Im in a Puddle of Gratitude'

THE FALCON CREST AND CASTLE ACTRESS WASN'T A SMOKER, BUT THIS FALL SHE LEARNED SHE HAD LUNG CANCER. SHE SHARES HER RECOVERY JOURNEY IN HOPES OF RAISING AWARENESS

- EILEEN FINAN and JORDAN GREENE

In the early 1970s, when Susan Sullivan was a young actress just getting her start in Hollywood, she landed what was, at the time, a plum job: a cigarette commercial. For the purposes of the ad, she was directed to take a puff of the cigarette. "Take a deep breath, and just enjoy the smoke," she was told. But as soon as she tried to inhale, "I coughed. I couldn't do it. My lungs were saying, "Don't you dare put any smoke down here, darling."" says Sullivan, now 81. "That was my first clue that I have to pay attention to my lungs. It took all of my acting ability to finish that commercial."

More than 50 years later Sullivan has become a familiar face on television, having appeared in more than 70 shows and TV movies, including starring roles on Another World, Falcon Crest and Castle. And she never did take up smoking.