, Dan? This is a really good one. So you're. When it. When it airs, you're going to get to hear this and how special your relationship is and how special your relationship is with your kids and how special you are.

[Jesse Morales]

Thank you.

[Sean]

To be able to. To shoulder this and. And kick the. Out of this thing. So I'm excited for you. I'm excited for you. I'm excited for the bonfire. That's gonna be fun.

[Jesse Morales]

Oh, my gosh, yes. You're gonna have to come.

[Sean]

I will come.

[Jesse Morales]

All right.

[Sean]

I'll be there. Trust me. If that's actually going down and you're gonna burn that.

[Jesse Morales]

My parents have an. A bonfire area. Yes, we will. We will have one.

[Sean]

We'll bring the famous.

[Jesse Morales]

Awesome.

[Sean]

We're going to, you know. Yeah. Everybody will have to bring something pink. Yes.

[Jesse Morales]

And we'll all just burn it down.

[Sean]

Bring something pink. Just one thing. Just burn it and burn it. Oh, my gosh. Well, guys, thank you so much for listening. Go check out Jesse at the breast chapter on Instagram. Follow her journey and watch her win this thing. But I encourage you to do one thing, though. When you find her page, I want you to scroll all the way down to the beginning, and I want you to watch, watch every single video because you're going to see how amazing she is, how amazing her husband is and her kids, and how she has chosen to take this thing on and beat it. So I hope this message today inspires you guys. If you're going through something like this, definitely know that you're not alone. Check her out, dive into her story and share this episode with somebody that you know love and trust. And thank you guys again for listening and watching. I couldn't do this. Couldn't be where I'm at without you guys being faithful listeners and watchers of the show. So have a great day, guys. Until next time, stay determined.