Justice Ginsburg is All of Us

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg underwent surgery to remove cancerous nodules from her lungs. But it’s not the first time she’s been in recent news over the last few weeks. As news broke a few weeks ago that Justice Ginsburg fell and broke her ribs, the internet lost its mind. Twitter exploded with people offering to give up their own ribs. And three days later, when she returned to work, the story dominated the news cycle again.

I understand why it’s a big deal—after all, the Supreme Court, with its recent appointments of Justice Gorsuch and Justice Kavanaugh, has already begun to lean right. That means for left-leaning citizens losing one more judge is a terrifying prospect. But I’m confused about the shock when she returned to work. RBG, as Her Honor is sometimes called, has battled cancer since 1999, and, like many women, worked through it. She didn’t miss a day on the bench during her rounds of chemotherapy and radiation.

As mentioned above, just today she had two cancerous nodules removed from her lungs. Again, the story dominated the news. But the fact of the matter is that American women have been raised to work through pain and sickness. We go back to work mere months, sometimes weeks, after giving birth, even though every study advises against it.

When Senator John McCain returned to the floor to vote to cast his historic ‘no’ vote on repealing the Affordable Care Act, news media covered it 24/7. We listened to how he made the trip from Arizona, even though he was undergoing treatment for cancer. No one mentioned Senator Maizie Hirono of Hawaii, who had also been battling late stage kidney cancer. She’d had a kidney removed in May and surgery to remove a tumor and her seventh rib in late June, a month before the vote. She returned to work quickly. That’s what women do.

I don’t mean to discredit the fact that these women are amazing; they are. But there is a lesson to be learned about the fact that we either ignore or over-emphasize the health-to-work relationship of women.

In 2010, I was diagnosed with cancer. When I found out the chemotherapy I received was intramuscular—a shot—as opposed to the all-day intravenous variety, I was relieved. I could drive through rush hour traffic to Dana Farber Cancer Hospital, get my shot, and go into work after. Although I developed mouth sores and my chest swelled up, causing severe pain, at least it wouldn’t keep me from working. I could do my job. I knew I had to.

I did that through two rounds of chemotherapy, despite how tired, worn, and sick I was. Eight months later, after I was cured of cancer, I came down with the flu. I spent a full day in the office, giving tours to prospective parents and answering the phone, shivering and coughing the whole day. That night I knew I wouldn’t be able to do that for a second day. I had a high fever, and went to the doctor, who insisted I could not go into work the next day and spread my illness around. I called out of work for the next day. My boss told me if I didn’t come in she would fire me. Sick, angry, and offended, I let her.

We are so conditioned to expect ourselves to do more, but we’re also conditioned to expect more (sometimes too much) of other women. It’s no wonder Senator Hirono didn’t focus on her kidney cancer, and no wonder Justice Ginsberg has been battling cancer since 1999 with barely a hitch in her step. I have no doubt she’ll come through this just fine. She knows she has to.

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