Columbia, SC (WLTX) -- One US Army Solider won his own personal battle against cancer. Now, he wants to continue to serve his country and share a message with others that you can beat cancer and overcome anything.
His story has been going viral on social media ever since it happened.
In one of the videos, Specialist Malcolm Montgomery was crying tears of happiness, but that hasn't always been the case during his battle with cancer.
"I had acute promises leukemia, APL," Montgomery said.
He was first diagnosed in August 2017, a day he will never forget.
"One morning going to physical training, PT, we have to be there at 06:00," Montgomery explained. "I was not feeling well and I told my leadership. And they told me, hey we will send somebody to watch you and after PT you can go to the hospital. Well, when they went down to get somebody I passed out. So all I remember is waking up in the back of an ambulance, getting hooked up, it was nerve wracking. Once I got to the hospital they checked my blood and my white blood cells were pretty much gone."
Montgomery said it was a scary moment and one he never saw coming.
"I think I remember telling him to hush, just hush," Montgomery said. "He was like yes, it is leukemia. I was like hush, 'you're telling a story. You're not telling the truth.' It was definitely a blow to the stomach because you hear cancer and you think your life is over."
But May 6 is also a day he will never forget. That is the day he beat leukemia and rang the cancer free bell at the hospital.
"Chills, thinking about it now is amazing. I could easily tear up, but it was breath taking," Montgomery said. "It's a moment that believe it or not is a feeling you look forward too in life."
It was not an easy road for Montgomery, but he said he stayed positive even through the difficult times.
"It wasn't so much as if I'm going to make it. It was just like how did I end up here, what could I do to avoid this, why me? It was a why me, why did I have to get cancer at this stage of my life?" Montgomery said.
Montgomery said he is thankful for the help of his support system, the bible and his family -- especially his son. He also said he is happy to be living life to the fullest now.
"It was like you've beat a lot of people, but not this guy. It gave me a whole new experience, a whole new light on people who have passed away from cancer because they fought so hard we were able to develop our medicines for people like me to be able to beat it," Montgomery said. "It was like I rang the bell for much more than me."
Montgomery said he will continue to serve his country as he is in the Warrior Transition Unit Program. It is a program to support wounded soldiers. He plans to return to his army unit after the program.