Cancer survivor Donna Leonard was the subject of an award-winning essay written by a friend, Janice Dominico.

Ms. Dominico was honored for that essay Friday at the Ligonier Relay for Life.

Ms. Leonard, 67, of East Huntingdon, has always considered herself a survivor. As a child, she was often told by her grandmother that "we are survivors."

That grandmother was to sail from England to the United States in 1912, but she was not allowed to board because two of her children had whooping cough.

That ship was called the Titanic.

The oldest of 11 children, Ms. Leonard grew up in the country on fresh fruit and vegetables.

When she graduated from high school in 1958, she had dreams of becoming an "airline hostess," but instead got married and had six children.

She was a travel agent in the 1970s. Finally, in 1997, at age 57, she applied to be a flight attendant with Continental Airlines -- and was hired.

Ms. Leonard flew for nine years, until torn shoulder ligaments forced her to take time off. The next year, 2007, she was diagnosed with colon cancer.

"It came as quite a shock to me," she said.

Choosing to avoid chemotherapy, she looked for alternative treatments and found one in the book "Outsmart Your Cancer" by Tanya Harter Pierce.

By September, a colonoscopy, scan and tissue samples taken during a resection surgery all showed she was cancer-free.

"Your attitude plays an immense part in fighting and surviving," she said.

She advises anyone fighting the disease to think: "If she can do it, I can do it."

-- By Laurie Bailey