Diane Ricard had her cancerous thyroid removed in 2011, but the cancer returned in her spine. A Yale New Haven surgeon replaced a vertebra with a rigid "cage" by entering her neck through the throat.
“We don’t have a seat at the table,” said John Pica-Sneeden, executive director of the Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Chamber. “We do not have the opportunity to put in a bid for state contracts, to even be considered.”