Celebrating the
Survivor in You!
L
iz Stewart doesn’t like to waste time. A self-described “fast-mover,” Stewart has such an keen awareness of time that she refuses to spend even a minute on anything that she believes is not worth it.
“Yes, I’m the person who walks out of a movie theater if the movie is bad,” she said, laughing. Unlike Stewart, most people go their entire lives without even thinking about how much time they’ve wasted during their day-today activities. But then again, not everyone else has survived cancer on three different occasions. “Most people have that one defining moment that completely changes their lives,” she said. “I have three.” And for Stewart, that first moment came when she was only 27 years old. “That’s when I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. I was given only six months to live,” she said. “At that age, it had a very profound effect on the rest of my life. It meant I couldn’t have children. I was single and just getting started in my career, and it really changed how I looked at things.” It wasn’t until she began to search for a third medical opinion that she met a doctor who agreed to let her become a subject for his clinical trials. The treatment was tough and brutal, Stewart said, but her cancer eventually went into remission. Eighteen years later, she was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. After responding well to treatment and surgery for that cancer, Stewart went into remission again. Four years later, she was diagnosed with uterine cancer.
“It was tough, but I kept going,” she said. “I always thought you should treat it as a minor inconvenience and not let it rule your life. When people stop being in control of their life and let cancer control what they can and can’t do, they will lose the battle. What I figured was best for me was to keep everything around me as normal as possible.” Today, Stewart serves as not just a source of inspiration to those who had or are battling cancer, but also to those that she touches on a daily basis through her involvement in the community. In addition to owning Stewart and Associates, Inc., her management consulting firm, Stewart serves on the board for seven local organizations and is very active with the Aiken Chamber of Commerce. “I was this year’s United Way Campaign chair...there’s just a lot of causes that I’ve been involved with, and education is a big one so I’m especially excited about serving on the Public Education (PEP) board. I just think that if anyone has any talents or gifts to share, they should do so,” she said. “And if we’re fortunate enough to have a job and decent salary, we need to give back as much as we can. That’s been my motivating focus -- as much as has been given to you, you should give back.” One thing that Stewart tries to communicate to people is to always look for the positive aspect of any situation. And if there is ever a positive side to being diagnosed with cancer, she said, it’s that it
really puts everything in perspective. “We make such big deals out of little things and sometimes we don’t have the right perspective,” she added. “Don’t let cancer or something drastic happen to put things in perspective, enjoy it now. There is absolutely something wonderful about every single day if you just look for it. You won’t believe how much better life can be if you just open yourself up to it.” Today, Stewart said she is in currently in remission.
Life...is about how much you give.
And if there’s one thing that she has learned about life, it’s that it isn’t about how much you get. Life, she added, is about how much you give. “It may end up getting me someday, but it’s not really ever going to win. I’m 40 years past when they told me I would have six months to live, so I’m a happy camper,” she said. “There is life after cancer, and it can actually be a better life than the one you had before it. I have a wonder career, live in a community I adore, and am married to the love of my life. Because I’m so much more aware now, I just have a different perspective on life.”
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