[Kristin AGD]

This is an article I noticed quite a while back. I hope that she gets the information on the centennial quilt. Her patch would be really special.

Full Text:
Copyright Columbian Publishing Company Jun 5, 2003

Susan Simshaw, 52, never had a "master plan" for her life.

But that's OK with her.

Going with the flow led to marriage, fraternal twins, a passion for quilting and her extensive garden at her Cascade Park home -- all of which helped her survive breast cancer.

"I've never planned my life in any way. When you allow your life to evolve in the way it does, you don't have any disappointments," Simshaw said.

When she had breast cancer, "I just wanted to go to my doctor appointments and be a mom ... and be totally normal. I didn't go to support groups. My support was just being home and doing gardening, quilting and being with my kids."

Born and raised in Great Falls, Mont., Simshaw joined Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and graduated from Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont., in 1973.

She went on to teach elementary school in Denver and Helena, Mont. for several years before deciding to be a stay-at-home mother after her twins were born.

"It's the greatest honor and privilege to stay home," she said. "It took me about a minute and a half to decide" to quit work when her husband, Calvin, asked what she wanted to do.

The Simshaw family moved to Clark County in 1989. Calvin, also 52, is a corporate attorney in Vancouver. Their 17-year-old son and daughter, Drew and Darby, will graduate from Mountain View High School this month.

Susan adapted to life in the Pacific Northwest in two ways: gardening and quilting.

"Gardening totally evolved. I didn't set out with a plan," she said.

She became interested in gardening about four years ago but didn't know the first thing about it. So she followed around a friend who was a gardener and bought what her friend bought.

Now she has a perennial garden and waterfall in her back yard that she works on year-round. The front yard boasts several rose bushes and other flowers.

"Gardening is like quilting. I like putting colors together, moving things around ... and then you sit back and just enjoy it. It's such a pleasure," Simshaw said.

During the past 17 years, she has taught quilting classes and has made 94 impressive quilts of all sizes. They adorn the walls, doors and shelves of her home. Her quilting award ribbons hang in their own space in her hobby room.

"I've met my best friends through quilting ... who I know I'll have forever. And I was able to keep teaching that way."

Her latest project is a quilt with 400 four-inch blocks. She has 56 blocks completed and admits it's a lofty goal.

Another project with special meaning is the quilt Simshaw made to commemorate her five-year anniversary of surviving breast cancer.

After a routine mammogram in 1997, she got the call later that week that every woman dreads.

"The surgeon said I had cancer, have a good weekend and I'll be fine -- all in the same sentence," Simshaw said. "It's like when you get news about a death. You're stunned. You immediately think about your children and start imagining your children without you."

Simshaw was supposed to see the doctor on a Tuesday. By the Monday before, she said, she was a basket case and went to the doctor to insist on more information.

"I was sleep deprived and scared. All I knew was I had cancer. The lack of information in the beginning is the worst."

At the doctor's visit, Simshaw learned she had a slow-growing, colloid carcinoma a bit smaller than a half-inch in diameter. Fortunately the cancer was in an early stage.

"Once I saw it was in stage one, I knew I had a fighting chance. I started pulling myself out of my grave and could breathe again."

The next step was surgery. Simshaw underwent a lumpectomy, which took half of one breast.

For the next seven weeks, she drove to Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland for five-minute radiation treatments six days a week.

During the next five years, she took tamoxifen to block estrogen, since her tumor was estrogen driven. Fortunately she didn't experience side effects that can accompany the medicine.

She also went in for mammograms every three months for three years, then every six months for the next two years.

Now she's back to annual mammograms.

Susan said her family was very supportive through the ordeal. She had a hard time talking about it, but things are different now.

"Now I can talk about it. Last year I ran for Race for the Cure for the first time," Susan said.

Susan treats her future with the same philosophy she always has: whatever will be, will be.

"If something (the cancer) shows up again, we'll start over. I told my surgeon, 'I just want to see my kids graduate from high school.' Now it's happening."

- Very inspiring