"I was 27 years old, recently finished my master's degree, we were buying a house and remodeling it," said Carrie Reynolds.

For Carrie Reynolds, it was the happiest time in a young couple's life.

"Yes, marriage, financially, all these things were coming together, having a baby and then, bam, quite a shock."

Shocking, because young, fit, and health conscious, Carrie was nearly four months pregnant when she started having pain in her chest. Doctors found a malignant mass. Carrie was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma, an elusive cancer of the lymphatic system.

"It was terrifying; I thought I was going to have to choose between keeping Will and pursuing treatment myself."

Several months later, by the time the famous ice storm of 2007 had come around. Carrie had been able to quit worrying about losing her baby.

"I had surgery, did chemo while pregnant, it was really just a leap of faith for us to say you know what you're talking about."

So, for awhile at least, Carrie and her husband could worry about more mundane things.

"For 15 days we were in the dark; the day the power came back on, she was scheduled to induce," said Phil Reynolds.

And by the time their lights were back on, the light of their lives had arrived.

"He was just fine; we just feel like he's our little angel, absolutely."

That was 15 months ago. While Will was fine, Carrie wasn't. She had taken a month off of chemo to have her son, but resumed her assault on the disease, and was even pronounced in remission for a few months last year.

"We were excited putting our life back together" Then the cancer was back. "Cancer is very cruel what it does to you even when it's not killing you; the way it impacts the rest of your life is vicious. I knew this time around I was going to have to do more aggressive treatment."

That meant going to St. Louis for a stronger experimental drug and a stem cell transplant, followed up by almost a month of radiation. They're difficult treatments but also a valuable arsenal of weapons Phil and Carrie didn't hesitate to use, weapons generated by on-going cancer research.

"The research is the lifeline; part of why we had success this go- round with Carrie is because of an experimental drug she tried."

Carrie's latest scans have been good.

"So we're hopeful that it's gone."

But they're also hopeful because, if the cancer comes back, there are more treatment options, options that would never have been possible without research, and the dollars raised through events like this Relay for Life

"I have benefited because somebody cared before I ever knew that this was going to be an issue for me and, whether it's going to be an issue for you or a loved one, cancer affects everybody, it does, there's just no escaping it."