Woman Hits Lottery Jackpot Weeks After Being Declared Cancer-Free: ‘Nobody Believed Me’

A Rhode Island woman recently hit it big in the local lottery — and just one month after she was officially declared cancer-free by her doctors.

Melissa Bourassa of West Warwick was playing Keno at a local restaurant called JJ’s Café when she won the $12,000 jackpot, per the Rhode Island Lottery.

“I said, ‘Oh my God, you guys, I just won $12,000,’ ” Bourassa recalled while speaking to local news outlet WPRI 12. “They go, ‘Poor thing. She can’t count zeros.’ Nobody believed me, I swear to God. So, I showed them all the picture, and they go, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me! You won!’ ”

Bourassa went on to say that this was her second piece of good news in a span of weeks. She was diagnosed with breast cancer during the pandemic, and her doctor recently declared her five years cancer-free.

“[On] Sept. 25, [2020], Dr. Doreen Wiggins did a double mastectomy and removed 14 lymph nodes,” she added.

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Bourassa — who works at JJ’s as an employee — said the staff held fundraisers to help her pay her bills when she was too sick to work during her illness. She told the Lottery she plans to use a portion of her winnings to buy holiday gifts for her co-workers.

“They’re so close to me,” she told WPRI 12. “If I didn’t have everybody here, I would have been a psychological mess.”

Bourassa shared that she also plans to use some of the money to make wreaths for members of the local community — a hobby she took up during the pandemic.

“She’s very giving. Very loving,” said one of Bourassa’s coworkers, Amanda Bodington, while speaking to WPRI 12. 

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“Even though she doesn’t have much, she’s always there for somebody. Always thinking about somebody. Always,” she added.