On May 5, 2004, during her visit to Laurel Family Clinic’s physician Terry Pitts, DO, Moody had a mammogram that confirmed the presence of a lump in one of her breasts. When South Central surgeon Dr. Kevin Ivey performed a biopsy on June 8 and found one of 14 lymph nodes to be cancerous, Moody’s worst fears were confirmed.

People react to such news differently. One may be anxious; another, angry. Many are shocked. In our younger days, we were bulletproof. Now, the reality of our short time on earth slams us in the pit of our stomach.

“I was depressed for several days,” says Moody, who is single and living in Laurel. “When the worst does come, it really knocks you for a loop. It’s as if you’ve run into a brick wall.”

But Moody gathered herself. She went through her periods of sorrow, anxiety, and depression, and emerged with a renewed vigor and resolve to overcome. She knew she wasn’t alone in the fight. She had family and friends.

She also had doctors and nurses such as those at South Central Regional Medical Center who took such great care of her during the initial stages of her condition. Most importantly, she had God.

“My greatest ally,” she would say. “He gives you strength when you don’t think you have anything else left to fight with. He arms you throughout your soul so you can carry on. And He blesses you with a sense of peace that everything will be all right, no matter the outcome.”

Getting a diagnosis immediately is critical in treating breast cancer. At 58, Moody was a prime target for breast cancer, according to statistics. But she didn’t think of the statistics. This was her life, and she was going to battle to keep it. She filled herself with a revitalized sense of herself. She had all the pieces to help her reach her goal: survival.

“The thing that sticks out in my mind during this entire ordeal is how caring, professional, and understanding all the doctors and nurses were,” Moody says. “They treated me as if I was a part of their family. The doctors talked to me about my condition in terms I could easily understand. They weren’t hung up on those big words.”

This was important to Moody because the simple terminology helped alleviate much of her anxiety about treatments, drugs, and her overall condition. If she could understand what was going on, then her imagination couldn’t run wild with phrases and words that seemed foreign to her. The mere simplicity worked wonders in her ability to cope.

“Dr. Ivey is one of the doctors that comes to mind when I think of things like that,” says Moody. “He can explain the most complicated things to you in ways you can understand.” However, she added with a smile, “He also demands your utmost attention. If he sees you’re distracted, he’ll snap you back real quick. He wants you to be comfortable with what has happened and what is about to happen.”

Six chemotherapy treatments were followed by 36 radiation injections. As the treatments wore on, Moody began to realize just how lucky she was. “I didn’t suffer the normal side effects a lot of people do with the treatments,” she says. “I didn’t get overly tired, lose my appetite, or get sick. For the most part, my life carried on as if nothing was really wrong. The only difference was I was taking a little time from my week to go have my treatments done.”

She barely missed any work as a teller at Trustmark Bank in downtown Laurel. Her coworkers were amazed at her stamina. Her energy seemed to come from somewhere deep inside her. She seemed impervious to the radiation and chemotherapy treatments. One of the few differences involved her losing taste for food. “But I never lost my appetite,” she says. “I couldn’t really taste anything, but that was OK for the time being.”

Moody is now footloose and fancy free in terms of her cancer. She has a series of follow-ups, and she had a mammogram just a month ago. “Everything looks fine,” she says. “I feel great, and life looks really good from where I’m sitting. But I can’t stress how important it is to have those annual checkups, especially since the earlier you detect the cancer, the better your chances are of overcoming it.”

Moody won’t soon forget hearing the news that she had cancer, and how much like a death sentence it seemed. She also won’t forget the outstanding care she was given throughout her ordeal. She is back where she belongs, feeling as she should. Even the little voice is silent now.