Dr. Monica M. Bertagnolli has spent her career researching and treating cancer, with the last ten year spent as the chief of surgical oncology at Dana-Farber Bringham Cancer Center in Boston. In October she was offered the job of Director of the National Cancer Institute where she will lead the nation's cancer research program. This was followed by a breast cancer diagnosis of her own a month later. 

Her cancer is common, highly treatable, and has a strong survival rate. Her treatment plan is being finalized with her care team, but she plans on continuing to work through it. "I can’t imagine having this challenge, on top of a very important job, without the kind of support I have from an incredibly talented team" at NCI and from her physicians and family in Boston, she said. "I really am just fine in getting everything accomplished," she said. "We will take it as it comes."

Read more of Dr. Bertagnolli's story here.