After blazing a trail for women on local television news in Birmingham for decades, Pam Huff is leaving the anchor desk at Alabama’s ABC 33/40. Her last day on the air will be May 24.

“I couldn’t have chosen a better career for the talents that God gave me,” Huff told Alabama News Center. “I think I went exactly where he wanted me to be.”

Her retirement comes not only after a remarkable 50-year career (47 in Birmingham), but also after surviving her battle with triple-negative breast cancer.

“Did cancer make me decide to do this? No,” she said. However, she does say the experience did “open my eyes to realize you’re only given so many days on this Earth.”

Huff knew when she was 17 that she wanted to be a broadcast journalist. She was one of only three women in her classes at the University of West Virginia. After working at television and radio stations in West Virginia and Florida out of college, her fiancé at the time convinced her to temporarily move to Birmingham while he was in law school. That was more than 45 years ago.

In this video, Huff talks about her life, career, cancer fight and her gratitude to those who invited her into their homes each day.