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SALT LAKE CITY — Morgan Watson was 15 years old when she felt a lump. Many people think breast cancer just doesn't happen to 15-year-old girls. Although it's rare, it does happen, and it did to her.
"Breast cancer can affect you at any age, and I think the stigma that it's an older woman's disease needs to be removed," she said.
The diagnosis of cancer came right after she started her junior year at Herriman High School. Suddenly, she got whisked into the world of hospitals, chemo, surgery, radiation and recovery.
"My advice to other people getting diagnosed is that it gets better every day," she said. "You can't expect it to get better in one day; you have to live day by day."
After surgery, chemo, radiation, she's now cancer-free. But she has a unique gene that makes her more susceptible to cancer. Watson must get tested every six months now.
But she's continuing to live, finishing her senior year, acting in "Alice in Wonderland" and getting ready to participate in next week's Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Last year's Race for the Cure inspired her. She's urging others to race, too, because of the money it raises.
- Saturday, May 12
- Library Square
200 East 400 South
Salt Lake City - Register at komenslc.org
"It's going to affect you at some point in your life and you need to be prepared," she said. She urges everyone to get involved, saying you never know who will face breast cancer.
Organizers of this year's Race for the Cure are urging more people to sign up to participate on May 12, to help them meet their goals and continue providing funds to local breast cancer groups.
