Contributor

Joanna_Montgomery

Wife. Mother. Writer. Cancer thriver.

On December 1, 2011, little Magnolia Montgomery arrived a month early. She was tiny, yet perfectly healthy — another blessing for happy newlyweds Joanna and Mark. They gave her a middle name: Grace.

Yet Maggie’s arrival also brought a devastating discovery. A mass on Joanna’s Fallopian tube found during the C-section turned out to be an aggressive cancer which had spread. Stage 3C, possibly fatal. The doctors gave her a 50/50 shot at survival.

It was in this emotional maelstrom that Joanna began to chronicle her experiences of treatment, motherhood and marriage in an honest, unflinching blog called “It’s Cancer, Baby." Her personal writings continue to inspire, comfort, and bring hope to countless others touched by the disease.

Today, Joanna is participating in a clinical trial at NYU Cancer Center for treatment of recurrent cancer while continuing to live her life to the fullest along with her husband Mark, their precocious pre-schooler Maggie, and their brood of animals, all on a ridgetop outside of Nashville, Tennessee.

Visit Joanna's website here: hellojomo.com.