Karine Jean-Pierre revealed that she was a caregiver to her mother while serving as the White House Press Secretary. Diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer, her mother is a very private person and told her, "Don’t tell anyone. Do not tell the president I have cancer."

Jean-Pierre said, "For more than 18 months, I drove up to New York every weekend I could to see my mom, often returning to DC late at night just to get a few hours of sleep before heading to the White House early the next morning"

She kept her caregiving duties a secret partially because her mother was a private person and did not want to disclose her diagnosis, but also because she didn’t want it to get in the way of her work. "I knew that if I were to share the news of my mother’s diagnosis or any other issues in my personal life, it would be seen as an excuse. Society doesn’t allow women of color to be vulnerable at work."

Read more of Jean-Pierre’s story here.