Jeanne takes on her seventh MoonWalk Scotland

Jeanne with son Max after they shaved their heads in December 2023

“I’ll be taking part in my seventh MoonWalk Scotland in September. This time, the whole night will feel much more personal, after my own breast cancer diagnosis in 2023.

One day early last year, I suddenly thought to myself that I should already have had three mammograms, rather than two – I was 59 at the time. It turned out that I’d managed to somehow miss an appointment in 2021. It’s very rare for me to not take up health screening– I think I must have simply mislaid the letter. At this stage, I hadn’t found a lump - I merely wanted to get back into the screening system.

A new mammogram appointment was made for me, after which I was called back. I wasn’t concerned at all initially. I remembered moving during the scan and presumed that the images had been blurry and that the mammogram would need to be repeated.  It never crossed my mind that anything was wrong.

As it turned out, I did have a lump in my right breast and I was diagnosed with oestrogen positive breast cancer in August 2023. It was a huge shock, as I couldn’t think of anyone else at all in my family, who had been diagnosed with any sort of cancer. Even though my diagnosis came out of the blue, I was lucky that the cancer had been caught very early, thanks to the mammogram.

Jeanne at The MoonWalk Scotland 2009

One of the most difficult things was telling my grown-up children Max and Eve. Max lives much more locally to me, but Eve is studying in London, and it was much harder for her being so far away, while I was going through my treatment.

I had a lumpectomy in September. My nipple was also removed during the surgery, as well as some lymph nodes from my armpit – these were tested and cancer cells were found in some of them. As a result, it was decided that I would have chemotherapy at the Western General, followed by radiotherapy. My husband Scott was a great support during this time and it was great to see my son Max and his fiancée Oliwia weekly too.

During chemotherapy, Max and I both shaved our heads, as I’d decided not to use a Cold Cap and my hair was starting to fall out. Whilst that felt quite depressing in a way, it was actually quite empowering to take back some control and shave off my hair. It’s starting to grow back now, which is good! Since my active treatment finished in March this year, I’ve been taking the hormone therapy Letrozole and will continue to do so for the next ten years, to help prevent the cancer coming back. 

Having not done much exercise for around six months during my treatment, signing up for this year’s MoonWalk Scotland gave me a great goal for which to build up my fitness levels. I wanted to become stronger and walking is something which we’ve always enjoyed as a family. My husband and I are very lucky that we live near the beach – we’re really spoilt in Edinburgh with the choice of scenery. Within five minutes, you can either be in the hills or on the beach.

Jeanne at The MoonWalk Scotland 2011 with her son Max

This year will be my seventh MoonWalk Scotland – I first signed up back in 2008, when the event was just a couple of years old. In 2012, I did The MoonWalk with my son Max, after my brother’s girlfriend was diagnosed with breast cancer. My daughter Eve has also taken part in the MoonWalk Scotland a couple of times.

This year, a group of us have signed up for the Half Moon (13.1 miles) at The MoonWalk Scotland and it will be my husband Scott’s first time. We’ve decided that he should start off with a half marathon, rather than being too ambitious and trying the Full Moon (26.2 miles)! My son Max and his fiancée Oliwia as well as my friends Mike and Karan are also taking part. 

I love the incredible atmosphere at The MoonWalk Scotland and the sense of accomplishment you get at the finish is wonderful – it really is quite something! My message to everyone would be just to sign up - you’ll be doing something very positive and raising money for a great cause. Walk the Walk helps fund some amazing projects, which offer help and support so many people living with cancer. And as I found out myself – you could end up being the one who needs that help”.

Jeanne at The MoonWalk Scotland 2017 with her daughter Eve

Thank you for sharing your story Jeanne and we look forward to seeing you and your team at The MoonWalk Scotland 2024!