Epilogue: Janice Today

In June of 2003, Janice Fine received her Ph.D. in Political Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She works as a researcher for the Economic Policy Institute, focusing on new forms of economic and political organization among low-wage workers. She is working on a national study of immigrant worker centers and is writing a book on community-based worker organizing strategies. She lives in Boston with her husband David Donnelly, and their two children, Benjamin, age 6, and Carson (named for the pioneering environmentalist, Rachel Carson), age 4.

Janice's Reflections:

"You pick up, somehow, where you left off. You're wiser, you're stronger, more appreciative, all these things are true. You get on with the business of living. I feel normal."

"I can't say there weren't moments of panic, there were definitely moments of panic. Was I making a big mistake? Was I really cancer-free? A few times I called my old doctors and said, 'I need you to tell me again that you really think I'm in good shape, that you really think I'm going to be around to raise this child.'"

"It's scary. And there are no guarantees, but they were very excited about my being pregnant. They were very clear that they thought it was a good thing."

  — Janice Fine in 1998, 5 years after she was diagnosed with breast cancer