Girls of Cancer: Miss May

Suzanne Somers

Is she best known for being on Three’s Company, Step by Step, or as the Thighmaster spokeswoman?

Step by Step was one of the sitcoms on ABC’s fantastic TGIF Friday night lineup. As a kid, TGIF was as good as it got; so long as I could stay awake until the end of Hangin’ with Mr. Cooper at 10:00 pm.

Family Matters was the warm-up for Boy Meets World, the best of the bunch. So what if the nearly two-minute-long opening credits were the best part of Step by Step? That, and every scene with Patrick Duffy.

Admittedly, I used to watch* syndicated episodes of Step by Step on ABC Family while eating lunch. *last year

Suzanne Somers was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001. Following surgery and radiation, Suzanne forewent chemotherapy, part of the conventional regimen, and instead chose an alternative treatment consisting of injections of Iscador, an extract of mistletoe. I was getting chemotherapy for my first cancer at the time, and thought, Suzanne Somers is committing suicide. I somewhat understood that chemotherapy can cause late effects, but at seventeen I couldn’t fathom diverging from the traditional, doctor-recommended approach to treatment, and considered anyone who did so to be quitting on life.

Fairly or not, much like sports where only the final scoreboard ultimately matters, those who choose nontraditional cancer treatment are judged by whether they survive. Fortunately for Suzanne and her millions…and millions of fans, she was right.

At age 62, Suzanne Somers’ thighs are still the masters.