Area College Women's Basketball: No obstacle too big for PCC's Angeline Jefferson, a cancer survivor

PASADENA - Angeline Jefferson has played very little basketball for Pasadena City College this season.

She would like to, and coach Joe Peron wants to put her on the floor as much as possible. But right now, Jefferson physically cannot play very much.

She is a recent cancer survivor.

"I'm in remission and it feels great," the sophomore said. "That was probably the best thing I heard in my whole life. It was a hard time to go through, and to hear I was over it, no more treatments, it's wonderful.

"It definitely was a test of my faith to come back."

She had a stem cell transplant in June in her fight against Stage 2 Hodgkins lymphoma. She could barely walk and talk, much less play basketball. Two months later, she was a member of the Lancers.

"I had to re-teach myself to walk," she said. "I had to learn how to do everything. I would go up and down the court and shoot short layups, although I could not shoot that high. I was very weak. The ball was even heavy.

"When I told people (about the cancer), I didn't know it was that bad. I thought it was a regular sickness. My mom (Winnifer) had breast cancer seven years ago and she didn't die."

Jefferson has played sparingly in four of the Lancers' nine games, and that will likely be the case when Pasadena opens South Coast Conference play on Wednesday at Long Beach City and then plays at Mt. SAC on Friday.

"She can go only so long," Peron said. "It's

a matter of time. We do not know how long it will take. I've never experienced this before in my life."

The reason for the lack of playing time? It really has nothing to do with cancer, Jefferson insists. She puts the blame on a concussion and sprained ankle she suffered in practice a couple of weeks ago.

But cancer?

"She pushes herself because her mind tells her what she used to do and she does it too fast and the injuries come," Peron said. "The body is not ready for it. It's not used to enduring that type of punishment. The muscles are weak."

Jefferson played her senior year at Maranatha High School and received a scholarship to Cal State L.A. The point guard, whom Peron called "electrifying," started nine games, including the final six for the 2010-11 Golden Eagles, and averaged 4.1 points per game. She scored in double figures three times.

But she also complained of always feeling tired on the court.

"I knew I was tired," she recalled. "My stomach was hurting. My head was always hurting. Doctors at first said I had a cold or the flu or something."

Then she woke up with a huge lump on her neck in April of 2011. Doctors eventually said it was an infectious disease. She kept playing basketball at Cal State L.A., but when she did not get better, the mass was re-examined, and UCLA doctors determined in March that it was cancerous.

She took off a semester from school, working at her mother's bakery, Violets Cakes, in Pasadena, and returned to school, but it seemed to be getting worse. Her chemotherapy dosage was upped and then the transplant was recommended.

She said that Cal State L.A. coach Janell Jones convinced her to transfer to a community college to regain her strength. Jefferson said with more playing time and the potential for a long playoff run, it could lead to scholarship offers at other schools.

Her current teammates were shocked to learn that their new teammate had cancer.

"We were talking and she told me she had to sit a year out because of it," freshman Averie-Alice Guzman said. "It took me a second to let that register. You said, `Cancer? You're still practicing and still playing. You're always smiling.' I would have never known unless she had told me. I think she is amazing doing what she is doing."

Jefferson said she is surprised by that type of attention, but she hopes what she does can be an inspiration to others, too.

"She is quite a bit of an inspiration," Peron said. "Most of the kids didn't see her play in high school. I shared what type of player she was. They know the fight in her. They see that tenacity and determination and they go, `Whoa.'

"She's just a fighter, a survivor."

keith.lair@sgvn.com 626-544-0856

Source: http://www.sgvtribune.com/sports/ci_22211776/area-college-no-obstacle-too-big-pccs-angeline?source=rss

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