The Sidelines : Heather Farr Faces Further Treatment as Cancer Recurs

PHOENIX —  Heather Farr, who made a comeback on the LPGA Tour this year after breast cancer surgery in 1989, has had a recurrence of the disease and will undergo chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.

“My breast cancer has returned inside the bone,” Farr, 25, said today. “There is a spot in the back of my skull and a spot in a back vertebrae.”

The former Arizona State standout was coming off her most successful year on the LPGA Tour when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in July, 1989, and underwent a mastectomy.

After a series of chemotherapy treatments, Farr received a clean bill of health this summer and was looking forward to rejoining the tour.

But Farr said she had to stop golfing in November due to a pain in her back and now finds that even common chores are becoming difficult.

Farr’s problems are not limited to the stress of fighting cancer. She said her medical insurance dropped her this fall and she does not know how she will pay for her operation, estimated by her doctors to cost between $150,000 and $200,000.

She will begin chemotherapy probably next week at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for about six weeks.