By Chanda Temple
Five wings and sweet potato casserole.
That’s all Kimberly Callines wanted from Piggly Wiggly following her ob/gyn appointment at a Birmingham hospital in February 2022 . In fact, she wanted the meal so badly that she had made up her mind she was going to skip her scheduled mammogram right after her gynecologist visit and head down the street to pick up the Southern delicacy.
But as she stood at the elevator, ready to push the button to the floor that would take her to her car, she changed her mind when she heard God say, “Go get the mammogram.”
She followed orders and had the mammogram. The technician looked at Kimberly’s images and said, “Un-uhh. They may call you back for another mammogram.”
That call back set things in motion that forever changed Kimberly’s life. Additional testing showed that she had Stage 1 breast cancer.
Kimberly found out she had breast cancer the third week in May 2022. One early course of action was for her to take chemo pills, which were the size of half of her index finger, for the next five years. Next up, was surgery. In July 2022, she had a lumpectomy and some lymph nodes removed.
She returned to the doctor in August 2022 for news that left her shaken. “I hate to tell you this,” the doctor said, “but we did not get all the cancer.”
Up to that point, Kimberly was in good spirits, even thinking that fighting breast cancer “was not as bad as I thought it would be.”
But to hear the doctor say they needed to schedule her for a second surgery, she was devastated.
On the morning of surgery in September 2022, a nervous Kimberly did not know what to expect. “Would they get all of it this time?” she asked herself. “Will I have to have a third surgery?”
And then she asked God the BIG question: “Why me?”
She said God responded: “Why not you? You can give your testimony on what brought you through. You can encourage somebody else.”
Hearing those words forced Kimberly to end her pity party and accept His challenge.
“You know, that voice was right,” Kimberly said. “Why not you?”
Following surgery, she underwent 44 radiation treatments, which left the small treatment area on her breast, burned and irritated. Radiation experts suggested certain oils and lotions to use to help soothe pain. She also learned it was good to stay hydrated to help the skin, which is a tip she shares with anyone facing radiation.
As she underwent radiation, the technicians asked her what kind of music she’d like to hear. She had two favorites: Anything by New Edition and Yolanda Adams. But to get specific, New Edition’s “Candy Girl,” and Adams’ “The Battle is Not Yours.”
“That ‘Candy Girl,’ always hyped me up, no matter how I’m feeling,” she said, adding she met three original members from the group when they appeared as ambassadors during the Magic City Classic in 2014. So, it felt even more special as she laid perfectly still on her back in the radiation room, waiting for her treatments.
When she finally completed radiation in November 2022, the hospital did not have a bell ceremony for those ending radiation. So, loved ones gathered at the Fish Market in downtown Birmingham to surprise Kimberly and congratulate her. Her meal consisted of grilled shrimp, grilled fish, Cole slaw, French fries and hush puppies.
“It was so good,” she said. “The sweet taste of a celebration meal with family and friends, you couldn’t get any better.”
That gathering at Fish Market was filled with hugs and laughter. But these days, she has another form of celebration that looks a little different.
Following her yearly visits with three different doctors at the hospital where she had her mammogram, she occasionally heads to Piggly Wiggly to get those wings and sweet potato casserole.
“Sometimes, I think about how this meal almost cost me my life,” said Kimberly, now 54 and a single mom to son who is a freshman at Alabama State University. “But on the other hand, I’m thankful that God changed things to allow me to still be able to taste it. It’s like a victory meal because I’m still here to taste it.”
NOTE: In America, one in eight women will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer during their lifetime. In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I will be profiling one female breast cancer survivor each day in October 2025. The stories will also highlight a food from a Birmingham, AL restaurant or food vendor they liked at some point during their breast cancer journey or today. The series is called “SurviveHer at the Table: Food. Faith. Fight.”
Each story posted this month is the opinion of the survivor, with a goal to increase awareness about early detection and treatment for breast cancer. Readers should consult with their physician for medical and health advice and their nutritionist for healthy eating tips. Links to area resources will be shared in future posts this month.
Chanda Temple is an award-winning writer living in Birmingham, Ala. She blogs at http://www.chandatemplewrites.com. If you have a food story idea, email her at chandatemple@gmail.com. Follow her on Instagram at @chandatemple.
