‘Cancer doesn’t have me’
Uniontown woman fights breast cancer with love and positivity
Three years ago, Susie Anderson’s doctor called to tell her they needed to speak in person.
She knew something was wrong.
A routine mammogram had detected a lump in the Uniontown woman’s left breast; a biopsy revealed it was cancer.
The 69-year-old mother said she cried as she reassured her daughter Ashley and son Johnathan that everything would be all right.
“God’s got this. We’re all in this together,” she recalled saying.
Then, her resolve to beat breast cancer kicked in, and she told herself, “I have cancer, but cancer doesn’t have me.”
Susie is among the 1 in 8 women in the United States who are diagnosed with breast cancer each year. She’s also among the more than 4 million survivors.
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, a woman in the U.S. is diagnosed every 2 minutes. Those cases caught early – like Susie’s – have a five-year survival rate of 99%.
Susie and her children live in a Uniontown home owned by Fayette Resources. The nonprofit provides residential support to people with intellectual disabilities like Susie and her children.
Throughout her treatments, said Linda Ohler, a psych coordinator at Fayette Resources, Susie uplifted others with her positive attitude.
“She is the most loving person that you could ever meet (and) to meet her and be around her, you can’t help but love her,” said Ohler.
Susie’s chemotherapy and radiation lasted nine months.
The most difficult part of those cancer treatments, Susie said, was losing her hair and worrying about whether it would grow back. She bought a wig on Amazon and used turbans to cover her head.
“I thought I looked kinda pretty,” Susie said, joking that she could use them as part of a Halloween costume.
In February 2023, she got the news that she was cancer free. On her way out of the treatment center, Susie rang the bell – a symbolic gesture for patients who have completed their treatments.
“I about rang it off the wall,” she said.
That was followed by a steak dinner, another milestone moment for Susie, who had lost 70 pounds during her treatment.
“I would be getting to eat what I wanted to eat without getting sick,” she said.
A ceramic pink Christmas tree – a gift from the nurses at the treatment center she’d made friends with – came home with her that day. When she brings it out for the holidays, Susie looks at the tree and thinks of those who have breast cancer and says a prayer for them.
There were also plenty of celebratory activities planned, like a June trip to Lake Erie to boat, spend time on the beach and at the zoo, and go shopping.
“Susie is such a ray of sunshine and positivity. If that has anything to do with your recovery, then that’s why she did so well,” said Fayette Resources Program Specialist Chelsea Settles.
Ohler agreed: “I hope one day I can be like her.”
While her treatments are behind her, Susie has to have a mammogram of her left breast every three to six months. She wants women to stop saying “not today, maybe tomorrow” about scheduling a mammogram. The simple procedure saved her life.
“I just thank God that I’m doing good,” Susie said. “And I pray for everyone out there who has cancer. They’re not alone because God loves them.”
To honor Susie, Fayette Resources’ Together Forward committee is selling pink T-shirts, with the proceeds directly benefitting Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh. On Oct. 22, Settles said Fayette Resources employees and clients are going to don the shirts for a “pink out” with Susie as the star. Shirts are $20 and can be ordered at https://tinyurl.com/yynf4enj/.