Campbell Keeps Pushing Forward

She is the first active WNBA player to have been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the first WNBA player to have overcome the disease, nearly three years after the Houston Comets’ Kim Perrot died of lung and brain cancer.

But it is hard to decide which is more remarkable -- that Edna Campbell recovered enough to resume her pro basketball career, or that she is back in the starting lineup for the Sacramento Monarchs.

Campbell, 34, missed nearly all of the 2002 season, appearing in the Monarchs’ season finale against Seattle.

In six games this season, she has averaged 24 minutes of playing time and seven points a game. The rust in her shooting stroke -- she’s at 30% -- is understandable, but the energy she brings to the Monarchs has to be seen to be believed. After all, Campbell was still undergoing chemotherapy last October and did not start working out until January.

Her return to a high level has surprised even Campbell a bit.

“It was like anything else,” she said. “When you’re taken away from something you love to do, that’s a big part of your life, you miss it. And you’re eager to get back to it.

“But first and foremost, I was concerned about my health, making sure I was smart about the things I did. Getting back was in my mind, but there wasn’t an urgency to get back on the court. First things first.”

To look at her today, one would not suspect she had been ill. She is back at her playing weight of 152 pounds.

“I just look little,” she said, smiling.

Coach Maura McHugh said she has been careful not to overwork Campbell.

“This is new territory,” McHugh said. “Coming into the season, I was concerned how I would approach the situation. But she worked with our strength coach, Al Biancani [starting in January]. He told me he pushed her really, really hard.”

According to McHugh, Biancani said: “I’m telling you, Don’t have any qualms about her. She’s done more than I’ve seen anybody do. And that includes [Sacramento] Kings players.”

The Monarchs made a conscious effort to physically test Campbell as much as possible in practice. So far she has taken what they have dished out.

“The only fear is when you hand-check on defense sometimes and hit her in the chest,” said teammate Lady Grooms. “I was concerned about that because she told me at one time she was still sore. Other than that, we put it to her, and that’s what’s helping her play so well now. We didn’t take it light on her, and she didn’t want that. If you tried to take it easy on her, she would get upset. She’s just a warrior.”

Campbell is living proof of how far medicine has come in treating breast cancer. But the disease still has a devastating impact. State health officials anticipate 22,050 newly diagnosed cases for women in 2003, according to the California Cancer Registry. In 2002, there were 21,325 new cases and 4,275 deaths. (Breast cancer isn’t strictly a women’s disease. The registry anticipates that it will strike 150 men this year, a figure that could rise as examination and detection for men improves.)

The mother of an 18-year-old son, Campbell also works with a foundation to help young parents learn how to care for their children. For the time being, though, that is taking a backseat to her message of hope.

“I believe that adversity and hard times make us stronger,” Campbell said. “It’s hard, sometimes, for people not to buckle, or get their heads down when something traumatic happens or an obstacle seems to take over their lives.”

“I had to dig deep to find a different Edna, a stronger Edna. But I want people to know that a tough time doesn’t mean the end of the world. At the end of that tough period, you’re gonna look in the mirror and see a different person. And chances are, that person is gonna be able to do a lot more than they were able to do before.”

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A downside to the labor agreement that brought the players free agency and the owners a $622,000 salary cap was that the deal inadvertently froze out veterans who suddenly became too expensive for the new structure.

Former Spark Sophia Witherspoon is among the unlucky ones. Still looking in basketball shape when she received her ring Thursday from the Sparks 2002 WNBA championship season, Witherspoon is without a team.

As a six-year WNBA pro, Witherspoon, 33, could not play for less than the $41,200 minimum veteran salary at the start of the season. The Sparks were unable to fit her into their payroll, and with many veterans available because of the dispersal draft, other opportunities were few.

“I still want to play, definitely. I haven’t retired,” Witherspoon said. “This is part of the business, how things have shaken out. If I have to, I’ll just sit out this season. I’m still working out, thinking somebody might pick me up.”

As the season progresses, the veteran minimum will be prorated against the number of games played. Now it depends how long it takes for a team interested in Witherspoon to reach a dollar figure she could play for that is below its cap.

“It’s another way of staying patient,” Witherspoon said. “It’s also another way of looking at reality.”