Sometimes, tennis is more than just a game.
On Tuesday, the Magnolia Tennis Club hosted its second brain cancer awareness mixer. About 45 participants played tennis and raised money to fight Glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer that has touched the life of a club member.
Club member Renee Phillips said the disease took the life of her husband, Doug, just a few months ago. The mixer was being held in his memory.
“The tennis club, the people here have just become our family,” Renee said. “We wanted to do something to raise money for brain cancer and just have fun playing tennis.”
Renee joined the tennis club in 2021, she said, since she just wanted to learn how to play the game. She had never played before, but the club was hosting a beginner’s clinic, helping her pick it up faster.
But in May 2022, Doug was diagnosed with brain cancer, Renee said. The signs and symptoms, she said, are often difficult to notice.
Thankfully, Doug’s condition was caught early.
“Some of the signs and symptoms are just common things like headaches,” Phillips said. “My husband had speech issues, and that’s kind of what alerted us to it, but he never had a headache or a seizure or anything that typically you would think about the brain.”
Renee said Doug received treatment for the disease at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. That treatment, she said, gave Doug 19 months to live before passing away on December 3. She said she is very grateful to the cancer center for giving her that time with him.
“It gave us as much time as we had with him,” Renee said.
All the while, tennis club members surrounded her with support, becoming her family’s second family. She said the sport is both active and social, and group members supported her through her husband’s diagnosis.
Club President Mary Margaret Swedenburg told The Dispatch that she joined the tennis club in 1996. At the time, she had two small children at home and needed an outlet. She found a “community that loves and supports its own.”
“Tennis is a wonderful community for the exercise, but less than the competitive exercise, it’s about a family,” Swedenburg said. “Once you start playing, the people that you play with and all the people that are here become kind of like your family.”
Swedenburg said the club hosts different mixers throughout the year, often in support of different causes the members are passionate about.
But knowing Renee and Doug made brain cancer awareness much more personal for club members.
“When this happened, and she was going through it… everybody poured in and said ‘we will be here for you and support your cause,’” Swedenburg said.
In May 2023, the club hosted its first brain cancer awareness mixer, Swedenburg said, for Brain Cancer Awareness month.
Swedenburg said the mixer raises money by charging a $25 fee to participate, though some attendees contributed more, with all proceeds going toward the cause. Food for the lunch that followed was donated, and Swedenburg said the club is continuing to accept donations from those who could not make it out for the mixer.
This year, family and friends came back together again for the same reason, carrying on Doug’s fight against the disease even after his passing to try to get rid of Glioblastoma for good.
“It seems like if we can put people on the moon, that we could figure out how to cure cancer,” Swedenburg said. “We hope that our efforts to support Glioblastoma research will help to cure that horrid disease.”
Emily Anne Callaway, a club member who had previous experience playing tennis, but picked it up again in 2021, said she joined to be more active and join a social group. Instead, she found a “sisterhood.” And when someone in that family is hurting, everybody “steps in.”
“Supporting cancer research and supporting one of your best friends at the same time is kind of a win-win for everybody,” Callaway said.
On Wednesday, Swedenburg said she expected the final mixer fundraising tally to hit $2,000. The money will be sent to MD Anderson in memory of Doug Phillips.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 38 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
