Susan Sarver of Harmony attended the 30th Annual Celebrate Life event hosted by the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, where she was treated for bladder cancer. She is pictured here beside Richard J. Stephenson, founder and chairman, and her commemorative tree, which symbolizes her strength and resilience.

HARMONY — A borough woman recently returned from a trip to Chicago where she celebrated five years of cancer survival at the hospital where she was successfully treated for bladder cancer.

Susan Sarver attended the 30th annual Celebrate Life event hosted by Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA).

“That place is amazing,” Sarver said. “If you’re gonna die from something, you want to go there. It’s like a spa.”

After she was diagnosed with bladder cancer, Sarver’s sister, Cindy Flugher, told her about a place that could make her a new bladder. Before she knew it, CTCA flew her to Chicago for an all-expenses paid trip for tests and treatment.

“They flew me in for free; they picked me up in a limo; they paid for all my food while I was there,” Sarver said. “They do that for anybody.”

Sarver said her doctors worked to educate her about her treatment options and were very receptive to her input.

“They try anything, and they won’t stop trying,” she said. “At no point is there no hope.”

Sarver said she met brain cancer patients no one else would treat and doctors who were doing their best to work with patients nervous about conventional radiation treatments or surgery.

“They have a policy called the ‘mother standard,’” Sarver said. “It’s basically ‘How would you treat your mother?’”

The center also conducts “nice tests,” Sarver said, in which staff are tested in their ability to interact with patients and which they must pass if they are to work at the center.

Ultimately, Sarver’s doctor laid out a plan to make her a new bladder out of her small intestine. After successful surgery and further treatment, Sarver said, she finally began moving back to a full recovery.

“I’ve been my old self for the past few years,” she said.

During her treatment, Sarver’s sister was also diagnosed with cancer.

Sarver said her experience gave her a unique perspective, letting her help her sister like no one else could.

“We think it’s a God-ordained thing, because she wouldn’t listen to anybody but she’d listen to me because I’d been through it,” Sarver said.

Flugher is doing well, Sarver said, and is pursuing homeopathic treatments, which her doctors say are working.

On June 8, Sarver joined over 100 survivors at the CTCA’s 30th Annual Celebrate Life event in Chicago.

“They have a celebration. Last week they flew us in,” Sarver said. “They have a whole ceremony. They planted a tree in my honor.”

The ceremony saw the survivors honored, with many offering support and encouragement to the current center patients.

“Celebrate Life is one of the most important and revered days of the year for Cancer Treatment Centers of America,” said Scott Jones, president and CEO of CTCA in Chicago. “It is a moment in time where we amplify our commitment to our patients and continue our long-established and joyful tradition of honoring our five-year cancer survivors for their fight, determination and courage.”