Copyright New York Daily News
Legendary “Days of Our Lives” star Suzanne Rogers is opening up about her colon cancer diagnosis. The 82-year-old actress, who has starred on the long-running soap opera for more than 50 years, disclosed her health status in a new interview published this week. Rogers said that after alerting her doctor that something “wasn’t quite right” earlier this summer, she was instructed to undergo proper testing to determine the cause of her concern. “He said, ‘I want you to have an MRI, I want you to have a PET scan, and I’m going to do a biopsy,’” she told TV Insider. “And the minute he said that, I knew that it was something more.” Following numerous procedures, the Daytime Emmy winner was eventually diagnosed with stage II colorectal cancer — something she said came as a shock. “I think I was in a shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself,” she shared. “But [my doctor] said, ‘It’s a good thing you caught it in time.’” Rogers waited to finish shooting “Days of Our Lives” in June and then immediately began treatment, including having radiation and chemo on the majority of days the soap was on summer hiatus. “It was tough knowing you had to do it five days a week and then you had off Saturday and Sunday,” she said. “I thoroughly enjoyed my weekends because I didn’t have to go and see a doctor. I was so tired of seeing doctors.” With no family in the L.A. area, Rogers said she turned to her co-stars for support —- particularly Linsey Godfrey, who plays her onscreen daughter and is herself a cancer survivor. “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,” Rogers confided. “We really feel like a family.” By late July, The “Knight Rider” alum completed her treatment. She’s now looking forward to getting back into character as Maggie Horton — the role she’s played since 1973, making her both the longest-running actor in American daytime drama history. “I start back to work next week, so we’ll see how that goes,” she told TV Insider about returning to the NBC/Peacock series. “I’m feeling anxious like I do any time I get scripts because I want to do my very best and you don’t want to hold up anybody. So that’s the only anxiousness I feel. It’s not because of my illness.”
