DeKALB – Even before stepping onto the turf Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings, Amy Chamberlain had found inspiration in her battle against breast cancer.

She’s a unit counselor at Rosecrance in Rockford, where she’s seen numerous clients overcome addiction.

“They’re overcoming what their life has thrown at them,” said Chamberlain, of DeKalb. “That’s what’s kept me so strong – keeping going to work every day.”

Thanks to her sister, Holly Chamberlain, nominating her for the NFL’s Crucial Catch campaign, Amy Chamberlain gained a lot more strength Sunday.

The Vikings brought groups of people fighting eight types of cancer onto the field during halftime, to honor them, support them, and to remind people of the importance of early detection.

Amy Chamberlain said she was named the point person for her group of nine, meaning she had to make sure they went to the right spots and stopped there, and then she led them back off the field in front of tens of thousands of cheering fans. It was the first Vikings game she’s attended.

Intense, right? Almost as intense as the bonds she formed.

“To meet a woman who’s been fighting this 11 years, and who’s gone through five chemos, yet she never gives up, what I’m carrying forward from the experience is that I know now that I’ll never give up fighting the cancer,” Chamberlain said.

She said it was nice to see people fighting all sorts of cancers represented, and added that a little girl was there on behalf of her late dad who fought brain cancer.

She expressed gratitude toward the Vikings organization, which allowed her to break a rule and bring both her mom, Brenda Chamberlain, and her sister, Holly, onto the field with her.

As trivial as it might seem, she and her family of diehard Vikings fans also got to see a win, 24-16, over Baltimore.

Chamberlain, a 1990 graduate of Sycamore High School, was diagnosed in January, kept working while undergoing chemotherapy and hopes to keep working when she undergoes radiation in a few days.

She said the hardest part of her diagnosis was calling her 20-year-old daughter, Tianna, who’s studying nursing at Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville.

Chamberlain said they talk often. They don’t hide details or feelings.

“I don’t hide anything from her about it, and I don’t want her to hide from me how she’s feeling,” she said.

At the time of her diagnosis, Chamberlain lived in Rockford, and she moved to DeKalb, where her sisters live, for support. Her 22-year-old son, Justin, lives with her, too, and she said he’s been a rock for her.

“Some days are just so hard – physically and emotionally,” she said. “Having that support has been huge.”

Even around family and friends, it’s possible to feel like you’re on an island, she said.

“Sometimes you feel alone, when you’re with friends and family who don’t necessarily know what you’re going through,” she said.

That’s what made her experience Sunday so tremendous.

“It was nice to feel a connection,” Chamberlain said. “Everyone’s positive attitudes … it was very emotional, and very inspiring.”