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By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

The month of May in Chilton County is the month to celebrate residents like Ann Baker who looked cancer in the face and defeated the disease to keep living her life to the fullest. Baker faced stage four breast cancer last year and beat the disease with the help of God and her strong will.

Baker went to her regular checkup doctor’s appointment last June with no feelings that anything was wrong. The appointment and examinations went by fine, and her doctor did not express that anything was wrong. However, Baker got a phone call a week later to come back in and redo the mammogram.

After the second mammogram, the doctor confirmed a small lump in Baker’s breast.

“I could not believe it, and I did not feel any different,” Baker said. “I thought ‘God is going to take care of this.’ It was so unreal and I was in shock. But no matter what happens I will be okay, and God has blessed me.”

Baker was diagnosed with a very aggressive breast cancer that was in stage four. She underwent a lumpectomy to remove the lump and surrounding tissue and doctors believed they got it all. Further treatment was needed to put the disease into remission, and due to Baker being in her 80s, doctors did not want to give her chemotherapy with the risk of it diminishing her body. Instead, Baker underwent 25 radiation treatments for the next month.

Now, Baker goes every three months for the next two years for testing to check on the cancer. Each checkup so far has shown no signs of cancer with good reports for Baker.

“I just praise God every day for those good reports,” Baker said.

Baker leaned on God and her strong will during her fight to beat cancer. She extended a special thank you to friends and her church family for being helpful and thoughtful during the times she needed it the most.

Baker attended the Strike Out Cancer Survivor Breakfast at First Methodist Church in Clanton on May 3 as a cancer survivor for the first time. She was asked to stand during the breakfast to be recognized for her successful fight. Baker said one of the biggest things people can do for those fighting cancer is encourage them, and she got to do that for her fellow residents at the breakfast.

“It was wonderful, and Sunny (Mays) puts her whole life into that and works so hard,” Baker said. “You always want to encourage other people, especially when you are making great progress. It meant so much to be there … Just being diagnosed a year ago, everything has been up hill with all of my progress. It means so much to hear another person say they think they have (cancer) beat. It is so uplifting.”