For 63-year-old North Tonawanda resident Barbara Slivan, life could not be better. In September 2000, the retired mathematics teacher and part-time instructor at the University at Buffalo and her husband were building their dream vacation home in the Southern Rocky Mountains.

Then she got the news. A routine check up revealed endometrial cancer. Surgery and radiation therapy followed. Her prognosis was excellent. Life was good again. Except now, Barbara was closely monitored by her Roswell Park Cancer Institute physicians. It was during just such a follow up visit this past August that a routine x-ray detected lung cancer.

"Life changed a lot that day. It was a total shock. I had not smoked in 40 years, not since college," Barbara recalls. "It was incredibly scary. Thankfully, it was only one spot." The family's trip back to their dream home was postponed.

"Cancer is such a scary word. The first time I was afraid of the unknown. The second time, I just wanted to tackle this head on, have the treatments, and get on with my life," she says.

That's what she did. Barbara's lung cancer was removed using a minimally invasive procedure called video assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). During VATS, surgeons remove the cancer through tiny openings rather than performing a major operation. She had a major section of her lung that contained the tumor removed.

Barbara was out of the hospital the following day. Less than two weeks after her surgery, this avid runner ran three miles, then 10 miles the next day.

"That's how good I felt. It was wonderful," Barbara recalls.

Barbara says she learned some lessons from her mother and grandmother, who were too scared to seek treatment. Both died from cancer. "I think Mom would be alive today if she had gone for help when she knew something was wrong. Treatments today are so different, effective and less painful."

Barbara's message of hope for the holidays: "Don't delay. Don't be afraid. If you think something is wrong, get help right away. You can have a long life even after cancer."