By Michaela Gordoni
DAYS OF OUR LIVES’ Suzanne Rogers is celebrating her cancer remission, but the experience changed how she looks at life.
The 82-year-old had stage 2 colon cancer earlier this year.
“I’m feeling so much better. I mean, my summer was rough,” she shared. “I had cancer removed, radiation, that was tough,” Rogers told PEOPLE.
“But I didn’t lose my hair. I guess I got it early. I was stage two, and it was a certain kind of chemo that they gave me, it was pills and the radiation, and it didn’t affect it so that was good,” she shared.
Now, she doesn’t worry about anything “small.”
“It’s not worth it. I was rushing here, and I went, ‘Wait a minute. You’re not going anywhere,” the star said.
Her family and her priest gave her comfort during her tough time.
Related: Jen Lilley Says DAYS OF OUR LIVES Role Taught Her ‘Empathy’
“The day before I started my chemo and radiation, my priest, I told him, I said, ‘Can I talk to you about something?’ I said, ‘I’m starting chemo and radiation tomorrow.’ He said, ‘Come with me.’”
“And he took me into the church, up the aisle, up on the altar. He said, ‘Stand right here.’ And he went and got some oils and a prayer and did the anointing. So I felt that that’s what helped me through,” she explained.
She’s not back to 100% just yet but isn’t in a hurry.
“It’s about 70% right now,” she said of her energy levels. “I’m just basically letting things happen. I’m not making anything happen.”
She made a doctor’s appointment early this year after she felt like something was off with her body.
“[My doctor] said, ‘You have cancer and you have to start treatment,’” she recalled. “It was all a shock. I mean, I think I was in shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself. But he said, ‘It’s a good thing you caught it in time.’”
While Rogers was under treatment, rumors circulated that she was leaving the show.
“Suzanne [is] integral to the show’s history, present storylines, and now, on the heels of our pick-up, the future!” DAYS OF OUR LIVES clarified in late July. “She isn’t “going anywhere.”
“It was radiation every day and chemo every day for six weeks and it was tough,” she said. “It was tough knowing you had to do it five days a week and then you had off Saturday and Sunday.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed my weekends because I didn’t have to go to and see a doctor. I was so tired of seeing doctors,” she added.
Rogers says her onscreen daughter in DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Linsey Godfrey, gave her company during treatment.
“I had to have an infusion, and it takes about an hour and a half, so Linsey sat there with me and held my hand while I was having it,” she said. “We would go out to lunch or dinner with [fellow DAYS OF OUR LIVES actor] Paul Telfer and Linsey’s daughter, Aleda.”
“I knew I could count on them, so it was a lovely experience on and off the set. We really feel like a family,” she said.
Praise God that Rogers is in remission!
Read Next: Jen Lilley Returns To DAYS OF OUR LIVES To Honor Late John Aniston
Questions or comments? Please write to us here.
– Content: +2Share:
– Content: +1