75-year-old Grand Strand woman with terminal cancer surfs as last wish

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — A Grand Strand woman with a terminal illness was recently able to check off the final item on her bucket list with help from a local surf organization.

Susan Rossman was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in July. Doctors told her she only had a few months to live.

Instead of trying to fight it, Rossman said she came to peace with the diagnosis and turned her focus toward living out the rest of her life to the fullest.

“It was the most exhilarating experience I ever had,” Rossman said.

At 75 and with a whole life lived, children raised and moments cherished, the one thing Rossman had yet to do was go surfing. So, through friends, she connected with Surf Dreams Foundation Executive Director Phil Jackson.

“Immediately, I said, of course I would take her out,” Jackson said. “Tell me the day, tell me the time. Here’s my schedule. Let’s do it.”

The two of them, along with others, met the morning of Labor Day, practiced for a while on the sand and then finally hit the water.

“That feeling of freedom and not thinking, ‘gee, I’m going to be dying soon,’ ” Rossman said. “Just living in the moment, catching the wave, going over the wave, not caring what my hair looked like or that my bathing suit was almost falling off it. Nothing mattered.”

She caught three waves and rode each one all the way back to the shore.

“I just want to be alive, and being out there made me really feel alive,” Rossman said.

Jackson said he was inspired by her positivity and stoke to surf.

“Surfing changes lives no matter what, no matter what you’re suffering from, or you just want to go out and surf or you’re having a bad day,” Jackson said. “That’s what surfing’s for.”

Rossman said she had struggled with cancer before, and this time didn’t want to put herself through surgeries or chemotherapy treatments.

Now, after checking off her last wish, she said she’s at peace.

“I’ve lived a wonderful life,” Rossman said. “I have two wonderful children. I have a great daughter-in-law. I mean, I’ve lived a good life.”

Rossman said she can’t thank Jackson and his team enough for the unforgettable experience they gifted her.

“It’s incredible what they’ve done for me,” Rossman said.

She said one message she would like to share with others is to be kind and to not be afraid of living your life.

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Adrianna Lawrence is a multimedia journalist at News13. Adrianna is originally from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and joined the News13 team in June 2023 after graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2023. Keep up with Adrianna on Instagram, Facebook , and X, formerly Twitter . You can also read more of her work, here .

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