Hi. I’m Ashley and cancer made me fat.

Except I didn’t have cancer. My husband did. But cancer truly is a family disease and I did go on this crazy journey with my husband, Jeff. So maybe cancer was the indirect cause of the getting fat thing, but “Inadvertently Cancer Made Me Fat” just didn’t strike me as a good blog title.

Jeff and I have had quite a whirlwind romance, and that’s putting it lightly. We first met on March 17, 2011 and six months to the day later, we were married. They say the first year is the hardest and in some respects that is true. But, I suppose whoever “they” is that proclaims this never had to deal with cancer in the first five years of marriage.

Fast forward to March 29 (two days before my birthday) 2012. Jeff had an appointment with our family physician because he found a lump in his testicle. From the minute the doctor examined him we knew something was wrong. He ordered an ultrasound for later that day. If I’m being honest, I knew before the ultrasound that it was cancer. I can’t speak for Jeff, but I know he knew it was serious and I have a feeling he knew too.

On April 8th, he had his testicle removed and life resumed as planned. In August of 2013 at a routine CT scan, we sat in the oncologist’s office waiting for the good news. But it didn’t come. Instead the oncologist came in with a film saying that he “wanted to show us something.” Jeff had a mass in his lung and a biopsy was needed.

The biopsy took place on our second wedding anniversary, September 17, 2013. On September 25 he began chemotherapy.

I can’t give all the details here because if I did it in an “About” page I would have nothing to blog about.

So, I’m Ashley. Wife of a cancer survivor, mother to an amazing (step)son. And while I have never been a small woman, I really did pack on weight during the cancer journey. My aim with this blog is to provide a firsthand account of cancer and the aftermath. If you are here because you have, or care for a loved on who has cancer, know that you aren’t alone. Everything your feeling is valid and “normal.” Know that you are loved and valued and that there are tons of people that you don’t even know who are pulling for you.

Cancer is an experience unlike anything else you will go through in your life. Here is a glimpse into the life of a family before, during and after cancer.