This summer felt like fate was conspiring against us with so many enormous life events happening so very close together. Pregnancy, cancer, surgery, brother’s serious accident (fine now), job search, birth, a baby, treatment, beginning a new job, and death of a beloved grandmother and our baby’s namesake. It was just too much and we never had a breather.

And now it feels like the universe is again conspiring against our friends and family, with the devil Cancer attacking on all sides. I’ve gotten news of at least 3 friends and family members being diagnosed in the last 4 months. It’s just not fair.

About midway through my pregnancy, I counted at least 20 friends who were also pregnant, due within three months of my due date. It felt like some kind of baby boom, or maybe an alien invasion (thus far, all babies born have been human, so it probably wasn’t that). And when the earthquake happened in Japan and there were fears of radiation, I was convinced we were going to bear the beginning of the X-Men generation (Peter would be thrilled!).

Although it felt like an abnormally high number of people I knew were expecting at the very same time as me, others said it was just my age in life. People around my age tend to have kids, so it was natural, they said.

Now, the same thing seems to be happening with cancer. And sorry, people, 29 is NOT the age when most people get cancer. And yet… I personally know at least 3 very close friends who all dealt with cancer before age 25, one of the new diagnoses I just found out about is under 30 as well, and it’s just shitty.

I’ve never been a conspiracy theorist, or bought into anything like that, but part of me feels like this is some sign of the apocalypse. Maybe all the 2012 people are right? Or at the very least, all of the chemicals, devices, electromagnetic energy, all of that, is finally catching up to us.

I know the reality is most likely that I’m simply noticing it more. It matters more to me. I take everything so much more to heart now than I did before. It’s also possible that people are also just telling me more often because of my experience. In addition to those three close friends and family members, I’ve also heard about several other friends-of-friends. It just seems like cancer is popping up everywhere. I hate it.