DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and to help share stories of survival, WAND and HSHS St. Mary's Hospital teamed up to share stories.

For Ginger Obiegbedi, it all started with a lump under her arm and some non-suspicious symptoms.

"It just felt like I had strep throat and I was running a fever and I think I dropped like 10 pounds in 5-7 days," Obiegbedi recalled. "I went to one hospital and they came in and looked at me, didn't do any type of testing or anything, nothing. Came in and looked at me and told me I had a virus. And, I said, 'What about this swollen gland?' And, they put their hand on it, and they told me it wasn't warm, so I didn't have an infection. They sent me home."

But, Obiegbedi still had concerns about that lump under her arm, and so did her niece. She persuaded her aunt to get a second opinion at HSHS St. Mary's, which ordered her a mammogram. It, as well as a biopsy, confirmed the lump was something to be worried about.

"When you're told you have cancer, you think of nothing else," Obiegbedi reflected. "You don't think about tomorrow, you don't think about next week, next year, it's like life just stops."

Ginger was facing stage three breast cancer that had gone into her lymph nodes when she was diagnosed in 2016. She had no family history of the disease, so she was caught off guard.

"(It had been) maybe 6 or 7 years since I had a mammogram, you know, I just never thought that I would have breast cancer. But, I (have it) now. I'm Johnny on the spot when it's my appointment time for that," she shared. 

Ginger credits her family, friends, and faith in getting her through chemotherapy and radiation, and she urges other women to listen to their bodies, get their mammograms and to not give up.

"Just fight and pray, fight and pray," she said.

Ginger went into remission in July of 2017 and is doing well now. She even got married!

Obiegbedi said she can't thank the staff at St. Mary's or the American Cancer Society enough for all their support. She's especially grateful for the American Cancer Society's rides to cancer appointments.

Officials said starting at age 25, women should get a clinical breast exam every one to three years. The American Cancer Society recommends mammograms every year starting at the age of 40. After 50, women should see their doctor twice a year.