Joey Aguirre

jaguirre@gannett.com

If there was a silver lining to getting and beating breast cancer for Janelle Turner it was getting to meet Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.

Not only did she meet Clinton 11 months ago, she's going to be a guest of Clinton's at Sunday's second presidential debate in St. Louis, Mo.

Turner, 47, said she nearly fell over when she saw an email Friday night from the Clinton campaign asking her to be a guest at the debate.

"I was just so honored that they thought of me," Turner said Saturday. "They have been so kind over the last 11 months since I first met Hillary at the Jefferson-Jackson rally."

In a video that has been viewed more than 2 million times, Turner talks about the first time she met Hillary and Bill Clinton at a rally before the 2015 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner.

"That rally had Katie Perry and Bill Clinton, and I had a poster that said, '13th Chemo yesterday, three more hear me roar,' " Turner explained. "So we've kept in touch and she even introduced me to her best friend, Betsy, who's also a breast cancer survivor and we've kept in touch. It's really been amazing because I'm a political nobody; I'm just one vote and she's just been really kind. I didn't think it could get any better, and then yesterday it just did."

Turner, who lives in Windsor Heights with her 9-year-old daughter and husband, will fly to St. Louis on Sunday and return Monday morning.

"I hope I get to see Hillary but I have no idea," Turner said. "And I'm all done with treatment and in remission, there's no evidence of disease. It's been a long 16 months."