Sister Mary Juliana Cox, O.P, the principal of Cardinal Hickey Academy in Owings, Md., is in constant motion. A hundred questions fly at her from students, parents, teachers and staff: Will school be canceled because of an imminent snowstorm? Which hymns should be sung at tomorrow’s prayer service? Can she locate extra clothes for the elementary student who just got sick? Her cell phone rings from a hidden pocket in her habit: someone with more questions. Sometimes the questions are in code: Did she see the thing about that thing? Miraculously, she has the answers.

You shouldn’t just survive after cancer, but thrive-live each day to its fullest. That’s the lesson cancer survivors, or others who have battled life-threatening diseases, learn from their struggles, says La Plata resident Roberta Kieliger. And she should know. Back in 1995 Kieliger was diagnosed with cancer. Several years later, determined to help others diagnosed with breast cancer she formed the support group, “Sisters at Heart.” The group quickly morphed into a local cancer education awareness powerhouse.