Brid get's new lease of life I'M THRIVING & SURVIVING!

After beating breast cancer, the Tauranga teacher has found a passion for dragon boating

- Sharon Stephenson

As a scientist, Bridget Prendiville knows how to listen to her body. So when four mammograms showed no evidence of breast cancer but Bridget still felt that something still wasn't right, she pushed for further checks.

"I requested an ultrasound in my left breast, which showed some irregularities, so they biopsied it and discovered I had stage 3 breast cancer," says Bridget, who's lived in Tauranga since 1999.

That was in late 2020 and Bridget, the mother of TVNZ sports reporter Michelle Prendiville, underwent a full mastectomy of her left breast, followed by months of chemotherapy and radiation therapy, as well as bone infusions to strengthen her bones and help prevent the cancer from spreading.

Almost four years down the track and the 60-year-old says the "silver lining" of her disease was becoming involved with the Breast Cancer Support Services Tauranga Trust (BCSST).

"As soon I was diagnosed, I got in contact with them because I wanted to learn as much as I could about breast cancer. They put me in touch with the BOOBOPS, a dragon boat racing team of breast cancer survivors.”

Despite never having been in a dragon boat or done strenuous exercise since she was at school, Bridget soon fell in love with the thrice weekly training sessions and, later, regional and national competitions.