MONROE TWP. -- Danielle Janofsky loved being a mother and bringing a new life into the world was one of the last things she did before she died.

"You know how people have hobbies? Hers was being a wife and a mother," said her husband Max Janofsky, a police officer in Monroe Township, Gloucester County. "It's what she loved to do," he said, remembering his wife's plans to take maternity leave this summer and just relax on the beach.

"She could walk into a room and not know anyone and leave with a room full of new friends," said Max, who is a retired U.S. Army staff sergeant who served several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The couple, who had been married for 5 years, had a 4-year-old daughter, Avery, and found out in September that they were expecting another baby.

Six months along in the pregnancy, on Feb. 8, Danielle -- who grew up in East Windsor in Mercer County before moving to Williamstown -- went to the doctor with pain in her stomach and abdomen.

They quickly found out that melanoma -- which she had been diagnosed with two years prior -- had spread to Danielle's liver, kidney, stomach, and her brain.

Roughly two years before, Danielle had a mole removed after it was determined to be melanoma. Doctors gave a great prognosis and Danielle faithfully got routine check ups to keep an eye on it, her husband said.

According to Max, however, this time Danielle didn't go home from the visit.

Knowing that her diagnosis of metastasized melanoma was a devastating one, Danielle made the decision to deliver her baby, a one pound 11 ounce baby boy named Jake, on Feb. 24 via C-section.

Danielle died three days later. She was 30 years old.

Jake is being cared for at the University of Pennsylvania's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Max said Jake is currently on a ventilator with lungs that aren't developing.

Friends and family of the Janofskys created a GoFundMe page to help ease the financial burden that the family now faces. As of Thursday afternoon, about $58,000 has been raised since it was created about two weeks ago.

On February 27, 2017, K9 Officer Max Janofsky lost his amazing wife, Danielle, after her courageous battle with cancer,... Posted by Deptford Township Police Department on Monday, March 13, 2017

"She was so young, so we didn't think we needed to have a major life insurance plan for her," Max said, noting that the money they had went toward medical bills. However, in addition to more medical bills, Danielle still had students loans to pay off, as well as the future education of the children to consider.

"Danielle didn't have to work," he said. "She wanted to work and the money she got was put away for the kids' education." According to her obituary, Danielle was the legal administrator for The Law Offices of William Staehle in Marlton.

Money being raised through the GoFundMe -- which has been shared on Facebook by numerous police departments in South Jersey -- will be used to create trust funds for Avery and Jake. That money will be used to provide medical care for Jake and additional funds will be used for education purposes for the children.

"If there's one thing I want people to really take away from this it's that melanoma isn't a little thing, it's serious," Max said. "Sometimes you have two years, sometimes you have two months, other times you have days. Take it seriously and get checked."

Caitlyn Stulpin may be reached at cstulpin@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @caitstulpin. Find NJ.com on Facebook.