Rebecca Bloom never set out to be a women’s health advocate. She didn’t have a master plan, a grand mission, or a childhood dream of changing healthcare. Instead, she evolved into it, shaped by the circumstances of her own life, her legal career, and her mother’s breast cancer diagnosis.
“It just so happened that the very specific facts of my life, the legal specialty that I chose, and then my mother’s breast cancer diagnosis led me to discover that I had some specialized knowledge that could be useful to women on health journeys,” Rebecca told me.
Watching her mother navigate a terrifying diagnosis opened Rebecca’s eyes to the complexity and stress of healthcare, how quickly things could go wrong, and how many barriers women faced in simply getting the care they deserved. That personal experience became the catalyst. “When I saw how complicated and stress-making the whole experience can be up so close, I felt compelled to see if I could find a way to support women as they go through it.”
More than 26 years ago, she connected with Bay Area Cancer Connections, an organization that supports women through cancer. That partnership changed her life. “I have learned so much from so many incredible women,” she said. “It made me realize this was work I had to do.”
For Rebecca, advocacy was less a decision and more a calling. She describes herself as a problem solver, professionally and personally, and in healthcare, she saw problems everywhere.
“Diagnosis of any serious illness comes with fear, complexity, bureaucracy, expense and other tough stuff,” she explained. “So many things can go sideways. I realized I had a set of skills and knowledge that could truly make a difference in an area where problems were vexing in the workplace, health space, insurance and benefits world, and practical, holistic solutions were few.”
Her legal background gave her the ability to navigate rules, policies, and bureaucracies. Her personal experience gave her empathy. And her ambition gave her the drive to keep pushing.
“I saw my decision to help as many women as I could as a chance to truly make an impact.”
In her new book, When Women Get Sick: An Empowering Approach to Getting the Support You Need, Rebecca guides women through the complexity of healthcare challenges and advocacy.
Read the full article on Substack.com.
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