Major Takeaways
Faith and Recovery Work Hand in Hand: Gloirah’s survival story shows how spiritual strength and addiction recovery can empower physical healing and long-term resilience.
Family and Community Save Lives: Her journey highlights the power of forgiveness, love, and support networks in overcoming both cancer and addiction.
Hope is the Ultimate Medicine: Gloirah’s story reminds us that faith, gratitude, and self-love can guide anyone through even the darkest battles.
Grace, Grit, and God’s Glory Through the Storms
At 59 years old, Gloirah James Williamson of Illinois radiates a quiet strength that only comes from surviving what many could not. A mother of six, grandmother of nine, and great grandmother of three, Gloirah carries herself with the unshakable conviction of a woman who has faced death twice and won both times.
“I’m still fighting my battle to continue to survive,” she says. “Thankfully, I’m in remission for the second time despite it being more aggressive. I’m faithful that I will not have to experience breast cancer, or cancer in any form again. But I’m certain God will bring me through like He did before.”
For Gloirah, survival isn’t just about living, it’s about thriving with purpose. When she was first diagnosed with breast cancer, she describes it as a storm that shook the very foundation of her life. But even then, she felt the steady hand of divine presence.
“Jesus didn’t leave my side,” she says. “The pain of going through chemo and radiation was the worst pain, something draining, but He stayed right there with me.”
Her second diagnosis came years later, more aggressive than before, threatening to undo everything she’d rebuilt. Yet this time, she was equipped with deeper faith, a stronger sense of family, and a decade of sobriety.
“I don’t know if this is because of my past. I’m a recovering addict, 13 years clean, or just my luck of the draw,” Gloirah reflects. “But I know that even though it was painful, Jesus didn’t leave my side.”
She pauses, then smiles. “My family was my biggest support and my greatest motivation to do everything I could to beat this and be the mother and grandmother able to spend quality time with them that they deserve.”
Gloirah’s story is also one of redemption, from addiction, regret, and self blame.
“I missed a lot during my years wasted in these streets,” she says candidly. “My children suffered for it growing up. I thank God for taking care of them and guiding them to take care of each other, and eventually help me regain my footing when my baby girl became a teenager.”
Her voice softens as she speaks about her family, one son lost, one incarcerated, and another doing great work alongside his three sisters.
“In my eyes, nothing is more painful than trying to smile and stay positive knowing you’ve failed the people you love the most. But when I see the love they have for me and the forgiveness and hope in their eyes, I find the energy, the wherewithal, the power, the grace of God to face anything I have to.”
That grace, she says, isn’t just divine. It’s reflected in her children’s love, in every prayer whispered by her friends, and in the community that rallied behind her.
When Gloirah says, “I love my family. I love my life. I love my friends,” there’s no hesitation in her voice. Each word sounds like a vow.
“I am thankful for having a job and being able to do it,” she adds. “I am thankful for all the people who keep me in their prayers and who always have encouraging words to share with me.”
She describes moments when despair threatened to pull her back into old habits, particularly after losing friends and relatives, some to cancer, others to addiction.
“Two years into my battle, one of my good friends died of breast cancer,” she says. “That rocked me to the core. I almost went back to using, but I didn’t.”
What kept her anchored was community.
“I don’t miss my NA and AA meetings if I can help it, and I’m honest with them about what I’m dealing with. My sponsor and the group itself really helped me get through those moments that rocked my emotions.”
For Gloirah, staying clean and sober is just as much a part of her survival story as beating cancer.
“Had I still been strung out when breast cancer first hit, I would not have been healthy enough to have pulled through it,” she admits. “I definitely know I couldn’t have pulled through that second time.”
She now uses her testimony to encourage others in recovery to prepare for the unknown, especially health challenges.
“I encourage anyone to get clean as soon as you can because you never know what health challenges are coming down the road, especially those directly connected with your drug use,” she warns. “Of all I’ve dealt with since being clean these 13 years, the battles with breast cancer are the only ones the doctor didn’t say were connected with years of drug abuse.”
It’s a sobering reminder that healing the body often begins with healing the soul.
Gloirah doesn’t shy away from discussing the toll cancer and life have taken on her body. “Being out there caused me to go through periods where I deal with having strokes. I have heart problems, and they had to put a stent in my heart. I also dealt with incontinence briefly. Those were very frightening,” she says.
But each medical scare only deepened her gratitude. “I’m just thankful. That’s all I can say.”
She explains how she chose to embrace self love even amid physical changes. “Yes, my hair thinned, so I just decided to start locking. People are always telling me how beautiful my hair is everywhere I go. It was never that way before I got clean and overcame breast cancer.”
For Gloirah, locks symbolize renewal, a crown of strength for a woman who has weathered everything from addiction to radiation and still stands proud. She speaks from experience, not just as a survivor, but as a woman who’s endured immense loss and chosen faith over fear. Her message is direct and powerful.
“Believe in yourself. Fight for yourself. Forgive yourself. Love yourself. Doing those things, there will be nothing you cannot overcome as long as you keep God in your life.”
Those words echo like a mantra for anyone navigating hardship, whether it’s illness, addiction, or self doubt.
“Allow yourself the time to experience all the emotions you feel,” she advises. “And then immediately get active doing whatever you know you can do to clean your blood and defeat that cancer.”
Her tone grows firm when addressing others in recovery.
“Don’t replace that habit with another bad one. Replace it with spending more quality time with the people you need to earn forgiveness from so you can patch those relationships.”
Her message is one of hope, not just survival, but restoration.
In her Chicago neighborhood and church support community, Gloirah is known as a source of light, someone who prays with others at cancer centers, checks in on fellow survivors, and attends recovery meetings with an open heart.
Her social media page overflows with gratitude posts, prayers, and updates about her health, each one punctuated by encouragement for others still struggling.
“God’s got me,” she often writes, “and He’s got you too.”
Friends, church members, and fellow survivors respond with love and admiration, calling her a walking testimony.
And she is. Hers is a legacy of love and light.
Today, Gloirah James Williamson continues her fight, not against cancer, but for life. She’s in remission again, and her mission now is to inspire others through transparency, gratitude, and faith.
“They found no cancer cells at last check! What I love most though is when I see my family’s forgiveness and hope,” she says. “I find the energy, the power, the grace of God to face anything.”
Her voice, strong yet soft, carries the conviction of someone who knows what it’s like to walk through darkness and come out radiant with purpose.
“I want people to know they can make it through anything. God doesn’t leave you in the valley, He walks you through it.”
If Gloirah’s story has touched you, consider supporting cancer survivors, caregivers, and awareness programs through the following organizations.
