Breast cancer survivor aims to inspire

Cancer Survior, Pamela Moore
Photo courtesy Michael Cork of Macork Solutions

Pamela Moore will never forget the moment. Never.

“March 16, 2018, 1 o’clock in the afternoon. I remember it like it was yesterday,” the breast cancer survivor said. 

It was on this day at that time that she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  

According to the Breast Cancer Organization statistics, about 1 out of 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is where malignant tissue forms in the breast; 41,760 women are expected to die from this cancer every year. 

However, Moore fought the odds that were stacked against her. An employee in Florida A&M’s Office of Business and Auxiliary Services, Moore’s story is an inspiration to all women. When she was faced with the news about her diagnosis, instead of backing down she knew she had to step up and fight. 

“I put on my fighting clothes right in that moment. I was like you have the audacity to come at me like this, I am going to fight you. How dare you come at me like this?”, she said.  

Moore knew she had to fight for the sake of her seven grandkids, husband and three daughters. She was determined that cancer would not be her end.

Going through the treatment and recovery was difficult, particularly for her daughter Mikaya Warren, who had witnessed what her mother was going through firsthand. 

“It was very different and most times very difficult to witness. Being that I have had so many medical challenges throughout my life, I am usually the one that needs support and very rarely had I been on the opposite side of the scenario. Little did I know, the same seeds of faith, self-love and dignity that she had planted in me years ago would sprout and become a tree she could pick from during her time of need,” she said.

After going through chemotherapy treatments and having the bilateral mastectomy surgery,  Moore was officially in full remission as of Oct. 18, 2018.. From that point on she knew her story had to be shared in order to inspire other women going through the same experience.

It brought to life her “Fashioned Inspirations” fundraiser event. Moore has always had a passion for fashion, so she created this event to bring all the elements of fashion, beauty and breast cancer awareness together.  

 This event will include local business vendors and her own purse business, Pam’s Purseonal Touch, LLC. Special guests include occupational therapist and lymphedema specialist Kelly Uanino and celebrity actress from OWN’s hit television show “The Have and Have Nots,” Angela Robinson. It will also have a high-class fashion show featuring breast cancer survivors.

 Moore would like women who are going through this to know that “you have about a split-second to make a decision, is this disease going to handle me or am I going to handle it?”

 In the near future, she plans on releasing a tell-all book about her journey. More-so, it is important that women have annual mammogram checkups because early detection is key, she said.