Suzanne Rogers is getting candid on her health.
The “Days of Our Lives” star, 82, revealed she has been diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer.
Rogers, who has portrayed Maggie Horton for 52 years, told TV Insider in an interview published on Thursday that she felt like something “wasn’t quite right” with her body.
The premonition led the soap opera actress to make a doctor’s appointment over the summer.
“He said, ‘I want you to have an MRI and I want you to have a PET scan and I’m going to do a biopsy,’” Rogers recalled. “And the minute he said that I knew that it was something more.”
Unfortunately, her fears were confirmed.
“He said, ‘You have cancer and you have to start treatment,’” recounted Rogers. “It was all a shock. I mean, I think I was in a shock for several days because I take pretty good care of myself. But he said, ‘It’s a good thing you caught it in time.’”
In June, the “Never Say Never” alum wrapped on “Days” and began treatment just days later.
“It was radiation every day and chemo every day for six weeks and it was tough,” Rogers shared with the outlet. “It was tough knowing you had to do it five days a week and then you had off Saturday and Sunday. I thoroughly enjoyed my weekends because I didn’t have to go to and see a doctor. I was so tired of seeing doctors.”
Luckily, the TV drama took a six-week hiatus in the summertime, which made it easier for the Hollywood vet to keep her battle private from the public.
“I was able to keep it under wraps and then the show took that break, so it wasn’t necessary to get into it all then,” Rogers, who is the longest-running star on any soap, detailed. “It helped me because it gave me even more time to chill and to get myself healthy.”
During treatments, the NBC star leaned on her coworkers – especially her on-screen daughter, Linsey Godfrey, who is a cancer survivor.
The 37-year-old beat Hodgkin’s lymphoma in 2006.
“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 continued. “We would go out to lunch or dinner with Paul Telfer [Xander Kiriakis] and Linsey’s daughter, Aleda. I knew I could count on them, so it was a lovely experience on and off the set. We really feel like a family.”
Rogers finished treatment on July 31 and is on the mend.
“The biggest thing is that I was tired because that’s not like me,” she said about side effects. “I have a lot of energy all the time, so it really kind of shook me thinking, ‘Am I going to get my energy back?’ And it seems like it’s coming back. It’s not 100% yet, but I feel better. Today I feel really good, and that’s happening more and more than the other way around, so I’m really happy about that.”
“I didn’t lose my hair,” Rogers noted. “I guess because I was taking the chemo pills. I’m sure there’ll be people that are saying, ‘Well, she didn’t really have cancer,’ but you know what? I really don’t care what people say. I know what I’ve gone through and I’ve come out on the other side, so that’s all I care about.”
These days, Rogers is looking forward to returning to the fictional Midwestern city of Salem, Illinois.
“I’m feeling really good,” she reiterated. “I start back to work next week, so we’ll see how that goes. Now, 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, let’s put it that way.”
Rogers also revealed that while she “used to worry about some silly things,” this experience made her take a step back.
“When you go through this, it kind of takes you a while to say, ‘OK, well, this is what I have, and I will do my very best to fight it and to get through it.’ And that’s what I did. The prayers and the good wishes from my friends and my family helped me stay positive and stay on top of it and beat this.”
Rogers’ cancer journey comes a year after the series lost longtime star Drake Hogestyn.
The actor, who played John Black on the soap opera for nearly 40 years, died of pancreatic cancer at age 70.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Drake Hogestyn,” the show’s Instagram account wrote. “He was thrown the curve ball of his life when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he faced the challenge with incredible strength and determination.
“After putting up an unbelievable fight, he passed peacefully surrounded by loved ones. He was the most amazing husband, father, papa and actor. He loved performing for the Days audience and sharing the stage with the greatest cast, crew, and production team in the business. We love him and we will miss him all the Days of our Lives.”
The show ended up killing off Drake Hogestyn’s character in an emotional episode, eight months after his real life death.
The moment saw Black flatline in a hospital with his wife, Dr. Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall), by his side.
“You have put up the bravest fight I have ever seen,” Evans told her dying husband in the character’s final scene. “I know you’re weary. I know you’re suffering. If you need to go, it’s okay.”
Black was injured in a lab explosion days before his death as he tried to help Steve (Stephen Nichols) discover a drug to save Bo (Peter Reckell).
His body was covered in gauze to hide the fact that the character was no longer being played by Hogestyn.
“We will always have you in our memories,” Dr. Evans, who married Hogestyn’s character six times, said at the end. “We will always hold you in our hearts. You can rest now.”
Meanwhile, this past January, Francisco San Martin, who portrayed Dario Hernandez on the long-running soap, was found dead by police at his Los Angeles home at age 39.
The star died by suicide.
