CNHI News Service Midlife no crisis for Deb Cohen

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North Andover, Mass.: Deb Cohen of North Andover just got back from filming a segment of a television show in California for being "40 and Fabulous." She had a baby at 40 after surviving cancer and is now planning to do an 84 mile bike ride to raise money for cancer research. Thursday, May 24, 2007 Bryan Eaton/Eagle-Tribune

NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. — Deb Cohen is one 41-year-old who doesn't mind giving out her age.
She's in the best shape of her life, has two young daughters, survived cancer and is riding her bike 84 miles in the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge in August.
She was chosen to represent being 40 and Fabulous and will tell her story on the USA Network one week during the five weeks of the miniseries "The Starter Wife" starring Debra Messing.
"I have looked fear in the face and conquered it," Cohen said with conviction at her home Thursday.
Meanwhile, she looked around, joking, "Where are my hair people? Where is my agent?"
She was one of five women across the nation chosen from thousands who entered a Pond's contest that asked women to say why they are sexier, sassier and more confident after 40 than in their 20s and 30s. Her prize? A six-day pampering session in Hollywood complete with limousines, movie stars, designer clothes and filming her own commercial.
She was flown first-class (for the first time) to Hollywood on May 18. While there, she filmed a 30-second vignette telling her story. It will run on one of the five nights of "The Starter Wife," which begins May 31 at 9 p.m. and will run the next four Thursday nights. She doesn't know which night her story will be told.
Cohen said the only tough part about being away was missing her family and not being able to train for the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge.
The bike ride will be 84 miles from Wellesley to Bourne, something she has wanted to do for many years to raise money for cancer. Her father died of cancer six years ago.
When she was diagnosed four years ago with Hodgkin's disease after being sick but undiagnosed for a year, her first daughter, Grace, was only a baby.
Cohen had six months of treatment, which she said was her greatest challenge so far.
"Once you have gone through that and get to the other side, you feel like you can do anything," she said.
She has been cancer-free for three years. Every six months, however, she gets a phone call to go in for tests, a reminder of what she has made it through..
At 40, Cohen had her second baby, Abigail, now 14 months old. Cohen said when she was on maternity leave she finally decided to get serious about getting healthy, going regularly to the gym about four times a week and taking up spinning.
"I'm in the best shape of my life, really," she said. "No matter how old you are, it is never too late."
She said her bike training has prepared her physically, but her other experiences have prepared her mentally for the ride.
"When I'm riding my bike and there's a big hill ahead, I say, 'I have to do this,' and I do," she said.
Filming her 30-second commercial took more than two hours, but Cohen, who has done plays since she was 8, said she felt at home under the bright lights with people touching up her hair, makeup and clothes.
She chose clothes from racks of designer labels and shoes from rows and rows of selected footwear.
"It was beyond my wildest dream," she said. "I really, truly felt like a princess."
In between spa treatments and fine dining, she also attended the red carpet premiere of "The Starter Wife" with the four other 40 and Fabulous women. Photographers followed them as they stepped out of the limos and paused for interviews with "Extra" and "TV Guide."
Television and movie stars came over to take pictures with them, including Ryan Seacrest, Eric McCormack from "Will and Grace," Fran Drescher from "The Nanny," Marcia Cross from "Desperate Housewives" and Anika Noni Rose from "Dreamgirls."
Cohen said it's tough to return to normal life after that, but she looked forward to returning to the classroom on Tuesday.
Amber Bock, principal at Bates Elementary School in Wellesley, said Cohen is someone who always brings a spark to the classroom where she teaches second- and third-graders.
Bock said Cohen deserved a little star treatment.
"I'm thrilled for her. I think teaching is such a hard, demanding personal field where you spend all your time making others feel important," she said. "It's great when they get a chance to shine."

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For more information about the Pan-Massachusetts Challenge or to support Cohen in her ride, visit pmc.org.

Drake Lucas writes for The Eagle-Tribune of North Andover, Mass.