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G
rowing up in Birmingham,
Alabama, Monet Maddux
played a variety of sports,
from soccer and softball in junior
high to cheerleading, volleyball,
and tennis in high school. Tennis
has always been her favorite.’ÄúIt’Äôs
one of the most authentic things,
other than having a knack for writ-
ing, that came out of me very, very
young,’Äù she says. Her father and
brother played guitar, rather than
tennis, and Maddux wrote lyrics for
the music her brother composed.
Those early interests have stayed
withMaddux into her forties and
into Maryville, Tennessee, where
she and her husband Scott have
raised their kids and their business,
Smoky Mountain Harley-Davidson.
AMaryville musician taught Mad-
dux her first guitar chords a few
years ago.’ÄúI took a couple of lessons
and started writing my own songs,’Äù
she says,’Äúwhich put me in the cor-
ner on singing them. I do not aspire
to be on stage.’Äù
Maddux chose tennis as her tool
for staying active and healthy as an
adult, but she didn’Äôt begin compet-
ing until about three years ago. Her
time on the court has become part of
who she is. Tennis is a great social
tool, and of course, it’Äôs intense exer-
cise. But it doesn’Äôt just challenge
players physically. It makes them
quick mentally.
Tennis also serves a more unique
function for Maddux.’ÄúAs soon as
you walk outside,’Äù she says,’Äúthere
are no walls, and problems seem to
shrink. Tennis is outside.’Äù
Last October, Maddux’Äôs active
routine changed. She was riding
with a friend to her daughter’Äôs field
trip when the radiologist called
and asked her to come in with her
husband. Maddux immediately
prayed for God’Äôs peace and clarity. It
felt like a movie, she says: She was
a shell of herself, smiling, walking
around with third graders and their
parents, waiting.
Later, she heard the details of
her mammogram results. She had
ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS.
Because it’Äôs confined within the
milk ducts, it’Äôs sometimes called
pre-cancer. ’ÄúIf diagnosed ’Äòpre’Äô or
Stage 3,’Äù explains Maddux, ’Äútrust
me that when a radiologist reads
your mammogram results to you
and utters the word ’Äòcancerous’Äô in
any way, you think of it as one
thing: cancer. Not stages or lumps
or calcifications.’Äù
M o n e t M a d d u x
started hitting a
tennis ball against the garage door at age 8.
She was still in love with the sport and com-
peting on two United States Tennis Associa-
tion teams at 43’Äîwhen she was diagnosed
with DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in Situ), a
non-invasive breast cancer. Within a month of
the diagnosis, she’Äôd had a double mastectomy
and reconstructive surgery. She ties her quick
recovery back to her active lifestyle, but for
eight months, intense activity was replaced
with process and patience. Now, a year later,
this athlete is able to pick up a racket again
and move forward with her life.
Changing Gears
and
Counting Blessings
Story by Meghan McDonald
Photography by Colby McLemore
cityviewmag.com 95
SEPTEMBER
OCTOBER