raised by culture: My Mom's Cancer Is Our Cancer

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of the American Cancer Society.

It has been three years since my mom's cervical cancer diagnosis.
And only two years since her clean bill of health.
Three extra Birthdays she's been here with us.

I don't think I'll ever get used to the idea of my mom having cancer. Once the scare is there, it will always be there. I still remember the day I got the call from her. My husband and I were both working and in school full-time so on the rare occasion that we got out early from school, we would have dates before we had to pick Duke up from daycare. That one particular day I was exhausted from being in class from 8am-3pm but we decided to do some shopping. I barely walked in the door of the store and my phone rang. It never rings and never from my mama at that time. She asked me if I was sitting down, I said that we were out. She immediately said she would call me back later. I remember raising my voice and telling her, "YOU TELL ME NOW". After that is when my memory gets a little fuzzy. I can't remember if she passed the phone to my sister or she told me that her Dr. found a mass and it looked cancerous. I honestly don't remember. I do remember that my husband said I looked like I was going to faint. We rushed out of the store to pick up Duke, got home and I threw myself onto our bed and cried my eyes out. She was 1500 miles away, what could I do besides cry.

When the diagnosis was confirmed and my mom's hysterectomy was scheduled, there was no question that we would have to make the trek to Texas. Flights were crazy expensive and my husband knew how much it meant to me... he offered to drive. We had to arrange with our professors and our employers to take extra days off, get the boys out of school, bought a AAA membership, got a tuneup for our truck... We moved mountains because I wanted to just hug my mom again.

This is my mama a year after her surgery and radiation. We were all in Alabama for my cousin's Wedding which ended up being a mini family reunion. She is in rare form and acting silly...she might call me over these photos but I love that she is so full of life - not ready to give up!

Cancer sucks and that's me putting it lightly. During the last 100 years, thanks to 15 determined physicians and business leaders who wanted to raise awareness of cancer, the American Cancer Society has led the way in saving lives and creating more birthdays.

On May 22, 2013, the American Cancer Society will be celebrating it's 100th Birthday. This is a huge milestone for the American Cancer Society - they have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the US since the early 1990s. They helped save nearly 1.2 million lives during that time. The American Cancer Society continues to fight for everyone to have access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air and more.