According to a Spot Her campaign press release, “uterine cancer is the fourth most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, which resulted in an estimated 66,570 new cases and 12,940 deaths in 2021 in the U.S. alone.” It accounts for more than 90% of uterine cancers, and only 53% of Black women with endometrial cancer receive an early diagnosis, the release stated. 

On one gynecology visit, Good’s doctor discovered an abnormality in her uterus, which testing later identified as tissue that could potentially become cancerous. She chose to have the tissue removed.

“It was a scary experience because both my grandmothers have passed from cancer because my grandfather passed from cancer because my aunt had just had a mastectomy,” Good told Blavity. “The feeling was like, ‘God, this is terrifying; this is how it happens,’ someone is telling you you have potentially cancerous cells in your uterus. By the grace of God and because we were in front of it because we were proactive instead of reactive, I am fine. It just made me want to get activated on the fact that this is not something we talk about in the Black community.” 

The newly-minted women’s health advocate is familiar with her family’s medical history, so regular well-woman visits are important to her. 

“It’s better to be proactive about your health than reactive,” Good said. “Sometimes when you’re reactive, you’re already in a worse-off situation. It’s not just about what we’re experiencing that could be something, it’s also about what we’re not experiencing that could be something.”

Good reiterates the importance of proactive health, especially since her cancer scare came without physical symptoms. 

“The interesting part was that I didn’t have any symptoms, so it really boiled down to if I wasn’t seeing my gynecologist regularly and making my appointments and asking questions and just doing everything that we should do consistently,” she said. “Often as Black women, it does fall by the wayside and we do self diagnose, or we are in situations where we don’t always get the diagnosis because we’re not always asking the right questions, so I think we have to be proactive and thoughtful about all of it because we are our biggest advocates.”  

According to Dr. Ginger J. Gardner, a gynecologic cancer surgeon, women should maintain regular gynecological visits and be on the lookout for common endometrial cancer signs. Such symptoms include abnormal bleeding, spotting or brownish discharge after menopause, as well as irregular or heavy bleeding before menopause and pelvic pain or pressure. 

“We’re particularly seeing an increased rate of endometrial cancer in women of color and we’re also looking at a molecular level and seeing differences in how this disease grows in terms of the underlying tumor biology, so this is really important that we all come together and elevate this conversation,” Gardner said. “Endometrial cancer rates are on the rise and especially some of the highest risk, most aggressive cell types amongst communities of color, so we’re in this together and we’re moving the bar.”    

Gardner said women can better advocate for themselves by having awareness of symptoms, knowing their family history and asking questions and verifying risks with healthcare providers.

Personal life aside, Good maintains quite a busy career. She balances work on a variety of acting and directorial projects, including work for her brother-in-law, Eric Bellinger, and her fan-favorite role as Camille on Amazon Prime’s Harlem. Camille, she said, is one of her favorite characters in her career because the role is most similar to her personality. 

“I love how quirky she is,” the series actor said. “She is offbeat. That’s something I can relate to. This is probably the closest character that I’ve played to myself, and I love everything about who she is. I cried when I got the role because I’m excited every morning when I wake up and I get to play her and see what I’m going to do that I have no idea that I’m going to do.” 

Lots of Nickelodeon fans may remember Good from the television series My Cousin Skeeter. The actors she shared that set with are like family to her to this very day, especially Robert Ri’chard, who she worked with on Harlem. 

“We’re siblings pretty much. That’s my brother,” she said.

Since she’s got so much skin in the game, Good is often asked what advice she has for young actors. 

“I always say, ‘ask God first,’ because if you are in-tune with God and you’re aligned, no matter how many ‘nos’ that you get, and especially in this business, nine times out of ten, it is a ‘no,’ you will know that rejection is God’s protection. What’s yours is yours and you will have it at the proper time. Do the work — don’t just do the minimum; do the maximum.”

Conversations surrounding the Hollywood beauty usually find their way to her flawless youthfulness, to which she credits genetics and being a genuine person.

“Peace — constantly seeking for peace and constantly trying to grow and being intentional about that,” she said. “My spirit is more at ease, I have peace in my heart, I feel more one with God when I am giving back and doing something that’s bigger than myself because I know the common purpose we all have in this life is helping each other. And, when I’m in alignment with that, that affects me inside and out and across the board. Yeah, I guess you can say alignment.”

As part of her efforts to give back, Good is participating in the Spot Her campaign’s virtual walk, which she refers to as the fanny pack walk. The event’s purpose is to “take literal steps toward increasing awareness about endometrial cancer,” according to a press release. This is why the actor encourages walkers to wear a fanny pack, which in this case represents the uterus. 

“It’s, in essence, a movement,” she said. “Be a part of the movement. It’s about all of us coming together — here’s how you can literally be your sister’s keeper. We just want people to be activated on this issue as a community and to make change in this specific area. It’s just a dope thing to be a part of.”   

Using #SpotHerforEC allows participants to share in community with each other while promoting awareness. For every mile logged (up to 20 per participant), Eisai is donating $1 (up to $20,000) between FORCE and SHARE to support people who have endometrial cancer. The virtual event runs through June 22. Learn more here.

“We all kind of assume we’re okay until God forbid, we’re not. It’s scary, so I just wanted to do my part and help bring awareness and normalize the conversation. This is something that’s very stigmatized. It’s just not an open conversation, but it needs to be,” Good said.