Cancer survivors begin the first lap of the 2018 Relay for Life of Cullman County.

‘Attitude, I believe, is everything in this battle.”

That was breast cancer survivor Kimberly Johnson’s message to a gathered crowd of cancer survivors and their supporters during the opening ceremony of Friday night’s Relay for Life of Cullman County.

“I made a choice that I was going to keep my head up, that I was going to stay positive and I wasn’t going to let this rob me of the joy that I have for life.”

Scores of cancer survivors were joined by their family, friends and caregivers to walk in the Relay and raise money for treatments and a possible cure for cancer at the Cullman County Fairgrounds.

Every person in attendance had a story about their own cancer battle or a battle by a friend or loved one, and Johnson shared her story as the keynote speaker for the opening ceremony.

Johnson said her cancer diagnosis came on Nov. 23, 2016 — the day before Thanksgiving.

“It took me the entire day to try to get that processed, knowing that the next day was Thanksgiving and I was having my entire family over to the house, and I was going to have to tell my babies and the man that I love that I have cancer,” she said.

Johnson said the holiday gave her a new perspective on her diagnosis.

“I woke up on Thanksgiving and something just shifted in me,” she said. “That Thanksgiving, I was so much more aware of the things that I have to be thankful for.”

Johnson credited the outpouring of love that she got from her family on that day and the support that she has received from her loved ones every day since her diagnosis for helping her get through her battle.

“They let me know ‘We’re here for you, we’re all going to get you through this,’” she said. 

During her months of chemo and radiation treatments, including a six-week stay at the Hope Lodge in Birmingham, Johnson’s husband kept track of her battle through a blog and video updates letting others get a glimpse of the realities of cancer.

“That was a huge blessing for us to be able to make a difference and make an impact,” she said. 

On Nov. 21, 2017, exactly one year from the day when she got her first biopsy, Johnson finished her last radiation treatment. She has remained cancer-free since then.

Johnson closed her speech with a written message to her loved ones and everyone who has supported her during her battle against cancer.

“I walk forward and with those who fight beside me. Cancer does not just affect me,” she said. “It does not affect the ones diagnosed. If I have cancer, everyone who loves me has cancer.

“Cancer took my hair. Cancer took my energy. Cancer took my health. Cancer took pieces of my body,” she said. “Cancer did not take the love of my family. Cancer did not take the love of my husband. Cancer did not take the support of my faithful and true friends. Cancer did not take my faith in God or my faith in his plan for my life. Cancer did not take my happy, and cancer did not take my life.”