Viral video: Wilmington woman beats cancer, gets engaged

A victory over beating cancer became a viral video thanks to a proposal made at the perfect time.

It's a special day anytime someone beats cancer. For one woman in Wilmington, it ended up being the best day of her life for another reason.

Last year, Angelica May never anticipated a phone call that changed anything - a doctor from Novant Health calling with bad news.

"She was like, 'Do you want to come in or do you want me to tell you over the phone?' and I said, 'You can just tell me over the phone, there's no way it's cancer,'" May recalled.

After finding a lump in her breast in July, May was diagnosed with an aggressive type of stage 2 breast cancer two months later.

"I still wasn't processing the fact that I have breast cancer," May said. "My life was literally about to change."

She called her long-time boyfriend, Imeek Watkins, to tell him the news.

"The whole car ride home ... I was just like we're gonna get through the process," Watkins said.

That same week May started an intense chemotherapy treatment with Watkins by her side.

She can't help but break down when she describes it.

"Chemo is hard, and you're sick all the time," May said. "You're tired and you can't do what you used to do so it's just ... it's a lot, and I cry every time I talk about it because no one understands what it does to your body."

May had Watkins by her side every step of the way. After 16 intense rounds of chemo, she finally rang the bell marking her victory over breast cancer.

Then Watkins had another surprise in store -- a proposal now viewed more than 1 million times on TikTok. The proposal took place in the hospital in a crowd of doctors and nurses.

"My mind was strictly on ringing that bell and getting out of that hospital," May said. "I had no clue he was going to propose."

May said she hopes those who watch the video are inspired to overcome their own battles just as she overcame hers.

"I'm thankful for going through it because now he's just blessing us everyday," May said. "So I'm really grateful."