SHEBOYGAN, Wis — A Sheboygan woman is celebrating being cancer-free by cheering on the Milwaukee Brewers in San Diego.
Cheryl Bergemann and her husband, Rocky, bought tickets to Tuesday night's Brewers-Padres playoff game as part of a five-day trip to San Diego. While the Brewers are trying to sweep the Padres and advance to the National League Championship Series, Cheryl said baseball was not the reason they made the trip.
“We came out here just to celebrate being cancer-free,” said Cheryl. “All summer, I was doing chemo and everything came clear last month. That’s why we decided to do a celebration trip.”
TMJ4 News reporter John Kim has her story in the video below:
Cheryl was diagnosed with lymphoma in March and underwent five rounds of chemotherapy. Throughout her treatment, Cheryl said she lost her hair within 10 days. But she tried to keep a positive mindset and not allow herself to focus on the possibility of a bad outcome.
“I would not let my mind go there. And the minute I start going there, I'm like, ‘Nope, I can't think that way,'" said Cheryl. "If you have to fight with a positive attitude, because if you don’t, that will take the stress on your cancer and make it worse, or it would be hard to fight the chemo.”
She said her husband was there for her throughout her cancer treatment.
“He was my rock, through the whole thing,” said Cheryl.
Now Cheryl and Rocky are celebrating that she is cancer-free. She and her husband also plan to visit the San Diego Zoo and the USS Midway Museum. But on Tuesday night, their focus is on baseball. Cheryl is curious to see how many Brewers fans will be in the stands at Petco Park.
“It’ll be interesting to see how many Brewers fans are here today, but we’ll be there,” said Cheryl.
Back in Wisconsin, Brewers fans are also watching the playoff series closely.
Josh Steiner is one of those fans. After the Brewers won the first two games of the series, he said he does not expect the series to go beyond three games.
“After what happened on Sunday, I don’t think we’re going to Game 4 or 5,” said Steiner.
After hearing Cheryl's story, Steiner said he would love to be in San Diego to watch the Brewers himself.
“Being able to be in a beautiful part of the country, watching the Brewers beat the Padres, I couldn’t imagine it’s gotta be great,” said Steiner.
For Cheryl, however, the trip is about more than the Brewers. It is a celebration of making it through a difficult chapter in her life. And now, she is hoping to add one more memory to the trip: The Brewers clinching the National League Championship Series.
“Go Brewers and can’t wait to get to the World Series!” said Cheryl.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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