After Cancer, Mary Stuart Is Back

NEW YORK (AP) â€” After battling cancer, soap opera veteran Mary Stuart says she's the ``luckiest woman in the world.'' <br><br>Stuart, who plays Meta Bauer on CBS' ``Guiding Light,''

Tuesday, January 9th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” After battling cancer, soap opera veteran Mary Stuart says she's the ``luckiest woman in the world.''

Stuart, who plays Meta Bauer on CBS' ``Guiding Light,'' suffered from stomach cancer in early 1999. She underwent surgery in which most of her stomach was removed, then went through five months of chemotherapy.

But when she finally felt well enough to return to acting, she developed Lyme disease and shingles.

After a year off, and with the help of herbal treatments from a Chinese doctor, Stuart is back on the air.

``With everything that's going on in the world, I can't make that much of one case of cancer,'' she says in Monday's New York Post. ``I'm not that important, even to myself. I just think: Let's get through this day.''

Stuart starred on ``Search for Tomorrow'' for all 35 years the show was on television. She's been on ``Guiding Light'' the past 10 years.