When CapRadio’s talk show host Vicki Gonzalez was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago, she decided she wasn’t going to stay quiet about it. She opted to use her platform to share the intimate experience of going through cancer treatment with her listeners.
“I often ask people to be open and vulnerable so that, collectively, we can learn and grow,” the local journalist wrote in an Instagram post. “So when I was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, I couldn’t keep it to myself.”
Since the diagnosis, Gonzalez has dedicated numerous segments on her midday talk show Insight to the topic of cancer, treatment and the importance of getting screened early, like she did– two days after her 40th birthday.
“What I’ve learned in this relatively short, seminal time of my life is to expect uncertainty,” she wrote in a personal message to listeners. “And that a breast cancer diagnosis is just the beginning.”
Her work as a journalist and her decision to share her personal journey recently earned her a “Woman of Distinction” award from Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty.
“Through her work on Insight, Vicki Gonzalez connects Sacramentans, creating a more engaged and informed public,” McCarty said in a message to CapRadio. “It was an honor to highlight her as a 2025 Distinguished Woman of the Year.”
Other honorees included Dr. Flojaune Cofer, public health advocate and recent mayoral candidate, and Margarita Chavez, a resident who dedicates her time to dealing with other people’s trash.
Gonzalez began hosting CapRadio’s Insight in early 2021 after being a reporter for KCRA for five years. During her time on Insight, she has brought listeners the latest news on the pandemic, told stories about notable Sacramentans and covered the internal turmoil at CapRadio. Insight focuses heavily on local voices, issues and places that make up the Sacramento region.
Friend and fellow journalist Becca Habegger got to know Gonzalez through the local TV journalist community.
“Not only is she an incredible journalist who has served Sacramento, but she has also shared her journey to raise awareness for her community and help save lives,” said Habegger, senior reporter for ABC10.
Habegger said when she saw the city was looking for nominations for the award, “I just immediately thought of Vicki.”
Gonzalez also provided listeners with updates as she went through treatment to share what it was like.
“She could have very well kept that private but she chose to share that with others and that’s very admirable,” Habegger said.
The work continues
Gonzalez recently shared with listeners that she and her husband had been trying to have a child prior to her cancer diagnosis and when she got this news, she worried her window for starting a family was closing.
After going through cancer treatment, she discovered a little-known state law that requires most health insurers to cover fertility preservation before medical treatments, like chemotherapy, that may cause infertility.
“Finding out about this law, after the fact, has been devastating,” she wrote in a recent article for CapRadio.
Insight’s show on Thursday, April 3, is dedicated to the topic. It will air at noon, with a rebroadcast at 7 p.m.
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