Editor’s Note: In 2016, professional photographer Jennifer Giliberto produced the video above, a powerful photo documentary titled “This Is.” She chronicled the lives of newlyweds Josh and Jenna Buehler, after Josh discovered he had terminal brain cancer. Images in the video are from the documentary.

Today, Jennifer opens up about her own battle with brain cancer. After 10 years, she’s relapsed – but fighting it with bravery, laughter and an incredible attitude that’s inspiring people around the world. Here's her story:

On Sept. 2, Jennifer Keenan Giliberto, 43, threw a massive party at her house.

"Bring a side dish, a sense of humor and some alcohol," she wrote on social media. "Life, my friends, needs to be celebrated."

Surround by close to 80 of her friends and family members, the mother of three drank cocktails, ate food, played games and made incredible memories.

There was lots of laughter.

But there were also some tears.

This wasn’t just a Sunday night get together for Jennifer and her family.

It was a send-off, of sorts.

Three days later, Jennifer said “see you later” to her loved ones – including her husband, Paul, and three children – and traveled from her Atlanta home to New York City.

On Friday, Sept. 14, she is having major surgery - a craniotomy - to remove a tumor.

Ten years ago, Jennifer was diagnosed with brain cancer.

She always knew that the odds of its recurrence were high – and after “sitting on the bench, like a second or third string quarterback knowing my time would eventually come,” she explains, she's getting back on the field to face the enemy.

And she’s ready to tackle it like a pro.

First quarter

Jennifer’s life has always been pretty hectic, but not with the level of intensity that she faces today.

Originally from Connecticut, she met her now-husband in high school, and the couple eventually settled in Atlanta after living in North Carolina for several years.

In 2003, the couple welcomed their first child, Tucker.

Life was great – but two years later, Jennifer started noticing some unusual changes.

“The whole story of my diagnosis is kind of convoluted,” she says. “In fall 2005, I felt like I was dropping things … I had a three month old and a toddler, so exhaustion wasn't far from an explanation. Then that then, that winter, I dropped a glass in the kitchen and realized that this had been going on for a while. I only called a doctor because my friend’s mother was diagnosed with ALS, and one of her initial symptoms was weakness in her hands. I didn’t think I had ALS, but something wasn't right.”

An MRI revealed a neoplasm of unspecified origin, which, to Jennifer’s knowledge, was nothing more than unusual, but unharmful, tissue.

“I continued having scans, and they were stable,” she explains, “but I didn’t understand that benign tumors were potentially devastating … looking back, I wish I knew what I know now. I didn’t know the questions to ask, and I gauged my reactions based on the doctors’ reactions, which didn’t seem too alarming. But in 2007, an MRI revealed a change and I was referred to a neurosurgeon.”

That’s when Jennifer realized that her condition was serious – she had a brain tumor.

Second quarter

Jennifer’s care was transferred to Dr. Constantinos G. Hadjipanayis, then based out of Emory in Atlanta. On Aug. 18, 2018, he performed a craniotomy to remove the visible bulk of the mass.

Jennifer was diagnosed with a brain cancer called grade 2 astrocytoma.

Because these tumors were known to recur, she had regular MRIs to make sure things were stable.

Jennifer, who gave birth to her second and third children in 2005 and 2011, tried to live life as normally as possible; however, a recurrence was and relapse were always something for which she mentally prepared herself.

“The first couple years were stressful because you think, ‘it’s coming, it’s coming,’ and it didn’t,” she explains. “You move on, it’s with you, and it alters your life. But you have to choose to live and operate within a different context of normal. We wanted to have a third child, and we did. We have done things differently than we would have if this didn’t happen, but we always knew that relapsing was a strong possibility. We have known that these tumors typically come back within 10 years. And it did. Ten years, 10 days later … it was back.”

Third quarter

On Aug. 28, Jennifer returned to Emory for an MRI. Her surgeon, Dr. Hadjipanayis, now serves as the Site Chair of Neurosurgery at Mt. Sinai and the Director of Neurosurgical Oncology for the Mt. Sinai Health System in New York City, so she sends her scans to him immediately for review.

For some reason, she had a feeling that something would be different this time.

“Before I sent it out,” Jennifer says, “I popped it into my computer and was looking at it, and I could immediately see that something had changed. The next night, (my doctor) called me and confirmed what I already knew - the tumor had grown.”

Later that evening, she and her husband sat down with their children to break the news.

“Paul broke the tension by saying that we were having another baby,” Jennifer laughs. “He’s always inserted lots of humor at the appropriate time.Joking aside, we simply told them that the tumor (which she’s nicknamed 'POS') is back. We’ve always been transparent with the kids … no sugar-coating.”

Since then, it’s been a matter of logistics.

Jennifer flew to New York City, where she will undergo surgery and recover. Her husband will meet her there on Thursday, and their children will remain in Atlanta.

“It’s been extremely difficult for all of us,” she says. “Saying good bye was immensely difficult for all of us.”

And that’s exactly why Jennifer and her husband Paul decided to throw a kick-ass party.

“I wanted to see a lot of people, and I wanted to give us an opportunity to be with everyone who loves us ... to celebrate life,” she explains. “In marriage and in friendship, there is good, bad and ugly. And you can’t ignore the ugly. You can only get through it together. I can’t control this … I have to face it, and I wanted to do it with all of our loved ones. My family is going to need everyone, so I figured, what better way than to have a party and kick it off?”

Fourth quarter

The plan after surgery is six weeks of radiation, most likely followed by oral chemotherapy. For the next few days, Jennifer is spending her time between appointments soaking up the sights of New York City, while gearing up for the “game.”

“It’s surreal,” she says. “I felt like, for 10 years, I’ve been that third-string quarterback. I practice every day, I know the playbook inside and out, and I have gone to every game but never played. I just practice with the understanding that, at some point, I’ll have to go in. I have played this game over and over in my head for 10 years. I think logistics every time before my scans. It was surreal today to sit in the clinic and talk about surgery and MRIs and pre-op, hospitals, recovery and medications … but I can’t stop the freight train. I can only respect its magnitude and its power, in terms of how insidious brain cancer is. Our goal is to just try to match it play for play with wit and perseverance and humor and a positive attitude.”

Jennifer raves about her surgeon, with whom she’s developed a wonderful relationship over the years.

“It’s an intimate relationship in the sense that someone has his hands in your brain,” she says. “Not everyone has a surgeon with such great bedside manner, extraordinary talent and compassion. He knows how I want to approach this – it’s a team, and as a patient, I am a part of his team.”

Dr. Hadjipanayis feels equally as grateful to be working with Jennifer – and considers her an incredible patient advocate, colleague and friend.

“She has just been one of the greatest patient advocates I have ever worked with,” he says. “She has gone so far to bring awareness, and on top of it, she’s a busy mom of three, very active, her husband is a great guy … Jennifer even went so far as to come to the FDA with her son, to testify on the need for new brain cancer treatment. I can’t say enough positive things about her.”

Both Jennifer and Dr. Hadjipanayis are passionate about bringing more attention to brain cancer, which he calls “the dwarf in numbers.”

CANCER: 'I was the captain of his ship ... until we lost control'

“We should be spending so much more money on brain cancer research in general,” he says. “Our numbers are 20-25,000 (cases per year) as opposed to (other cancers with) 100,000 … I would argue that these kinds of cancers are some of the worst kinds of cancers … and we just haven’t made a huge dent in survival.”

Jennifer, who’s served on the Board of the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation, will never stop fighting for this cause. But right now, she’s focused on the game directly in front of her.

“I have cried, and had pity parties, but I am aware that the world keeps spinning,” she says. “You either get on the spinning planet and live or you don't; not getting back on has never been an option. As a mom, I feel an enormous responsibility to show my kids that you can face tremendous adversity with your head up … with grace, humor, reality and perspective. People do it every day. I do what I do because I have no options – you don’t have a choice. Nobody is asking you … you just can’t give up.”

To follow Jennifer's journey, visit her blog: www.greymatterlife.com.