Centre College Softball Player Taylor Webb Shares her Journey to Beat Cancer

Taylor Webb has a new perspective on playing softball after her battle with cancer.

Taylor Webb had played in five games and made three pitching appearances for the Centre College softball team last season when not only her season but her life dramatically changed.

“I was studying one day and started having pain. I was like it was no big deal because being a student-athlete you are always pretty stressed out. I just figured it was anxiety,” said Webb.

She stayed in pain for a few days and even pitched in a game but the next night she had to go to urgent care at the college.

“They told me if I was having chest pains as an 18 year old, then something was wrong. I had COVID the week before and just figured it was residual symptoms,” she said.

Webb was sent to the emergency room for tests and eventually was told medical staff needed to call her parents.

“I thought, ‘Oh crap, something is very wrong.’ But it never crossed my mind that there could be something seriously wrong. Then they told me they had found a tumor that was large and in a concerning place. At that point everything kind of stopped for me,” Webb said.

Her roommate, softball player Tori Candler, was with her. Webb’s father was actually at the SEC Basketball Tournament in Nashville — she is from Brentwood, Tenn. — but he “dropped everything” to head to Danville.

“I knew I had a tumor and it was large but I really didn’t know what cancer was and having cancer never crossed my mind at 18. I thought they (surgeons) would just go in and rumor the tumor, I will have a gnarly scar and be on my way,” Webb said. “I never thought I would go through the amount of treatment I did. I kind of knew I was in danger but I didn’t really know just how serious it was.”

Webb and Candler went back to campus to tell coaches and teammates. She hung out in the training room because “we were in shock” and didn’t know where else to go.

Surgery was ruled out because the tumor was too close to her heart and was pushing into her lung. She was officially diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a treatable cancer. Doctors decided chemotherapy treatment was less risky than surgery.

She started chemotherapy in April at Vanderbilt University in Nashville and continued taking treatments every other week until October. She finished her freshman spring semester remotely and worked it out last fall so she had classes only on Tuesday and Thursday. She would drive him and take chemo treatment on Friday and come back to Danville for class on Monday.

“Chemo was hard. I was pretty lucky that I bounced back quicker than someone older would but I was definitely out of it for the first four days after treatment,” Webb said. “I ended up looking quite rough, I lost a lot of hair and physically I was not in the best shape but I was able to continue my everyday life for the most part. I think taking classes was the one thing that made me think I still had control and I didn’t want that taken away from me. I also worked over the summer as a server and they would give me time off when I needed it.”

She said her oncologist never discussed her mental health with her and she suffered periods of depression during her treatment.

“The way you interact with cancer is really different from the way you interact with other kinds of trauma and disorders,” Webb, who wants to be a clinical psychologist and possibly help others who need specialized treatment after having an experience like hers, said. “It was hard on me, especially trying to figure out if this person feels bad for me, do they know or not know (she had cancer). I didn’t look great and looked kind of sick and had to learn to interact with the world again.

“There was a solid month or two where I didn’t really come out of my room. I went from living the same life as my teammates and other friends on campus and then  I am back at home sick and not sure if I would be okay. That took a toll on me mentally.”

The good news is that not only is she back on campus full time this semester but she’s also back playing softball. She always wanted to play again but wondered at times if she could or what it would be like.

“I didn’t know if I could even make contact with the ball or pitch,” she said.

She realized when she couldn’t play how easy it was to take for granted being a college athlete.

“I said if I ever step on the field again, playing or not, that would be more than enough for me,” Webb said. “Being able to come back and the thought of actually playing in a game is more than I could ever ask for. I am so, so grateful for that. Going through what I did has given me a lot of perspective and to just be happy I am alive, well and healthy. I am cancer free and nothing else matters that much.”

Webb’s return hit an extra roadblock when she had to have her tonsils removed on Jan. 8 just to make sure they were not cancerous — and they were not.

“I have surprised myself some with the way I have come back but I think not having my tonsils and a seven-centimeter tumor in my chest has helped my aerobic ability,” Webb said. “It’s still my job to make sure I don’t overdo it. I have communicated to the coaches that I know my limits and if I need a break, I will give myself one.”

Webb will have an exam over spring break to make sure everything is still okay and then will be checked every six months for two years and then every year for the rest of her life.

“I trust my spirituality enough to know that whatever is supposed to happen is going to happen. My worrying is not going to impact the results, so there is no use in me worrying or losing sleep over something I cannot control. I did not use to be like that but I have changed. I am just happy to wake up in the morning,” Webb said.

She appreciates how her softball teammates have helped her cope with all she’s encountered.

“I think it is hard having gone through cancer not to feel isolated from everyone and feeling like the girl who has cancer. My teammates have never made me feel like that. They check on me but I am just their teammate and that normalcy means more than anything,” Webb said.  “They always cheer me on in practice and are hyping me up and also reminding me that I have been through a lot and it is okay if you can’t do everything.  I need that reminder.”

She’s always been close with her parents and knows they still worry. Her father and mother both call at least every other day and she texts her mom daily.

“I can’t imagine from their perspective going through all that with me but at the same time it gave me, if nothing else, a chance to spend a lot of great time with them that I would not have been able to if I was away at college,” Webb said.

Softball has always been Webb’s main sport. She tried other sports but felt she was never “aggressive” enough and felt more comfortable playing softball. Centre gave her “the ability to be involved in everything and still play my sport and get a great education.”

She also knows what message she would share with any other young athlete who might have their life impacted dramatically like hers was at age 18.

“I would just say it is okay to be shocked about it and it is okay that it is difficult but  it will not be difficult forever. It’s okay if you want to talk about it and it is okay if you don’t. Just know there is a light at the end of the tunnel even if it does not feel like that some of the time,” Webb said.