Nearly 80 tennis players and pros took part in the American Cancer Society Breast Cancer Awareness Tennis Day November 3rd at Holua Tennis Center.

The day featured lots of pink — pink balloons, pink skirts, pink hats and pink balls, all a sign of support for the continuing battle against breast cancer.

Mixed in with the pink was lots of tennis —the event started with 4-courts of TennisCize followed by mini clinics conducted by certified teaching professionals, a racquet demonstration from Head/Penn, hit for prizes, silent auction and lunch.

The fundraiser was a solid monetary success, raising well-over $3,000 and Woerner believes it will help raise awareness of the fact that breast cancer is now a very treatable disease with more options available to women.

Two of the club’s breast cancer survivors, Lydia Woerner and Marilyn Warren were on hand to help organize and participate in the event.

Woerner offers hope for others with her own story of survival, which as she puts it, "…was a life changing experience, to say the least.”

“The impact of receiving a breast cancer diagnosis is devastating. For an avid tennis player, the correlation between the fight to survive this deadly disease is parallel to playing tennis; you are never quite sure what your opponent will deal you, and yet you must always be on your toes to receive the next shot. Winning the battle with cancer is much the same,” she added.

When she is not on the tennis court, Woerner spends some of her time counseling other women dealing with breast cancer.

Warren is fortunate to have had her support.

“Being a good tennis friend and neighbor, she was one of the first calls that I made when the doctor told me the news and she was supportive all the way,” said Warren. “She understood exactly what I was going through. She also knew how important it was for me to get back on the tennis court. In fact, my first question to her may have been when can I play tennis again?” Warren chuckled.

“We’re very proud of our ladies. They work hard, play hard and they’re thankful for each day,” said Donnia Bondallian, Director of Tennis.

Holua Tennis Center is the home of TennisCize Hawaiian Style, the Big Island’s best cardio tennis fitness workout. TennisCize was designed as a way to promote healthy living through a vigorous cardio tennis fitness workout.

“A sharp mind and a strong body are key factors employed in keeping our ladies healthy and going,” added Bondallian.

So, whether on the court or off the court—join the cause and help support breast cancer research.

Sidebar notes:
Here are some interesting statistics for 2007 and breast cancer.

178,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer cases and deaths are expected this year.

An estimated 40,460 women will die this year from breast cancer.

An estimated 2,030 men will be diagnosed and 450 will die from breast cancer.

Two of the most significant risks for breast cancer are being female and getting older. The majority of women diagnosed with breast cancer have no other known risk factors.

There are still no known causes for breast cancer, which is why it's so important for checkups.