Struthers woman celebrates five years of cancer survival

By SARAH Lehr

slehr@vindy.com

STRUTHERS

When Terrie Mamounis found out she had cancer, she kept the news to herself at first.

“That’s not the moment when you want to talk to anybody,” she said. “All night long, I didn’t talk to anybody.”

Her doctor advised aggressive treatment, and she initially balked at the prospect of chemotherapy. But one of her family members told her if she chose to forgo treatment, she should write a letter to her grandson – telling him she wasn’t going to bother to stay alive, Mamounis remembered.

“Does my family fight fair?” Mamounis recalled with an affectionate laugh. “Not at all.”

That was five years ago. The Struthers resident, now 57, has been diagnosed with lymphoma and adult leukemia. Both conditions are in remission.

“We’ve had some scares, but they’ve just been scares,” Mamounis said.

Last month, Mamounis traveled to the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Philadelphia for a ceremony to mark five years of cancer survival. At the “Celebrate Life” event, Mamounis joined other patients in presenting yellow roses to caregivers, releasing doves and planting trees.

Mamounis is a vocal proponent for CTCA.

“It’s like a second family,” she said. “Everyone there, from the janitors to the doctors and nurses to the people who cook your food, talks to you and is rooting for you.”

She also is an ambassador for Cancer Fighters and an advocate for legalizing medical marijuana to manage pain.

Illness, Mamounis said, has taught her to advocate for herself and to always question doctors. She said she’s come to understand how much she relies on her family and friends.

Having experienced it herself, she would not wish cancer on her worst enemy.

“You lose a piece of yourself along the way,” she said.

Mamounis badgers her family to wear sunscreen and instructs her grandson to tell people he’s allergic to cigarettes so he won’t be exposed to second-hand smoke.

“I read the obituaries every day, and it makes me sick to see how many young people are dying from cancer,” Mamounis said.