02/22/2026
Eight signs you’re a badass.
None of them are loud.
Last week, I attended the Rise Up Satellite Luncheon Celebrating Successes in Ensuring Access to and Equity in Reproductive Care for All, alongside Rise Up for Breast Cancer,at a table hosted by Hilary Newsom.
The day was inspiring, hopeful, and devastating. We heard stories of women who nearly died—or did die—from ectopic pregnancies when lifesaving care wasn’t available. One of those stories was mine, decades ago. I survived because doctors were allowed to act. I lost that pregnancy, but I lived—and later had my daughter.
One slide stopped the room cold: “Eight signs you are indeed a badass.”
Not swagger. Not fearlessness.
Saying yes before you know how.
Speaking up.
Living by your own code.
Not quitting.
That felt like the throughline of the day.
Nearby, breast cancer research conferences were unfolding—rooms full of doctors and scientists quietly doing the work. And on stage, Laura Esserman sang with one of the honorees. No polish. Just presence.
She was my doctor. Her nurse caught my cancer early. I owe my life—more than once—to science, advocacy, and people who refuse to step back.
Courage doesn’t always look dramatic.
Sometimes it looks like research.
Sometimes it looks like care.
Sometimes it looks like showing up—again and again.
That’s what stayed with me. I’m deeply grateful to Hillary Newsom and Governor Gavin Newsom for their courage and continued support of both reproductive rights and breast cancer research—support that protects lives, families, and futures.
