Sponsored Video: The C word.

This is a sponsored video and post. All opinions are 100% my own. 

 The "C" word.

 Cancer.

 Just hearing the word can make me cringe and send chills down my spine. Why? Directly in my life, I have had friends, co-workers and family who have been directly effected by the c word. In of last year, I received a phone call from my dad telling me the news that my mom had thyroid cancer. She did not want to tell me because she knew I would worry. Um, yeah? I immediately became frantic and wanted to know as many details as possible. What kind it was, about how long had it been there, could it be removed, what stage was it and every other "C" word question that I could think of. It was terrifying to hear those words. An instant amount of gratitude and humbling appreciation for my mother came over me. All I could think about was how hard and long she has worked for years to care for our family along with my dad. They always made sure we had the best of things, putting the children before themselves always. What would I do without my mom? My mom is my best friend. I call her everyday, sometimes multiple times a day to cry, to laugh, to vent because I know she is the best and only person I want to share those conversations with. What would I do without my best friend and more importantly, my mother? Who would hold my hand when I delivered our first baby and who would pick up the phone to answer the world's most random questions about life, cooking, house problems and babies? 

Thankfully, although still a type of cancer, my mom was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, the cancer known as the "cancer you want to have." It is fully treatable and when caught in the early stages can be just a bump in the road for you instead of a road block. Mom continue to visit the doctor and had a surgery scheduled the ONLY week that I could NOT make it home to North Carolina. Of course, right? Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck that week! But I prayed about it...as much I could pray, until I couldn't pray anymore...and then I prayed some more! I prayed for mom and for her doctors and the nurses. I prayed for my dad and I prayed for everyone else that I knew was just as worried as me about my mom. The amazing doctors worked their magic. She had surgery to remove the cancer and they successfully did in fact remove 100% of it. They also had to check her lymph nodes to ensure that the cancer cells had not spread. They ensured also through a biopsy pre-surgery that the cells had not spread but eventually took out the lymph nodes while in surgery anyways to be 100% sure. Then, they set my mom up for radiation. After mom's first visit back to the doctor, a post biopsy revealed that she would not even need radiation! Talk about a blessing! 

 You see, I have had friends who have lost their mothers and lost their fathers to the "C" word. Some who have lost aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters, grandparents and friends to the "C" word. In somehow, shape or form, everyone has known someone who has been effected by this disease... I could never live without my mom. Through the process of her diagnosis, treatment and recovery, my appreciation and love grew immensely and more than I ever thought it could for my mom. I would go to the end of the Earth to do anything to help my mom and now hope to become an avid donator and supporter for all types of cancer and the people it directly effects. 

 For 100 years, the American Cancer Society has led the fight against cancer finding cures, giving support, and saving lives. 60 years ago, 1 out of 3 people diagnosed with cancer survived at least 5 years. Today, thanks in part to the work of the American Cancer Society, 2 out of 3 will survive. We won't stop until we make it 3 out of 3. The American Cancer Society has a proven track record of supporting the best ideas of the brightest cancer researchers. We've been part of nearly every major cancer breakthrough in recent history, and have 46 Nobel Laureates to show for it. There's still more work to be done - 100's of research studies went unfunded while 577,000 Americans died of cancer this year. Cancer thrives on silence, complacency, and business as usual. Only action will finish the fight. Let's make some noise and let your voices be heard!

 "This post is sponsored by the American Cancer Society"

  Help to continue the fight and DONATE HERE to the American Cancer Society!