Local woman chooses double mastectomy to deal with her cancer
Submitted by Daingerfield1 on
Marlene J. Bohr
Faced with breast cancer, an East Texas woman’s decision to have a double mastectomy was scary, but a decisive one for her. Amy Batts, 40, found a lump in her breast in May of last year.
“I made an appointment with the doctor and they sent me for a mammogram,” she said. “Then I was sent for a biopsy.
“I was really scared at first. They said it was Stage 2 cancer. I had never had a mammogram previously due to my age. I was lucky that my lump was really big so it was easily detected. It was on the side of the breast, but hadn’t spread past that area. I did breast exams in the past, but wasn’t that regular about it.”
The biopsy showed the lump was cancer.
“The doctor’s office got me an appointment with the oncologist in Texarkana,” Ms. Batts said. “The oncologist set me up an appointment with the surgeon, and they did surgery in June. I opted for a double mastectomy. I don’t have breast cancer in my family, but because I was so young to have breast cancer, I made that decision. It was up to me to have the double mastectomy; the oncologist or doctors didn’t try to persuade me either way. When I decided that was what I wanted, the doctor said it was what he would do.
“I figured I would rather not have to worry about it again. Because I am only 40, breast cancer is not very common in people that young. They did genetic testing to see if I had some sort of a mutation or whatever, but I didn’t. That was good news for my girls. I have two daughters, 22 and 24. They were glad to realize I didn’t have anything they could inherit.”
To continue reading this article purchase the June 12th edition of The Steel Country Bee or go to our online e-edition at: http://www.etypeservices.com/Daingerfield%20BeeID312/default.aspx
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