Let's start back in April of 2007

Life was going great back in April of 2007. We were in the process of building a new home, and just getting used to our new life in Colorado. Our plans were to spend the summer swimming and vacationing, and then in the fall both of my kids would be in school all day and I would go back to work part time, or start taking some classes at the college.
But then we received some news that would change our plans slightly. I found out I was pregnant. After the initial shock wore off, we were all very excited. I have a 9 year old daughter and a 6 year old son, so there would be a bit of an age gap. But I was excited about that as well because this time around I'm going to have some built-in help :)
About 6 weeks into my pregnancy I started getting very sick. Typical morning sickness stuff I guess. I was nauseous 24/7, and so exhausted all the time. I was counting down to week 12 hoping it would pass after the first trimester. Around the 8th week of my pregnancy I was rubbing the side/back of my neck when I noticed a slight lump.
So that's where it all started. I'm going to cut out some of the details (to save my fingers from typing) but here's what happened. I was referred by my OB/Gyn to a family practice doctor. She took blood tests and decided I needed to see an ear/nose/throat specialist. I saw one here in Grand Junction, but after his insistence it was"probably" nothing, I decided to pursue a 2nd opinion in Salt Lake City at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. (Always follow your inner voice if it tells you something is not right!)
I saw a wonderful ENT doctor at Huntsman. He scheduled a CAT scan (They had to shield my stomach for the baby, so it was just the neck and up) and needle biopsy to be done right away. I was supposed to go back and get my results 3 days later, but I called after 2 days because I thought they could just give me the results over the phone and then we could head back to Colorado and be done with it all. I really thought it was nothing.
When I called the nurse she said the doctor wanted to schedule some more invasive procedures. And when I asked why she said that on the CAT scan all of my lymph nodes were enlarged and the biopsy cells were irregular. I hung up the phone and in that moment everything in my world just went black. All the sudden I could see my own funeral. I could feel a deep sadness. I really lost it emotionally because this is one of the moments you think "that would never happen to me. It's not in your plan, you are totally not prepared for this and it can't be happening. Oh yea, and you're pregnant. " That was my internal thoughts over and over.
But honestly, after I gave myself a little time to adjust, I just let my inner fighter kick in. And I strongly relied on the support and love from my family & friends. Larry has been my rock. I feed off of his strength at all times and it really gets me through.
So the next procedure was an in-patient lymph node biopsy, and then I was to follow up with an Oncologist at Huntsman the following week.
So a week later me and my "entourage" (husband, parents & brother) went to see Dr. Martha Glenn. She is a lymphoma specialist at Huntsman. My appointment that day was scheduled to be a couple of hours, but ended up being all day long. By this point in time it's around July 30th and I am about 5 months pregnant. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's B-cell follicular lymphoma. Indolent, grade1, non-curable. They did a bone marrow biopsy and a chest x-ray that day. I did have slight traces of cancer in my bone marrow, but my chest x-ray showed my lungs were clear of any tumors. Because of the cancer in my bone marrow it automatically put me at stage 4 of the disease. Dr. Glenn told me it was a little unusual for me to get this type of cancer so young (age 34). She said the median age was around age 60. The treatment for this type of cancer is chemotherapy, but because the cancer was indolent (very slow growing) and was not affecting my overall health at this point, her suggestion was to "wait and watch". I was thankful for the extra time so I could finish my pregnancy before injecting poison into my system to fight the cancer.
So that's where we've been since the end of July. Watching and waiting. I am being induced a month early to have my baby. It's a little girl, and we decided to appropriately name her Hope. I am going to deliver at the University of Utah. My doctor there (Dr. Esplin) is a high-risk OB and feels that due to some other"pregnancy" related complications it would be best to deliver as soon as safely possible.
On November 19th we have an appointment for an amniocentesis and ultrasound. Dr. Esplin will check for lung development at that time. He said if it shows her lungs are developed there's a 99% chance she will go home with us from the hospital. If the lungs are not developed, I will start some steroid shots, and we will deliver a week later.
As soon as the baby is born, I will then have a full body CAT scan to see exactly where the cancer is in my body. I am going to see a doctor at Stanford University on December 14th. Stanford has an excellent lymphoma clinic with lots of trials and lots of cutting edge technology. As I near the end of my pregnancy, I feel "fighter mode" coming back on, and I want to find out what my best possible options are to fight this cancer. It may very well still be to watch and wait, but I really wanted another cancer center to read my pathology and confirm the diagnosis. And I also wanted to talk to a doctor involved in research to see if I am getting all of my possible options so me and my family can make a sound decision on how to proceed.
As weird as it sounds, since my diagnosis, one thing I have felt more than anything else is thankful. Of course I've had my break down moments of tears and tears and more tears. But they are few and far between because of the support system I have. I am not going through this alone. There is an Army of people standing next to me at the front lines of this battle just as ready to fight.
Either I, my husband or my mom will continue to update as we go along. I wanted to start something so I could keep track of my journey, but also for all that have asked how things are, or want to stay updated. I thank all of you for your thoughts and prayers.