{"id":3612,"date":"2019-06-28T14:32:33","date_gmt":"2019-06-28T14:32:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.cancerhopenetwork.org\/?p=3612"},"modified":"2023-11-10T16:14:29","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T21:14:29","slug":"unstoppable-susan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cancerhopenetwork.org\/blog\/unstoppable-susan\/","title":{"rendered":"Unstoppable Susan","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SusanSusan Moir was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2002. For nearly two decades, the \u201cunwelcome guest\u201d of cancer has been her companion. Thanks to metastases that moved to her brain and pancreas, she\u2019s had a laundry list of conventional treatments \u2013 a craniotomy, gamma knife surgery, immunotherapy, a nephrectomy and more. She\u2019s developed a grim expertise in the art of watchful waiting. Along the way, she\u2019s also become a reiki teacher, explored complimentary therapies and, most importantly, inspired hope for cancer patients across the country.
\n\u201cI think it\u2019s helpful to know that there is the possibility of longevity when you have active disease,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen you go into any kind of cancer treatment, you\u2019re hoping, praying, wishing for a cure. But for a percentage of us, cancer\u2019s there always, surprising us.\u201d
\n\"match<\/a>It may be \u201cthere always,\u201d but she refuses to let cancer dictate her life. Her latest rounds of treatment, including another brain surgery, have changed her health permanently. But she\u2019s determined to enjoy the moments she can. \u201cYou can really start limiting your life. I live a really normal life,\u201d she says. \u201cI have to manipulate things around my scans or treatments, but my husband and I still travel.\u201d
\n\"eHOPEAfter the radical surgery of a nephrectomy, she enjoyed five \u201cmagic\u201d years of good health. \u201cRadical surgery saved my life.\u201d Then, the sudden 4am headaches led to treatments for allergies that wouldn\u2019t go away. Tests and scans revealed metastases. Susan\u2019s brain surgery was scheduled for Christmas Eve. She said goodbye to her family unsure if she\u2019d wake up. \u201cBut a few days later, I was okay, ready to head home. It took me a while to fully recover, but brain surgery is not as difficult as abdominal surgery. Brain surgery was a breeze,\u201d she remembers wryly.
\nBut cancer was undeniably on the move. \u201cThere were no \u2018good\u2019 options and nothing I felt comfortable doing,\u201d she recalls. She was soon on the road with her supportive husband, headed to Mexico City to visit the basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe and pray for a miracle. But the miracle didn\u2019t materialize. She returned home and scans discovered another tumor.
\n\"GOH<\/a>Through each victory and setback, Susan has focused on what works best for her \u2013 mentally and physically.
\n\u201cPracticing and teaching reiki changed my life.\u201d As life with cancer progressed, Susan trained as a CHN Support Volunteer and began serving as a volunteer at the local cancer center. (CHN partner St. Charles Cancer Center in Bend, OR) \u201cAt first, I simply practiced on myself for my own health and well-being. Then I began to give my energy and focus to others.\u201d
\nA practice of mindfulness had always been part of her life. Now, she researched, read and began taking mind-body classes. She worked with an herbalist and began cannabis treatment. \u201cI was fortunate that I have a primary doctor who is an MD, and is also involved in Eastern medicine and complimentary medicines. He considers cancer a chronic disease.\u201d That practice and those beliefs gave her extra confidence to follow his more traditional treatment recommendations.
\n\"eHOPEThat comfort also helped the self-declared conflict avoider to stand strong when working with her medical team to determine what would work in her particular situation. When faced with her first brain cancer, they decided to avoid whole-brain radiation (at that time the gold standard). It was a decision that was backed by science and made her comfortable.
\n\u201cAlways listen. Find options. The answers are never worse than what we imagine. I\u2019m continually questioning what to do next. Sometimes simple is best. Don\u2019t panic and grasp at whatever is suggested. And when you do decide, be sure it\u2019s what you believe in.\u201d
\n\u201cIf you have the resources, the time, work with your doctor and do complimentary therapies that look good and are available to you. They\u2019re likely to make you feel better. They might not cure you, they might not even make your symptoms go away, but you\u2019ll feel better. And when you feel better, you heal better.\u201d
\nWhile she\u2019s found benefit in therapies that compliment her treatment plan, she still advocates caution. \u201cIt\u2019s good to slow down instead of just trying to do everything that might work. You get a lot of advice. That slowing down, the waiting, is really important. It\u2019s really helpful to get a better understanding of the process, what\u2019s helpful and what\u2019s not. Take the time to understand what you need.\u201d
\nHer daughter is now a gynecologic oncologist. \u201cMy child has taken this as her life\u2019s work because of me.\u201d Preya credits her mother with helping her develop new understanding and empathy when working with patients.
\nSusan is a fierce advocate for finding support and taking advantage of services like support groups and a cancer therapist. \u201cThe whole system is bulky and awkward,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s so hard to navigate. Most of us, at least at the beginning, are just thrown into this world that is pretty foreign to us.\u201d
\n\"SusanShe encourages her matches to embrace help where they find it. \u201cSupport and friendships will arrive when you least expect it.\u201d
\nSusan is positive, upbeat. But she\u2019s also realistic about the challenges of cancer. \u201cI\u2019ve had as many rotten moments as possible. But there again, I\u2019ve found the support of family and other cancer patients. After my brain mets, when I was really frightened and trying to decide what to do, I met two new friends. Their whole purpose was to make me laugh all the time. That was a really wonderful gift, totally unexpected. That came from seeking ways to make myself healthier and being open to what arrived.\u201d
\nLike many patients, accepting help was difficult at first. But she encourages them to try. \u201cAs hard as it is, accept what is offered. It\u2019s hard for patients to know what they want, but your loved ones have a real desire to help.\u201d
\nFor those loved ones, she also shares advice. \u201cMake me laugh about something that has nothing to do with cancer. Cancer takes over your life enough as it is. It\u2019s not that I don\u2019t want to share, but sometimes, I just want to talk about what to make for dinner. \u201c
\nThrough it all, she retains perspective. \u201cToday is a good day. That\u2019s all I\u2019ve got. I try to take it in.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Support Volunteer Susan won’t let metastatic kidney cancer, brain surgery or even immunotherapy get in the way of life well lived. <\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":23,"featured_media":8638,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[78],"tags":[317,99,318,298,319,320],"post_folder":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUnstoppable Susan - Cancer Hope Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Susan Moir was diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2002. 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