Ostine Watts Kingsville resident and cancer survivor Ostine Watts is on a mission; she wants to complete a marathon in each of the 50 United States and in the past year alone she has already done six.

Her ambitious goal comes from a promise she made to herself when she

was diagnosed with Stage 2-B invasive breast cancer in May 2007.

“When I was first diagnosed with cancer I didn’t ask God why?” Watts said. “Instead I wanted to honor how I dealt with the disease.”

Watts said people ask her why she does marathons and she never hesitates to tell them her story.

“I do marathons to honor God for his gratitude in healing me,” Watts said.

Following her diagnosis, Watts had a bilateral mastectomy in June 2007 at the Cancer Centers of America and has been cancer free since.

“I used the racing analogy to get through the cancer ordeal,” Watts said.

“You pay an entry fee, get a goofy T-shirt, hurt like heck during the race and are relieved when it is over!”

Watts credits her husband, Ramon De La Paz, son Ben, mother Jo Anne, family, and friends for their support during her illness.

A native of Kingsville, Watts earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&I University and currently works as a school psychologist at Tuloso-Midway ISD.

Watts stresses to all women to get a second opinion from other doctors.

“Don’t be afraid to be pushy with the medical community,” Watts said. “Don’t worry about offending them — it’s your life!”

Most of all, Watts says to never give up hope.

“I often take fellow cancer club buddies with me on the marathon because they are not usually able to go along because of cancer,” Watts said.

“They are going through so much more than 26.2 miles as they battle this awful disease.”