Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

AHOSKIE – Cancer diagnosis and treatment is a medical and mental journey full of twists and turns and even a few roadblocks.

However, navigating that obstacle course can be made more manageable with a loving ally walking, seen or unseen, every step of the way with a cancer patient.

Veronica Denise Williams has experienced exactly that throughout her fight against the disease and the Ahoskie woman will be the center of attention on Oct. 28 at a local event entitled “A Night Out for Breast Cancer.”

That event is the brainchild of Tammy Mizelle, a teacher assistant at Ahoskie Elementary School, who lost her mother-in-law to breast cancer several years ago.

“The Lord spoke to me early one morning about celebrating the living. I immediately woke up my husband up and shared with him about the vision that the Lord had given me,” Mizelle explained about the “Night Out” concept.

“At that point, I did not fall back to sleep,” she added. “I picked up my phone and begin to type in some things that the Lord spoke to me.”

One of those items was a Bible verse from Philippians 2:2: “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”

With that in mind, Mizelle got busy putting the event together and selecting a person to honor. In a random drawing of names of cancer patients, Williams was selected.

In an interview with the News-Herald, Williams said she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008.

“At a checkup, the doctor found something concerning and ordered more tests,” Williams recalled. “I was diagnosed with early stages of breast cancer and was sent to see an oncologist.”

Initially, Williams received oral medication.

“Then I had to take radiation treatments,” she said. “That tore me down. I was scared I might lose my breast or that the cancer would spread to another part of my body.”

Williams said she reacted in what she knows was a negative way.

“I really got mad at God for him to put me trough this,” she noted. “But I talked to God and he talked to me. He allowed me to see that the Devil was playing with my mind.

“I still felt down and out and I put on a fake smile through the pain and discomfort and the treatments, but I still leaned on God for strength. God got me through it. He made me understand that I needed him,” Williams added.

Despite undergoing two surgical procedures, Williams didn’t lose a breast.

“I still get a checkup every six months in Greenville,” she said.

Williams, who said both her mother and grandmother had breast cancer, encouraged women to schedule routine mammograms.

“If you are diagnosed with breast cancer, the first thing you need to do is fall on your knees and pray to God for him to help you get through it,” Williams stated. “Don’t let the Devil in as he will destroy your mind. Let God lead you and guide you.”

As far as being the winner of Mizelle’s contest, Williams said she still can’t believe it.

“I don’t win a lot of stuff,” Williams said. “When she [Tammy] called me, I started screaming. I was speechless. I was overjoyed and very, very happy.”

The list of prizes that Williams won include the following:

A Touch of Class Throne Chair donated by Derrick and Tammy Mizelle.

A free make-up session courtesy of Rodgeria Beamon of

MakeMeOvaRoge.

Jessica Davis of Jessica La’Kia Hair Salon donated a free hairstyling.

Ahoskie Elementary School Principal Elenia Riddick donated a flower arrangement.

Diamond Smith of Dream Graphix donated a free photo shoot.

Rhonda Cooper of Coopers Lounge & Event LLC donated a free decorated table.

Cynthia Riddick, Assistant Principal at Bearfield Primary School and herself a survivor of breast cancer, gave a monetary gift.

On Monday (Oct. 28), Williams will be chauffeured to the event in a limousine courtesy of Howard Hunter. The event will be held at Quinton’s on Main Street in Ahoskie (Leroy and Carrie Douglas donated the use of the building). Otto Patten of Otto’s BBQ & Grill is donating the meal at the event.

“I had asked the Lord to show me who to put in place to help me with the idea and he showed me these wonderful people and business owners,” Mizelle said of the event’s sponsors. “They all stepped up without hesitation.

“I can assure you if it wasn’t for God and the community partners coming together, then this celebration wouldn’t be coming into fruition. You must remember that when God tells you to do something, and he gives you a vision, it’s gonna work if you put him first,” she added.

“I’m so excited for Veronica Williams. I would encourage anyone that is going through breast cancer or have had breast cancer to continue to support one another. Because when we fight cancer together, we can win that fight though the support of family, friends, and the community,” Mizelle concluded.