Ronnie Foster of Pink Hill said winning a $200,000 lottery prize on the way to the doctor made his last cancer treatment a lot easier.

“I was already happy because it was my last round of chemo,” said Foster, who’s battling colon cancer. “Winning this made it my lucky day.”

The retired Department of Transportation worker bought the lucky Win It All scratch-off ticket when he stopped at the Short Stop on Jackson Street in Beulaville on his way to the hospital.

“I bought a $1 ticket and won $5,” Foster said. “I decided to trade it in for a $5 ticket. At the last second, I decided to buy two tickets instead of one.”

Foster scratched the first ticket and didn’t win anything. Then he scratched the second one.

“I saw all those zeroes and I froze,” Foster said. “I didn’t believe it until I gave it to the clerk at the counter to scan. When it showed, ‘Go to lottery headquarters,’ I started shaking. I couldn’t believe it.”

Foster claimed his prize Friday at lottery headquarters in Raleigh. After required state and federal tax withholdings, he took home $141,501. Foster said he plans to use some of the money to pay his medical bills and save for the future.

“I have good insurance,” Foster said. “But there is still some cost. This will make it a whole lot easier.”

Win It All launched in December 2018 and was scheduled to end in November. Foster won the last top prize.

Ticket sales from games like Win It All make it possible for the lottery to raise more than $700 million a year for education. For details on how lottery funds have made a difference in all of North Carolina’s 100 counties, click on the “Impact” section of the lottery’s website.