I've been reading about Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz who hid her cancer from the voters, her colleagues and her children. She said protecting her children — 9-year-old boy-and-girl twins, and another 5-year-old girl — came first.
She is the chief deputy whip in the House and a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She often represents her party on TV and heads a subcommittee that oversees funding for her legislative branch.
At 42, the congresswoman was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2007. She had a lumpectomy, but then tests showed a genetic mutation that put her at high risk for a recurrence of breast or ovarian cancer. So she scheduled a bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy. Surgeries were scheduled when the House was not in session.
Beyond protecting her children, there was another big reason why she kept her ordeal secret.
"I just didn't want it to define me. When I'm quoted in the newspaper, I didn't want to be 'Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who's battling breast cancer,'" she said. "I wanted to be viewed as a congresswoman, as a mom, as a fighter."
Now she's advocating for young women. She filed a bill that would have the CDC start a national education program aimed at women under 40 and their doctors.
Maybe a program like that would save many women from hearing "You're too young for cancer". What do you think of how she hid her disease? I'm of two minds. While I understand not telling her colleagues I'm not sure about not telling her kids. Do you think it's more common than we know? Did you hide your diagnosis from anyone?
I've been reading about Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz who hid her cancer from the voters, her colleagues and her children. She said protecting her children — 9-year-old boy-and-girl twins, and another 5-year-old girl — came first.
She is the chief deputy whip in the House and a vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. She often represents her party on TV and heads a subcommittee that oversees funding for her legislative branch.
At 42, the congresswoman was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2007. She had a lumpectomy, but then tests showed a genetic mutation that put her at high risk for a recurrence of breast or ovarian cancer. So she scheduled a bilateral mastectomy and oophorectomy. Surgeries were scheduled when the House was not in session.
Beyond protecting her children, there was another big reason why she kept her ordeal secret.
"I just didn't want it to define me. When I'm quoted in the newspaper, I didn't want to be 'Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who's battling breast cancer,'" she said. "I wanted to be viewed as a congresswoman, as a mom, as a fighter."
Now she's advocating for young women. She filed a bill that would have the CDC start a national education program aimed at women under 40 and their doctors.Maybe a program like that would save many women from hearing "You're too young for cancer". What do you think of how she hid her disease? I'm of two minds. While I understand not telling her colleagues I'm not sure about not telling her kids. Do you think it's more common than we know? Did you hide your diagnosis from anyone?