I honor and celebrate my fabulous friend Susan R. White today.  September, 2009 not only celebrates ovarian cancer awareness month, but Susan’s 50th birthday AND her 6th cancerversary.

When Susan was diagnosed on September 11, 2003 with ovarian cancer she was working full-time but caregiving 24/7 for her dear mother, Jo. Because she was so busy, she ignored what her body was telling her…and when she finally sought medical care, her diagnosis was late stage.  After a six-hour surgery, the doctors finally closed her up because they just couldn’t remove all the cancer.  The doctor’s report ended with the recommendation of “Palliative Care Only” – we all know what that means.

But Susan, in her positive and forthright way, ignored the statistics, the lousy diagnosis and any doom and gloom.  Her doctor and she fought long and hard, with lots of laughter, loads of complementary herbal and dietary support, and tons of hard core chemo. Susan never complained, and NEVER allowed anything negative to enter her sphere. Susan surprised and delighted all of us, mostly her doc and nurses. 

After the second look surgery, when NO EVIDENCE OF CANCER was found inside her, her doctor stepped into her room and said, “Well, I guess we have to change this from Palliative to Curative!!”

Susan is healthy, working and in total remission today. She sadly lost her mom during her treatment, but we know that Jo is up there with Susan’s dad, smiling down on Susan as she enjoys her excellent health and fabulous life.

Story submitted by Benita Hofstetter Koman