When executives go under the knife

CEO, Yahoo

Just days after Bartz began life in the top spot at Autodesk in 1992, she learned she had breast cancer. She underwent a mastectomy in June, and despite her doctor's recommendation to take six to eight weeks to recover, Bartz was back on the job after a month. "I didn't want people saying, 'There -- women finally get to be CEOs and look what happens,'" she told the New York Times. And just this week, Bartz started a two-week leave for knee surgery.

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