It’s just something you should know.

I’m not on a political rant here, so don’t stop reading.

But there is a certain price tag that comes along with the “C” word.

When your doctor tells you, get to Houston. You get to Houston. There isn’t time to save or plan. You just know you have to do it.

So when my mom started talking about a fundraiser. The whole thing seemed crazy. Now to be honest, I did have a melt down with her on the phone, worried about money, flights, we were moving and oh yes we just found out we were pregnant. So I don’t blame her for trying to find a solution to fix her hormonal meltdown daughter on the other end of the phone.

Joe and I both turn 30 this year. We went to college, Joe started a business, we’ve moved across the country and we are chipping away at student loans and debt like every other young American. We work hard, pay our taxes and just want our little bitty piece of the pie. So getting slapped in the face with medical bills in the range of $16,000 a day,  not getting paid for days off work and getting hotel deals at the “discount” rate for patients of $120 a night… I’m not kidding! This is why I say poor people must just curl up and die somewhere because it costs money to see the best doctors and get the cutting edge care.

So I agreed to the fundraiser but it’s all a little embarrassing. Something about taking money from your friends and family feels weird.

When my mom first started talking about tents and tables, I got excited. I LOVED planning our wedding. It seriously was the most fun thing EVER and I miss doing it all the time. I obsessed over every detail….

The bouquet…

Making centerpieces…

I loved it all. But mom put me in my place quick and I’ve been pushed out of planning. Apparently, I have enough on my plate I’ve been told.

A fundraiser seems like something for a bald kid on the side of a donation can at the register of a gas station. Those kids look like they need help! Who are we to ask people to empty their pockets? It’s a strange concept.

The love that comes from doing something like this is amazing though. Friends and family are already coming out of nowhere to help my mom.

Just look at this vibrant flier my friend Lauren made.

My mom told me the other day when she shows up with this flier… she gets what she wants and she’s using it to make this quite the event.

Money and cancer is very real for Joe. It’s one of the big reasons he took the giant leap of faith to move to Florida and start a business. He watched cancer take everything from his parents and he was determined to one day take care of them.

Fighting cancer for 7 years the way EJ and Doreen did comes with a big bill.

It’s a very real fear as we approach 30 and prepare to grow a little family. So while it’s embarrassing and strange, I guess it’s the cards we’ve been dealt and when you look at it in the right light, it’s not such a bad hand.

We have so many people keeping us afloat, we know we won’t drown. We will keep our heads above water and just focus on getting better. And our event looks a lot better then some of those donation cans at the gas station. It’s cancer with the biggest classy “C” you’ve ever seen and even little martini glasses.

I’ll take mine virgin, extra blue cheese olives— shaken, not stirred.