ST. GEORGE — St. George City Councilwoman Michele Randall was surprised to find pink ribbons tied onto trees and bushes around the St. George City Hall parking lot when she arrived for a meeting on Thursday.

The display was arranged in support of Randall, who was diagnosed with breast cancer just over a month ago.

“I’ve been really open about it, encouraging women to get their mammograms because that’s how mine was found,” she said.

Randall received her diagnosis July 16 and was told she had aggressive lobular carcinoma, which only around 10% of women get, she said. Randall is scheduled to undergo an operation for a double mastectomy next week.

After entering the building for a scheduled city council meeting, Randall was greeted with yet another surprise, and was touched to find her fellow council members and other city staff wearing pink shirts with the words “no one fights alone” and “team Michele” printed on them.

“We’re here for you,” City Manager Adam Lenhard said as the meeting concluded. “You’re absolutely in our thoughts and prayers, and we want you to kick cancer’s butt.”

Randall joined the St. George City Council in 2014. During elections, she collected the highest vote count out of the candidates with over 7,600 votes, amounting to 31% of the votes cast in that year’s race.

Thursday marked the last city council meeting Randall will be attending for the next four weeks. After undergoing her surgery next week, she hopes to be back to work by the end of September.

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” she told the council.

As for the display of support from her fellow staff members, Randall said it was very thoughtful.

“Everyone’s been supportive and encouraging – that’s what you need when you get a cancer diagnosis,” she said.

According to BreastCancer.org, around 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of their lifetime.

“Women, get your mammograms,” Randall said.

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