My main focus in 2006 was finishing school and figuring out my next steps. I was 21, hanging out with friends, trying to get to class on time, and doing what most people my age did: planning for a future that felt wide open.

Cancer was the furthest thing from my mind.

Then I found out I was pregnant. I was shocked, nervous and unsure of what people would think, but I was determined to keep living my life. That was my first pregnancy, so I didn’t know much about what to expect, but I remember being so tired that some days just getting dressed felt like a full workout.

At my four-month ultrasound – the day I was supposed to find out the sex of my baby – the tech was unnervingly quiet and took longer than usual. She finally told me it looked like I had a fibroid tumour and sent me for a second opinion that same day.

I also learned I was having a boy. I was excited, but suddenly there was an unexpected layer of worry over the joy. I was told fibroid tumours were common in young women my age, and since my mum and aunts had a history with them, I tried to reassure myself that it was nothing unusual.

When my son was born healthy and perfect in January 2007, the tumour was still there. My doctors continued to monitor the Ping-Pong-ball-sized growth, and prescribed birth control to shrink it. I received multiple ultrasounds over the next several months, and I was alarmed to learn that despite the medication, it continued to grow. Four months later, I was told I should have it surgically removed and biopsied.

I will never forget the day I had that surgery. I woke up in the recovery room to the sound of machines beeping and the sight of my family gathered nearby. The doctor stood at the foot of my bed and said, “Your surgery went well, but you have cancer – peritoneal mesothelioma to be exact.”

The prognosis was so poor that the hospital called in grief counsellors to speak with my family and help prepare them for what lay ahead. At that moment, I felt like I was the eye of a tornado – everything was spinning around me, but I was frozen in the centre trying to make sense of words that didn’t seem real.

Everything after that felt static. Cancer? What is mesothelioma? I had just given birth. I was only 21. All I could think about was my baby boy.

My family and I didn’t waste any time searching for answers online. Everything we found was bad news. Peritoneal mesothelioma is a rare, aggressive cancer caused by asbestos exposure. Most patients are men over 65 with a history of blue-collar or military work. I didn’t fit the description of the typical patient, and less than 5% of cases are in young people. The........

© HuffPost