In 2012, right smack dab in the middle of my first pregnancy, I learned that I had an extremely rare tumor called a paraganglioma, only 5% of which are cancerous. I was able to wait until after a safe delivery of my little Lucy girl, and then began a series of scans and consultations to best deal with the excision of the tumor which had started growing into my carotid artery and lymph nodes. It was cancer. The next year was absolutely life changing, and you can read about some of my thoughts about the tumor, surgery, and emotions of dealing with cancer in these posts:

• The one where I told you about the tumor and my month-long illness.
• The one where I told you my scary thoughts about facing a very serious surgery.
• The one where I tell you about my unexpectedly difficult surgery and fears of cancer.
• The one where I told you I have cancer.
• The one where I talk about how my thoughts and life were affected by news of cancer.
• The one where I talk about life after cancer treatment.
• The one where I look back on my cancer experience, one year later.
• The one where I help you learn how to be a support for someone with cancer.