Taylor Swift reveals that her mom has cancer through a Tumblr post

"Usually when things happen to me, I process them and then write music about how I feel, and you hear it much later. This is something my family and I thought you should know about now," Taylor Swift wrote on her Tumblr account.

And then she revealed that her mom was diagnosed with cancer.

Swift didn't offer details about the diagnosis. She wasn't looking for sympathy (although she got plenty of that via an outpouring of over 100,000 replies to the post).

She was telling her fans about it because her mom didn't have any symptoms. Swift had asked her mom to go get some health screenings as a Christmas present.

Swift explains her mom wanted to share the news this way to encourage Swift's fans to talk their own parents about health screenings.

She wanted you to know because your parents may be too busy juggling everything they've got going on to go to the doctor, and maybe you reminding them to go get checked for cancer could possibly lead to an early diagnosis and an easier battle. Or peace of mind in knowing that they're healthy and there's nothing to worry about. She wanted you to know why she may not be at as many shows this tour. She's got an important battle to fight.

The American Cancer Society recommends yearly mammograms starting at age 40, cervical cancer screenings annually starting at at 21, and colon cancer screenings for everyone at age 50.