Colts Neck resident Michele Battista is active and hardworking in promoting everything the Friends of the Colts Neck Library do. She’s also a hard worker and keeper of all records, telephone receptionist and general all-around perfectionist at her job as office administrator for Colts Neck Realty where she now works part-time. And she has a loving family and a second grandchild on the way to keep her happy and busy in her spare time.
But if there is any one thing this hard working, very organized and very charming lady is really dedicated to, it is promoting early screening for colon cancer, something she is certain will prevent so many people from undergoing what she has undergone and continues to live with.
The good news is Michele Battista is a cancer survivor, and this year she is proud to say it is 13 years she can boast of being a cancer survivor.
The active lady was recently honored and recognized by a variety of groups this year, most recently the Colts Neck Township Committee who commended her at their recent meeting for her advocacy for cancer screening.
The Township Committee applauded Battista for not only for her bravery in going through years of worry, concern and pain but also her determination to overcome the disease herself and dedicate so much of her time to helping others avoid it.
Battista was also presented with a resolution from the New Jersey State Legislature for all her efforts by Assemblyman Margie Donlon as part of the recognitions for March being Colorectal Cancer Awareness month. Colts Neck Living recently featured Battista on the front page of the magazine along with an in\depth story about her life and fight with cancer.
A native of Middletown, Michele grew up in the River Plaza section, then lived in Freehold after she married in 1988. In 1993, the family moved to Colts Neck where they she and her husband now live.
It was Valentine’s Day in the year she turned 50, 2012, that Michele made an appointment for a colonoscopy. It was not because she wanted one, had any signs of anything wrong, or had any symptoms. It was simply because she was 50 and in 2012, doctors were advocating colonoscopies at age 50 to determine if cancer was present in the colon.
Her appointment for the procedure happened to be Valentine’s Day. Michele woke up from the procedure, to hear the words no one ever wants to hear : “you have cancer.”
Two weeks later, she was back in the hospital, this time for cancer surgery. The surgery determined her cancer was stage 3b, meaning it had spread through the muscle layer of the colon wall to the outermost layer or to the other organs of the abdomen.
That hospital visit was for five days. The next month, April 6, Michele was back in for a chemo port placement and four days later, she got her first chemo treatment.
There were three drugs, along with a three-page list of all possible side effects. Somehow, Michele managed, unfortunately, to “log every side effect.” So her oncologist tweaked her chemical cocktail down to six from the original 12. But Michele took all the treatments for the next several months, finishing the last treatment on September 13, 2012….there are some dates you just never forget, the brave and determined lady said.
One of the results of all this treatment, however, resulted in Michele being hit with CIPN, a nerve damaging side effect that can affect all parts of the body, from the toes to the fingers and affects four out of every 10 chemo patients.
The disease can make it difficult to get around, to bend down, to move, and always causes severe pain. While it can sometimes last only a few months, in Michele’s case, it still remains with her today, changing many things in her lifestyle. Still she meets, accepts, and overcomes the challenge.
Ever the optimist and forward thinker, Michele considered herself free of cancer as soon as she had completed her 12 rounds of chemo, necessary procedures in order to catch any stray cancer cells in her body.
She praises her oncologist, Dr. Ursiina Teitelbaum at U Penn in Philadelphia for helping her through every procedure. Dr. Teitelbaum was on vacation when Michele had the CT scan and MRI on September 14, 2012, but called to give the strong Colts Neck woman another three-letter message, this one NED…no evidence of disease.
Chances of recurring colon cancer within five years were about 70 per cent, but Battista beat those odds. Now 13 years later, she continues to brag, cheer, spread the word for early detection testing and thanks God she is still cancer free.
There are still times and pains this happy grandma has to deal with, but she does it with confidence and the energy to promote early detection for everyone else..
“When I was first diagnosed, I didn’t want to even talk about it, let alone advocate for colon cancer screenings,” Battista said. “Then I discovered one in 20 Americans were diagnosed with colorectal cancer back in 2012. Those odds were the motivation I needed to get the word out about the importance of being screened. It saved my life and I wanted to do the same thing for everyone else.”
Battista’s urging and explanations motivated eight family members and friends to get their first or follow up colonoscopy. “I’d like to think that number has grown over the years with the awareness events I have been at, “she adds.
In the past 13 years, Michele has learned to live with her CIPN, has had a hysterectomy, and been diagnosed with osteoporosis and atherosclerosis. Still she continues an active lifestyle.
Today, one in 24 Americans is diagnosed with Colorectal Cancer in their lifetime. It is the leading cause of cancer deaths for young men and the second leading cause of cancer deaths for young women.
For Michele Battista, wife, mother of one son, grandma of one grandson and soon to be grandma for a second, that’s enough reason to continue to tell her story and promote medical tests and procedures to catch a killing disease in its early stages.
