How Golf Served as Inspiration for My Fight Against Breast Cancer Diagnosis

There is no way to prepare for a cancer diagnosis, and it often takes time to understand where your diagnosis is on the spectrum—anywhere from a mildly inconvenient detour to a horribly painful death sentence. Believe me, your mind goes to the darkest place very quickly.

In May 2015, I was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Stage 3 breast cancer, and my prognosis was somewhere in the middle. My treatment began with four months of intense chemotherapy, followed by a double mastectomy. The support from my family, friends and colleagues during those early weeks shaped how I approached treatment, and how I wanted to live, whatever time I might have left. Some of those interactions were more helpful than others, and often in unpredictable ways.

Shortly after my diagnosis, I asked a co-worker (I worked at Nike at the time) to go play golf. He said he thought I “wouldn’t be doing that sort of thing anymore.” It was not the response I was hoping for, but it was the response I needed. I used it as motivation to say: Fuck you, and fuck cancer. I’m going to play as much golf as I want.

At that moment, golf became more than something I did for the challenge and fresh air. It became a refuge and an incentive to continue living my life while I battled the disease that threatened it. Golf gave me a reason to get up, get out and keep moving. For every round of chemo, I played one round of golf (well, sometimes two or three). After several rounds of chemo, I realized that the lessons I had learned playing golf for more than 10 years were applicable in my fight against cancer. Here are nine that have had a positive effect on my life and might have value for you. You can read the original article written by me for Golf Digest (November 2019) here.