Rita Süssmuth: Politician talks about her breast cancer

Rita Süssmuth (87) was diagnosed with breast cancer three years ago. The CDU politician has been undergoing treatment since then. She has now spoken to the magazine “Bunte” about the disease and explained where she draws her strength from now.

She is not feeling well, Süssmuth admits, the therapies are “not easy”. But she also has better days. Nevertheless, the 87-year-old is optimistic: “I remain positive and persevere. My illness has not prevented me from continuing my work for society.” She wants to “do my best in the future too”.

Losing her husband was difficult for her

And who is giving her strength right now? After all, Süssmuth had to cope with the death of her husband Hans Süssmuth, with whom she was married for 56 years, in 2020. “My family and my loving environment,” explains the mother of one daughter and grandmother of five. “And if I’ve learned one thing in my life, it’s not to give up.”

She dealt with the loss of her husband in a similar way: “It was a very hard new phase of my life. (…) But I tried to keep the feeling of being lost short. You can lose yourself in grief and I didn’t want that.”

Rita Süssmuth looks back on her life with “satisfaction”

Süssmuth joined the CDU in 1981 – relatively late at the age of 44 – and subsequently had a meteoric career. In 1983 she became chairwoman of the party’s Federal Committee for Family Policy. In Helmut Kohl’s (1930-2017) cabinet she was Federal Minister for Youth, Family and Health from 1985 to 1987. As such she shaped German AIDS policy and the fight for greater equality. From 1987 to 2002 she was a member of the German Bundestag, and from 1988 to 1998 its President. From 1986 to 2001 she was Federal Chairwoman of the Women’s Union.

She is not “proud” of her achievements, she told “Bunte”. “But I look back on parts of my life with satisfaction. (…) I know my strengths and weaknesses, but it was worth it. It was a meaningful life,” said the 87-year-old. During her political career, she “forgot how to laugh,” Süssmuth also admits. “But fortunately I’ve found it again. You have to see life as a clown, otherwise you can’t enjoy it.”

When Rita Süssmuth looks to the future, she does so with optimism and hope – but also with a bit of realism and curiosity. She is “not afraid of death” and at her age she knows how to “appreciate the gift of life,” says the politician. “I am realistic enough to know that it is finite. But who knows what awaits me afterwards.” Before that happens, however, she still has a lot to do. “I’m constantly thinking about whether I should buy an old guitar. Music moves more in me than just my head. Music can change people and I really appreciate that.”