And you talked about a risk assessment test, and you're working with Senator Mark Kelly to introduce a bill.

Yeah, that's right.

Next month, Senator Mark Kelly and I are introducing a bill to try to get the lifetime risk assessment test into the standard of care for every doctor with all of their female patients.

So the lifetime risk assessment test is a free online test.

It takes minutes to take.

It saved my life.

It saved my mother's life.

as we

Mm-hmm.

In seeing other women go through that, that was helpful.

Other women showing a different side of themselves, that was fine.

But the totality of seeing the perfection right after birth was not helpful because I realized that I was breastfeeding and then pumping to put into bottles because I really wanted John, my husband... to have a connection with Malcolm.

And I was having a really hard time making milk and I could see that.

And then the breastfeeding was so difficult.

He latched right away.

So how did

Mm-hmm.

And seeing other women go through that, that was helpful.

Other women showing a different side of themselves, that was fine.

But the totality of seeing the perfection right after birth was not helpful because I realized that I was breastfeeding and then pumping to put into bottles because I really wanted John, my husband, to have a connection with Malcolm.

And I was having a really hard time making milk and I could see that.

And then the breastfeeding was so difficult.

He latched right away.

risk.

Mm-hmm.

And seeing other women go through that, that was helpful.

Other women showing a different side of themselves, that was fine.

But the totality of seeing the perfection right after birth was not helpful because I realized that I was breastfeeding and then pumping to put into bottles because I really wanted John, my husband, to have a connection with Malcolm.

And I was having a really hard time making milk and I could see that.

And then the breastfeeding was so difficult.

He latched right away.

So how did you get

[laughs]

So I go there, and then she made me a deal.

She's like, "You know, I'll support you if you wanna go to LA only if you use your degree for one year." So I worked at this NBC affiliate in Tulsa, and I did the assignment desk.

And people who have done journalism or have been in a newsroom, the assignment desk is where you get all the calls.

You get people calling in, like, with complaints or nice things to say, just everything.

But there's also all of these police scanners, which is, like, the most important thing for you to do.

There's police and fire department, paramedics, and you're supposed to listen to all of them at once-

[laughs]

What happened?

So I had, um, been doing everything I was supposed to do, the mammograms, the ultrasounds.

I have dense breasts.

Um, and also I think it's important for people to understand what dense breasts means, because we hear these terms a lot, and, um, don't really connect with it.

So dense breasts is when you like, it's like when you look at the sky and you see clouds and you see blue sky.

Well, when you do a mammogram and you have dense breasts, your tissue and your tumors all look like clouds.

But when you have dense breasts, you get an MRI or an ultrasound, it, it's a blue sky and then there's like one cloud, and that's your tumor.

Because-

It's astonishing.

Here's how I describe Asian markets to people who haven't been.

I'm like, "You take a regular supermarket, and then tweak every single detail." [laughs]

What's it been like to have John by your side through all of this?

There's no better person in the world to me than my husband.

He wanted to come to every single doctor's appointment.

He had his little notebook.

You know, he's got his notebook that he writes all of his ideas for jokes and anything that comes to him through the day, and, you know, you turn halfway through it and there's all these notes about, you know, cancer and hormone therapy, and, you know, everything that you could imagine that I need to know.

We'll talk about that in a

minute.

But looking back, there just weren't, like there are certain qualities that I was missing for them and that they were missing for me.

And what I looked back on, I think that because of how I grew up, My mom and dad divorced when I was six months old.

And then she married a man when I was two years old until I was 16 years old who wasn't a good guy.

And so I learned a lot about my relationship choices not until I was 37.

And I was thinking about, I'd read something about like a poverty state of mind.

How did it affect you, those words? And what was the urgency? How did your life change?

You don't-

Look, uh, this is really the only way I know how to tell you how I feel and, um, I'm gonna try not to cry, although no promises.

Okay.

And, uh, one and a two, here we go.

Nobody can fill your chair.

That's not necessary.

But sadly, Jon, I missed out on saying goodbye to Stephen.

There was a scheduling conflict.

Yeah.

I just...

And then when I heard the iconic music to the opening of The Daily Show, I just, it was a very surreal moment.

And because of that, and because I was on that show, along with the NBC show that I was on, but I think mostly because of The Daily Show, Aaron Sorkin watched me, saw me, and brought me in to audition for The Newsroom, which was the even bigger step.

So, like, the first, the first thing that gave me, like, any kind of money in Hollywood was Attack of the Show.

The first big break in Hollywood was The Daily Show, and then The Newsroom kind of solidified my, I guess, my ability to be an actor.

Mm-hmm.

We went out to...

Now, when you're talking about trust,

I've had to deal with that a lot.

A lot.

And, um...

And the thing that came to me, so when I only started dating my husband when I was six months pregnant, the best time to start dating someone.

And a lot of trust had to come forward.

And again, I was like you, there's just, it's so hard to trust people.

And then for you, hopefully, like...

someone's phone, you mean?

Hacking into their Bitcoin.

You're obsessed with it.

I know.

How do you not want, I'm like.

Why Bitcoin though? Why don't you just

hack into their actual bank account so you can steal real money? No,

because there's a different, there's a trace of it.

Your last story of a quartet of crazy days comes from Peter Grosz.

Grosz.22-year-old Lila Robin was excited on Monday this week when she got her first job out of college at a marketing firm called B-Squared.

On Tuesday, Lila's second day, she walked into work and found people changing the name on the front door to Harmon Marketing after that company had bought out B-Squared that very morning.

Lila was a little thrown, but determined to make the best out of her first work experience.

On Wednesday, her third day, however, Lila showed up to discover the Harmon Marketing building had been converted to a combination Pizza Hut/Taco Bell.

[laughs]

And so, [laughs] so I go there, and then she made me a deal.

She's like, "You know, I'll support you if you wanna go to LA only if you use your degree for one year." So I worked at this NBC affiliate in Tulsa, and I did the assignment desk.

But I don't feel like, do you feel that way? People come up to you on playgrounds and...

Well, I've gotten this a few times that, you know, it's pretty cold.

You should have a coat.

Yeah.

I mean, just like what she was saying.

Yeah.

It's like I don't think that people understand like how hard it is to get a kid to wear a coat.

And that evening, John Mulaney had some plans for you that night.

And I remember like being embarrassed by it all the time, but like, what were yours? What were your shoes and what was your TV shows?

It's so interesting to think, to have that question be asked and, you know, immediately, like, you can't help but think about the, whatever comes in your mind is the first thing that comes into your mind.

And like, I think about myself like from five to seven years old.

And I remember the oriental carpet that we had.

And there's this big circle pattern in it.

And I was wearing like a Keds, but like the Payless jacket.

version of it.

Yeah.

And I remember like being embarrassed by it all the time, but like, what were yours? What were your shoes and what was your TV shows?

It's so interesting to think, to have that question be asked and, you know, immediately, like, you can't help but think about the, whatever comes in your mind is the first thing that comes into your mind.

And like, I think about myself like from five to seven years old.

And I remember the oriental carpet that we had.

And there's this big circle pattern in it.

And I was wearing like a Keds, but like the Payless jacket.

version of it.

Yeah.

Mm-hmm

... 'cause I was worried about tomorrow, two months, one month, a year.

I, and I was regretting things I did the day before, and the week before, and months, and years before, would still stay with me.

You know, looking at my two babies, and I- and, you know, it's difficult when you have two, you know, because my three-year-old has completely different needs than my four-month-old, and I'm, I, I'm being torn in two different directions.

When I was younger, I used to say to myself, "What would the 80-year-old me say to the 27-year-old me?"

Mm-hmm

... because, you know, it's...

You're wasting time.

I've got

my calendar.

I've got like doctor's appointments.

And so I've been really struggling because I'm actually like a pen to paper.

And I'm like, everything's overflowing and I'm deciding I want to start cooking, but then I get my groceries and I forget what to make.

And it's a whole thing.

So then a friend of mine, she created care.com care.com. It's amazing.

Using quinoa.

Well, you

know, I haven't always been the best version of myself.

And I think I, especially in my 20s, you know, there's a lot of things that I messed up and I kind of went along with, like, the... just the mode of the world at the time, you know, and, you know, whether it was like, you know, going over the top on some things or having a certain type of personality.

And I just, it took me, you know, I'm 45 now.

So it's, there's like this journey of getting to a place where I think the core of me is still there, but a lot more growing up and grace for when I was younger.

And I think that it's all, also, you know, becoming a mother and going through breast cancer and having to take care of my mother through breast cancer, all those things kind of go like, Oh, I want to just live my life the way I really am.

Yes.

It's changed you for better because you'll never let anybody take your voice

And I'm so happy you're here and you came in on time today

because you had a big night last night.

Yes.

My son turns four on Monday, and so we had a big birthday party for him last night, and It's a lot.

Oh, my gosh.

Yes, it is.

There's so many kids that come.

She shows up.

Yes,

and it was just everywhere.

And then, let me tell you this.

I don't know how it was for you if you breastfed at all, but it was so hard for me.

I didn't make any milk.

I could barely make one bottle a day.

It was so hard.

Let's

That your cancer experience is not the end of everything and upheaval.

That was an important part of me sharing my story.

I wanted to show, yes, there are scary moments too.

There are moments that make you break down crying, but there is so much hope around it.

And all of the charities and foundations and researchers have done so much work to get us to a place where we have a path to survival.

For you and I, we know that there are so many women today who are getting that same diagnosis, and they don't have a path to survival.

So I know how lucky I am.

Show the video.

Emotionally, how did you steel yourself for that battle?

exhales] The, the only thing that came up in m- my mind about being a public person was, um, was that I, I didn't want any kind of outside attention or any speculation that I may not make it.

I needed it to stay private because I had to stay positive and I had to fight.

I couldn't imagine going through a battle like this and having all this outside noise, and it wasn't until I was looking back on photos with my son, and just as you do, you know, you kinda go through your photos and videos, and I saw this one of him and I playing in the front yard.

And I thought, "Oh my gosh, like, I had, I had cancer then and I didn't know it at all."

Mm-hmm.

And, um, and although I shouldn't have to say this, because it shouldn't matter, but you, you know, the people who are making these laws, and creating these bills, and, um, deciding over where the funding goes, they have mothers, they have sisters, they have daughters, they have wives, they have girlfriends.

You know, don't you wanna save them too? Don't you wanna help them too? Um, and, and if they're talking money, if, if it's all about money, we can talk money too.

You were married to a rich dude.

Yeah, and my character's the only person who wasn't born into wealth.

The way that Jonathan Tropper explained it to me when I first spoke with him about it, he said, "These people are the ones who go to the right high school, go to the right Ivy League college because their parents went to that same Ivy League college, and because their dad knows this hedge fund guy, you get to have this really great job at this hedge fund." Everything is set up for success for them.

Then you get the big home, then you get the big vacation home, then you get this car and that car, and this watch.

And there's this fragility of appearance that people aren't acknowledging when they have everything and how quickly it can slip away, and my character and Jon's character is really examining how far someone will go when they lose it all in order to get it all back.

Like were they completely isolated? Were they not meeting your needs? Were they not communicative? Were you alone with this person? All of these many elements, but it goes back to the sense of justice, and I have my plot point, I have my court case, which is she fucked somebody, and if I have that, I don't have to even evaluate, "Why did she fuck somebody?" Did I play any role in that? Am I complacent in that at all?

Yeah, there are a lot more complications in any dynamic like that.

My mom told me a long time ago that she wishes that she had not let my father come back.

Mm-hmm.

The second one made me really angry.

I just had a short fuse.

And the third gave me such anxiety, like, by the first day of taking it I just had this, not a mental anxiety, but just a physical anxiety.

When you have a physical anxiety, your brain starts to try to figure out what's going on, 'cause it's, it's, it doesn't know that this physical part is just physical, and so then I started having an- anxious thoughts.

And so, I don't have an option to not take this medication, so, uh, I had to choose between three (laughs) three, three personalities, exhausted, angry, or, uh, anxious.

And so, I've gone back to choosing exhaustion.

Mm.