Aimee Williford was only 42 when she got the call.
"I found out that I had Invasive Lobular Carcinoma," Williford said.
The diagnosis did not catch her off-guard.
She has a family history.
"My grandma has cancer," Williford said. "Currently, she has her second recurrence with cancer. I kind of felt like it could be, it's always in the back of your mind."
While Williford was not surprised, she said the diagnosis did change her life.
"My mindset has shifted and changed to why not prevention?" Williford said. "Stay healthy, exercise, live your life less stressed, and get enough sleep. That's what I preach to the girls right now, prevent it. You don't want to have to take care of it when you get that diagnosis."
It has been a few years since the chemo and surgery. And while the cancer diagnosis is still fresh in Williford's mind, she said it does not rule her life.
She has learned that it was just a part of her life. A single chapter of her story.
Williford said, as she goes through another October and another Breast Cancer Awareness month, she hopes that people remember that cancer is not just a 31 day disease.
It is a lifelong battle.
