Lung cancer educator dies after long battle
By Cindy Sutter
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Photo by Sammy Dallal
Susan DeWitt, a Superior mom who made a widely distributed DVD about her family's struggle with her lung cancer, died Wednesday. She was 43.
"She died at home with her family members holding on to her," said DeWitt's husband, Randy.
DeWitt, a Boulder County court reporter for eight years and founder of the Susan L. DeWitt Foundation for Extended Breath, was diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer in 2004 at the age of 39. Although DeWitt was a light smoker in her teens and 20s, she quit in 1992. After her diagnosis, she made it her mission to warn young people that even casual smoking can cause cancer. The DVD "Lung Cancer, Through My Children's Eyes” begins with this line from her son, Cody, then 19: "There are some things in life that people shouldn't have to go through."
Then this from his sister, Gabrielle, then 13: "I was afraid to go to sleep at night."
The film, now on You Tube as well as available on DVD through the foundation, has been distributed to school districts in Colorado and around the country. The family has subsequently made music videos about the subject.















