Suzanne’s Story: Finding Strength and Healing Through Positivity and Holistic Support

Suzanne Lenhart learned the hard way that cancer doesn’t fight fair. She was a firm believer in living an active and healthy lifestyle. She ate right and exercised regularly. Then, after her mother passed away, she became extremely fatigued. She thought this was part of grieving, “It was very confusing to me whether I was feeling fatigue and aching because I was grieving so deeply, or if my grieving seemed more extreme because my body was going through some kind of distress.”

Eventually, she received a shocking diagnosis, Stage 2b Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. “Even the idea that I would develop cancer seemed impossible,” she says.

Nevertheless, Suzanne approached her treatment with hope, thanks in part to her relationship with her oncologist at Fort Wayne Medical Oncology and Hematology.

“I had great faith in my doctor,” says Suzanne. “He was cheerful and positive, and his spirit of kindness and compassion gave me a sense of safety.” Suzanne’s doctor encouraged her to assume an active role in her healing process, which became extremely important and powerful for her.

Suzanne took full advantage of many complimentary therapies that helped her traditional treatment go more smoothly. “During treatment,” says Suzanne, “I would relax, grab my earphones, and listen to a meditation tape, imagining the drugs moving into my body and traveling only to places where they were needed, that the cancer cells might be released.” Practicing a daily spiritual discipline, praying, doing yoga, taking vitamins and herbal supplements and attending support groups played an important role in her treatment and recovery.

Suzanne’s oncologist was not only aware of her alternative approaches, he supported it. This made a tremendous difference for Suzanne. She describes her relationship with her doctor as one of the single-most important aspects of her healing journey. In fact, Suzanne’s cancer experience turned out to be a positive and life-changing encounter. “I decided early on to approach the cancer just as I would an adventure—with curiosity, enthusiasm, excitement, gratitude, and anticipation,” says Suzanne.