“I’M JUST VERY BLESSED!” These are the words KSAT-12 anchorwoman and Schertz resident Leslie Mouton used to describe her life nearly 13 years after beating breast cancer. The petite and effervescent Mouton said her career and raising a daughter keep her very busy these days.
Lafayette. She is a former military wife whose husband, Tony Mattox, spent 22 years in the Air Force as a pilot before retiring. Somehow she managed to keep her broad-
on the early morning and noon shift. She was moved to the afternoon newscasts for awhile before returning to the early morning and noon shift. She said management felt like
Asked what attracted her to broadcast journalism, Mouton replied, “My father actually dated the local anchor in Lafayette, and I loved her and would go to work with her and sit behind the desk and was just smitten with the bug and loved it and was blessed enough to be able to do it.”
The 48-year-old is also involved with a multitude of charities and events that help women with breast cancer in a variety of ways, including the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure and Wings, a local group that provides free treatment and lifetime follow-up care for women with breast cancer who are uninsured or underinsured.
When her cancer was first discovered Mouton said her first reaction was that it was going kill her career.
At just 35 years old, Mouton was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer called Infiltrated Ductal Carcinoma. There is no history of cancer in her family but because she was doing monthly breast self exams, the cancer was caught in its early stages.
Mouton can barely believe it’s been 13 years since her cancer diagnosis. These days her daughter Nicole, who was only 2 when Mouton was diagnosed with breast cancer, attends Clemens High School and is in the band. Mouton and her husband stay very busy with all of their daughter’s extracurricular activities, which also includes theater and church functions. Mouton also is a motivational speaker who has received a number of awards and honors for her charity work and efforts to help breast cancer victims.
“I just made the decision — I felt compelled by God — to go public with it and share it and let cameras follow everything and then even anchored a newscast bald,” Mouton said. “That got national attention because back then no one did it. Now everyone is doing it. It was an avenue for me to talk about the importance of early detection.” Going bald did indeed garner Mouton lots of attention. She was featured on Good Morning America, Weekend Today and also appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show. Mouton was born in Lafayette, La., and is a graduate of the University of Louisiana,
“Wasn’t even worried about it killing me; I thought I’m young, I’m 35, prime of my career and this is not a convenient time for me and oh no what will people think when they hear I have cancer,” she said.
Leslie Mouton (right) and husband, Tony Mattox, and daughter Nicole Mattox. cast news career going and worked in Alexandria, La., San Angelo, KENS-5 in San Antonio, Dallas, and Columbia, S.C., before her husband’s Air Force career returned them to Randolph AFB and the San Antonio area. She quickly went to work for KSAT-12
she and her fellow newscasters Steve Austin and Mike Osterhage just make such a great team and that their personalities fit well together. “And it has worked out great for us,” Mouton said.
Mouton and her family have lived in Schertz for 14 years. Despite making it into a top ten market with her job in Dallas, she loves the San Antonio area and has no desire to go anywhere else. “It’s (Schertz) absolutely home — I’m involved in the community. I hate the traffic — just going to HEB is a pain now. Our sleepy town is not so sleepy anymore. But I still love it.”
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