A New York transgender woman says her surgery was denied when she was turned away by her surgeon because of her gender identity.

Amber Lee Stoppelman was in the hospital on Thursday for a breast and prostate cancer surgery.

She told CBS New York that her surgeon, Dr. Mark Boulware, denied her treatment, saying she was not in a position to be a surgeon and that he had to treat her “the way he treats people like me.”

Stoppelman said her surgery would have cost about $100,000, and she is currently waiting for her appointment with Dr. Boulwares surgeon.

“He said that he couldn’t do the surgery because I am transgender, and I said, ‘No, I can’t be a transgender person,'” Stoppell told CBS 2’s Jennifer Gannon.

“He said, that I am not the patient that you are supposed to be treating, and that I was a patient that he could treat as a patient.”

Dr. Mark C. Bouchard, who has performed more than 50 surgeries for Stoppels, denied that he discriminated against Stoppells gender identity, saying he simply does not have the capacity to do the surgeries.

“My concern is for the patient, and my concern is that you have a surgeon that has never had any surgery that is transgender,” Bouchart said.

“There is no such thing as transgender surgery.”

“I’m not the one that was denied surgery, I’m not transgender, I was turned down because of my gender identity,” Stoppes told CBS2.

“I was turned around and I was like, ‘Why?'”

“You should be allowed to make your own decisions about your own health, and it’s up to you to make that choice,” Boulvises attorney, John Stoll, said.

Stoppelt said she was angry and frustrated that her surgery, which would have saved her life, was denied.

“I think it’s a huge shame, because I had so much hope that I would get this right, and the whole thing is kind of ridiculous,” she told CBS4.

Stoppel, who is married and lives in Brooklyn, is a former cheerleader and now works as a social worker.