Joanna Montgomery's video story: It's Cancer, Baby

Recently, I've been following the journey of Joanna Montgomery, a new mother recently diagnosed with stage 3 fallopian tube cancer. Produced by Cafemom.com, the short videos detail her life as she and her husband care for daughter, Grace, while she undergoes treatment for cancer. After a high-risk pregnancy, Joanna gave birth to a healthy baby girl. It was during the c-section that her doctor noticed something odd on her fallopian tube, a mass the size of a softball. "I don't think it's cancer," the doctor told her, it may be twisted. "Cancer? Why would you even say that?" thought Joanna. The day after they brought Magnolia Grace home she learned it was malignant. "Here we were holding this six-day old baby, who is so perfect, and it just seemed so surreal," she says in the video. "We had been so happy and excited and it just seemed like a punch in the gut."Shortly afterward, Joanna had aggressive surgery and chemotherapy. "If you had asked me five years ago what I would do if I had cancer, I might have said that I'd first try to address it holistically," she says. "However, with a new husband and a new baby, I wasn't going to take any chances." Joanna underwent a full hysterectomy and began treatment, while also making holistic lifestyle changes. Her oncologist leveled with her and said her chances were 50/50. "On paper it might be 50/50, but I think it doesn't take into account all that I have to live for," she says. Shortly after her diagnosis, Joanna started a blog called itscancerbaby.com to allow friends and family to follow the family's experience with cancer and bringing home Grace. "Once I started blogging, I started experiencing two things: One, an instant community of people - others fighting cancer and otherwise touched by cancer - who knew exactly what I was going through," she says. "Second, I realized that I was helping others by sharing my experience in real-time. And this realization came with it a sense of responsibility - to be mindful and positive, as others were listening. "CaféMom has produced the series of videos. I've included Episode 1 below. They run about five minutes. Take a few minutes to watch them and let us know what you think. Joanna is incredibly honest in the videos and is open to taking questions from other patients, survivors and caregivers.