Brenda Moon credits her clean bill of health to a positive attitude and support from family and friends.
Just over seven years ago, a mammogram uncovered a miniscule lump.
Her doctor couldn’t find it without an X-ray, she didn’t know it was there until the test and the happy-go-lucky Moon didn’t miss a beat when she found out she had breast cancer.
“At first it was tough, I was like, ‘Oh my goodness,’ but I’ve always tried to be a really positive person, so I just thought, ‘OK, what do we do next?’” Moon said. “It was the luck of the draw that we found it early.”
An operation on her head several years prior may have lessened the blow, Moon said, and helped prevent her from slipping into a state of depression experienced by many women when first diagnosed.
Support of her family in Edmonton didn’t hurt either.
“They were very much there for me, they always have been, but it just made me realize how fortunate I was,” she said.
Fortunate indeed.
Moon, who is the marketing director for the Airdrie Pro Rodeo and chief instigator of the “Tough Enough to Wear Pink” rodeo campaign, underwent radiation therapy at Tom Baker hospital in Calgary and didn’t have to suffer through chemotherapy, allowing her to keep her hair, much to her own chagrin.
“You see all these people suffering at the hospital, so much worse off than you and you want to be supportive, maybe it’s selfish, but I wanted to shave it off,” she said.
