ST. LOUIS — St. Louis media personality Tammie Holland is loving life.
"I wake up every morning and that’s the first thing that I say. I say, 'Thank God,'" she said.
She is thankful for the small moments that life has to offer after she was given the biggest shock of her life. In July 2021, doctors with Siteman Cancer Center hit her with devastating news.
“It felt as though I had just been hit by a truck. This is not real. He wrote I and then he wrote V,” Holland said.
Doctors told her she had stage IV colon cancer.
“I was given a really grim prognosis,” she told 5 On Your Side.
Holland went through a wave of emotions ranging from tears to disbelief.
“I wanted for someone from Siteman to call me to say Tammie, you know we made a terrible, terrible mistake. You know, we got it wrong. And that call never came,” she said.
So, Holland called on her inner strength and she began a tough fight against the disease.
“They don’t call it a battle for no reason,” she explained.
She is taking on the battle with radiation and rounds of chemo. She refuses to let the treatments get her down.
“I just try to handle it with as much grace, as much courage,” she said.
Holland is showing her courage to thousands of followers on her social media platforms. She wants people to follow her cancer journey in hopes of spreading more awareness.
“This now is an opportunity for me to make an even greater difference than I ever could before,” she said.
Holland believes sharing could inspire people during tough times.
“Dark days come. But with positivity, with faith, you can do anything,” she said, “I believe in my healing."
The tumor in her colon that was once considered to be inoperable has shrunk. It is now small enough for her to be a candidate for surgery to remove it.
“I’ll be able to ring the bell. The bell that I want to ring so badly,” she said.
What Holland is going through has made her stronger.
“Tougher than what I really thought,” she said. And she believes she is tough enough to beat cancer. “I am not ready to go yet. I got some more work to do,” she said with a smile.
March happens to be Colon Cancer Awareness month. The CDC recommends you begin screen for colon cancer at age 45. If you want to learn more about the signs of the cancer visit the Siteman website here.