Oldie Goldies: 'Diva' shares her secrets to happiness, health

It doesn’t take long with Delores Sanders to pick up on being in the presence of a diva.

First, there’s her carriage. Even though she’s checked in at the Medical University of South Carolina’s chemotherapy infusion suite at the Hollings Cancer Center, she’s decked out in a floral jacket, jewelry and pumps. Her nails shine a bright firehouse red.

Her hair, of course, is “fabulous.” She’ll tell you.

She’s thrilled to have been selected to be part of the MUSC News Center’s Oldie Goldies series about people age 60 and over who embrace aging with vim and vigor, serving as role models of how to maintain health and vitality.

“I’m 60, and I’m proud of it, honey,” she says, laughing.

So what’s her secret to aging well and being happy?

“My secret is having Christ in my life, first of all. That’s it. When you find him and you’re just living for him it makes all the difference in the world.”

For her, this is not just lip service. Sanders has been a member of the Greater Howard AME Church in McClellanville since 1979 and the choir director there for more than 30 years.

“I love singing. I do. I told God I want to have a seat in his heavenly choir where I can just sing like an angel.”

Originally from Ravenel, Sanders fell in love with her music teacher her senior year in high school. “My husband said when he saw me, he knew I was the one for him. In my yearbook before we got married, he wrote that he wanted me to be his wife and the mother of his children.”

That’s not to say Sanders' cheerful attitude rises from always having had it easy. When the couple learned that she wouldn’t be able to have any children, for example, she took it in stride.

“I just told my husband, we’ll just have to grow old together.”

Then when her husband died in October 1998 when he was 50, she had to find a path through that grief. For her, of course, it was relying on her faith. “I’ve learned that death has no age. He’s in a much better place so all I have to do is live right and I’ll get to see him.”

Sanders says what works for her is keeping a positive attitude regardless of what she’s going through. “You are going to have your ups and downs. You’re always going to have those. When you put God first, though, he’ll bring you through it. I’m a living witness to that. He’s awesome. Yes!” she says, punctuating words as if delivering a spirited sermon.

Her phone rings. “Wait a minute. Let me see who’s calling the diva.”

Sanders chats with her sister briefly and then cuts the call short. “The diva will have to talk to you later because she’s really busy.”

Family is important to Sanders. She has three sisters and three brothers. “We all are very close, but I wouldn’t want none for a neighbor.” She grins. “They tell me none would want me either.”

Sanders has held various jobs through her life, including working for a lawyer in Ravenel and being a substitute teacher at Lincoln High School.

She has stayed open to life. She started dating and met a man, Leroy Newton, about nine years ago. She recalls meeting Newton, who has five children, on a Friday afternoon at an Applebee’s restaurant in Summerville. “When I pulled off and looked in the mirror, I thought, yeah, I think he’d be a good catch,” she recalls. “He’s wonderful. I wouldn’t take a million dollars for him.”

They are thinking of getting married. His children are almost like her own, she says. She told his daughter Kim about a month ago how grateful she was to have met her father. “If someone else would have met him, I would have missed out on so much.”

In Sept. 2014, Sanders found out why she was feeling sick. Her doctor came in to tell her that her test results showed that she had uterine cancer. “I told her that’s not what Dr. Jesus said. I didn’t get upset. I feel it’s all going to be OK. I have no doubt. Just because you hear the word cancer, it does not mean death. Uh – uh, it does not. I did not go home and mope and moan.”

Instead she went back and prayed about it and got back to her regular routine.

“I love to shop. And I love being a choir director. I love collecting doll babies.”

True to her positive nature, Sanders decided to participate in clinical trials at MUSC’s Hollings Cancer Center. Her physician, Jennifer Young Pierce, M.D., says Sanders participated in a Phase III national NCI trial looking at uterine cancer chemotherapy, testing the standard treatment versus standard chemotherapy with an anti-hormone medication.

“Ms. Sanders is an absolute pleasure to take care of as a patient,” Pierce says. “She is always overflowing with a positive attitude and lights up the entire clinic when she comes.  She lives every day to the absolute fullest and is an example to all of us on how to greet each day with joy despite her struggles with cancer.”

The Hollings Cancer Center does a promotional series to raise awareness of the importance of clinical trials. Sanders is featured on one of those posters, and of course, was glad to be part of the campaign.

“Oh, yes, girlfriend. I want to be an inspiration and let people know that all things are possible. You can’t give up. You have to be positive. With all that I’ve been through and where I am now, I’ve learned that you just have to focus on the good.”

She likes the idea of being part of research that might be able to help others. She’s not sure when her treatment will end, but she’s grateful for Pierce, she says. “With Dr. Pierce, she’s awesome. God knew exactly where I needed to be so far as a doctor. She is a Christian, and I love her dearly. I just thank God for her every day. I wish she were my next door neighbor.”

When asked about hobbies, Sanders says she doesn’t much like cooking. She and Newton tend to eat out a good bit. At the mention of gardening, she laughs. Bright fingers wave in the air, implying what part of diva has been missed here.

“That’s all part of the diva package. It’s a good positive attitude and shop until you drop and makeup and fabulous hair.”

The other part is just being herself, she says.

“That’s what it’s all about. This is me. I love to make people smile. Sometimes a person may be going through something, and you would never know what they are going through.

“But sometimes just to give them a smile or say, ‘Hello, today is the day for your miracle’ – something like that. You never know what will help.”