SHANA TWOHY’S STORY | 1937 – 2005

In October 2005, Shana ended a courageous 38-year long battle with ovarian cancer. Our amazing friend, with her huge sense of humor, her love of life, her joyful spirit, her indomitable courage and unwavering determination to live, left us as she lived, with strength and dignity. She defied the odds, defied every doctor, every daunting prognosis, year after year of her incredible life.

When Shana was 29 years old, the doctors said she had six months to live; one year would be a miracle. The miracle was Shana. After aggressive chemo and radiation treatment, she went into remission for l7 years before the cancer came back. For the next 22 years, she fought through three recurrences, every aggressive treatment, traditional and experimental, and dealt with the devastation to her body.

Shana thrived on the love and support of her husband John, her family and her many friends. She had a bustling real estate career, played tennis and golf, took art classes, and was always eager to tackle new challenges.

One of her real estate associates remembers Shana “as one of the funniest, brightest, most courageous and most irreverent human beings who ever sat in a Monday morning meeting. Whether it was playing bridge or poker with her pals, acing a serve on the tennis court, Shana exuded a joy for life that couldn’t go unnoticed. Her life was about the people she attracted and loved, and she knew better than any of us how to enjoy the time that often threatened to stop too short.”

Another friend said, “Shana lived life at full throttle. She always moved in the fast lane, gunned every engine, teetered on every edge, seized life by the throat and shook it like a terrier shaking a rat. She set such a high bar for courage in the face of death that she will forever affect all of us who knew her.”

– Joyce Hunsaker, Shana’s Friend