Pregnant with Cancer? You aren't alone. . .

Two years ago, I wrote that my sister-in-law was going in for a double mastectomy for breast cancer.

Later that year, I showed you the beautiful photo of her baby girl.

But, that wasn't the whole story. There was a big story in between "mastectomy" and "baby".

After her mastectomy,

after she canceled her June wedding,

after she canceled her Italian honeymoon,

after she realized that she'd probably never birth a child once chemo had finished ravaging her body and, probably, her supply of eggs,

and right before she went in for a second surgery to remove lymph nodes to check them for cancer,

the doctor shut the door to the exam room and told my sister-in-law that she was pregnant.

Newly pregnant, but needing chemotherapy which could not be done in the first trimester.

Her choice in those early days was a) delay chemo to protect the baby, but likely give own body over to cancer; b) abort and start chemo right away, as her first oncologist recommended, but most likely never get another chance to have a child.

Her dream of having a child of her own collided head-on with the nightmare of having cancer.

She is now telling her story so others who have to walk the same scary path won't have to do it completely alone. Please stop by and say hello to my brave sister-in-law, and friend, at her blog, ChemoMama.