kryoptic

How do I let the girl that I'm attracted to know that I have romantic interests about her? A little background follows. I've known this girl for a few months now, we've hung out and done things together, had great chats and whatnot. While I can't say that I'm in love with her, I certainly would like the opportunity to explore this possibility, very much so. I would definitely like to get to know her better. Now I'm going to throw a wrench into the works. Her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer back in March and has been through chemotherapy and is currently undergoing radiation therapy. So I guess in addition to my original question, is this a good time for bringing this up with her? It doesn't have to be all serious right now and I will not make excessive demands on her time as her priorities lie elsewhere at the moment, but I would like to get this out into the open for consideration. Sometimes I think I'm using this as an excuse to not say anything, while at the same time I think that it would be better not to bring it up until perhaps a later time. But a later time may be too late. This is really quite a dilemma for me as I'm sure most people can appreciate. I've already been through this with my "real life" friends. I just would like some more opinions on this.

I would appreciate any sort of advice you all may have. Thanks.