Of course I have a personal connection. Of course I do. I would have to be living under a rock.

Carrie was always excited to find a diner that served real roast turkey on its turkey sandwiches—none of the deli stuff. She was whip-smart and no-nonsense, with a warm, deep laugh. She fought her cancer for almost a decade before she succumbed, still in her thirties.

Lisa and I had known each other for decades, but in recent years only communicated through Facebook—and she didn’t talk about her cancer. I admired the pictures of her family vacations to exotic places, not realizing that she was showing her children the world before she left it.

Colleen carried the BCBR2 gene. She had protective surgery, but it wasn’t enough. She died of uterine cancer six years ago.

And there was Marty, my mom’s friend who smoked, who died of lung cancer when her children and I were still children. I remember being furious at her for dying. I was 8 or 9.

I have supported dear friends and family members as they went through biopsy, diagnosis, surgery, chemotherapy, and more surgery. I’ve listened as they worried about test results and their future and the future of their children. And I’ve watched them check off milestones, allow themselves to hope, embrace life for as long as they have it.

Our current administration is allowing companies to dump carcinogens into the water and pump them into the air. Republicans in Congress keep working to make healthcare more inaccessible to the poor and the sick. As your Congresswoman, I will fight for a healthy environment and access to affordable healthcare for everyone.