She Has Advanced Breast Cancer. Her Husband Works as a Federal Worker. Will She Survive This Political Era?

In early May 2025, a woman experienced a sudden, stabbing ache radiate from her hip while she bent over to water some plants. Then she fell over and couldn’t get back up.

Her husband summoned emergency services and she spent the night in a hospital, where, at 57, she found out she had a mass on her spine. The diagnosis was metastatic breast cancer.

"There was no indication that that was going to happen, and I was devastated. At first, I didn’t clearly understand that it was a recurrence of my breast cancer which had spread to my spine, which I learned was a common place for it to go," she explained.

"If I were to die prematurely, I could not imagine leaving [my husband] here. We have any family. We are without any children."

Following the victory in the 2024 presidential election, Michaela’s husband braced to be mandated back into the office at the Department of Transportation in Washington DC. He had worked remotely since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, from their home outside Baltimore.

On the inaugural day in office on 20 January, he issued requiring all federal agencies end all remote work arrangements. The office of personnel management directed agencies to enact the order irrespective of collective bargaining contracts.

"My husband’s a veteran with the administration, and he’s an expert in his field. He’s been doing this for 20 years now, so it is draining for him. We’re in our 50s. He departed the house at 5 a.m. in the morning and returning at seven at night," she stated. Her identity is protected as her husband still works at the Department of Transportation and is concerned about reprisal.

During the summer, Michaela had surgery, a laminectomy. A few weeks after that, she had stereotactic radiation, and is currently on an oncology regimen called Kisqali alongside hormone therapy.

She was previously diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in 2014, but was able to treat it, as it was caught early, with a partial lumpectomy, radiation, chemotherapy and hormonal medication. Through regular checkups, she stayed on top of it, before her latest diagnosis of stage four metastatic breast cancer.

Surviving Reductions in Force and Reorganization

Throughout this year, Michaela’s husband avoided layoffs at the DOT. By spring, thousands of employees had left the agency, due to those reductions as well as retirements and people quitting.

Per a internal document on its plan for reductions in force and reorganization, the agency estimated that by the end of next year, its workforce would be cut by approximately 20 percent from levels at the start of the year.

This would correlate to more than 10,000 reduced staff at the department. Government workforce reductions have exceeded goals, with a significant number of workers leaving the federal government and a small number of new hires.

"We were worried about RIFs. It is clear based on the way things are operating, that this remains a constant threat because they ignore established rules," Michaela explained.

She noted that specialized positions at the agency are difficult to find and private firms often want to pay reduced wages.

Enduring a Government Shutdown

While the DOT was losing staff, on October 1st a shutdown of the federal government began, lasting for over a month, the most protracted in American history.

The couple marked their 18th wedding anniversary in the fall, while the shutdown continued, but remained home because finances prevented them to dine out due to her husband going without a paycheck for several weeks.

She is thankful the federal closure ended as she was worried about medical bills, but rues the increases in insurance premiums she and her husband have experienced, and for those who rely on insurance through the ACA exchanges.

"I felt hopeless. I felt impoverished. I was astonished, scared, and I watched my husband and on several occasions where he sat at his desk and he gazed out the window. He was getting depressed," she said.

Feeling Targeted

"We are merely one example in a bucket of countless people who work so hard to get where they are, who try to do the correct thing, and the people who are setting policy are seemingly dismantling and managing the government and treating federal workers like adversaries, that they are lesser citizens, and that they should be attacked. And I take personal offense to that," she said.

A Looming Threat

She is now worried is a potential looming federal closure in late January, with the bulk of government funding set to lapse again absent a permanent agreement.

"The temporary funding measure is up for renewal again at the end of January and I fear this will repeat once more. We’ve been through multiple closures. This by far was the worst," she said. "I am already fighting a life-threatening illness, and I am uncertain where it’s going to take me. I may survive for a couple more years. I might live for 10 years."