Birdies for Breast Cancer
October 26, 2017 | Women's Golf, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
Muni He's passion for golf has taken her all over the world.
The sophomore USC golfer was born in Chengdu, China, but left her hometown for another Chinese city at the age of six to take the next step in her game. At age eight, she moved to Vancouver, then moved three hours outside of the city before relocating to San Diego for high school and finally ending up in Los Angeles.
He's mother, Jenny, has been alongside her every step of the way. For years it was just the two of them, as He's father stayed behind in China to work when He and her mother moved to Canada. He's father finally rejoined the family when they moved to San Diego.
After years of He's mother making sacrifices to take care of her daughter, the tables have turned. He's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in July, and He has done her best to be there for her ever since.
He describes her mother as soft and gentle, and has been surprised at the toughness she's shown throughout her cancer treatment, which has consisted of more than 30 sessions of radiation.
"I would say for someone who seems so fragile and who has very soft and fragile personality, she's taken it on pretty well," He said. "She's trying to exercise a little more and she's trying to rest a little more. But I think she's doing great, she's being positive."
While He can't control how her mother's body responds to the treatment, she's trying to help her stay strong mentally. She visits her parents, who live in the Valley, at least once a week, and has decided to use her platform as a golfer to benefit her mother.
He decided to start donating $5 for every birdie she makes in competition to a breast cancer foundation.
"Ever since we found out about the issue, we felt like my mom needed the mental support as well," He said. "And we thought that if I was able to do a little bit by raising a little bit of the money every single day, then not only am I helping, let's say, them finding a better technology to cure breast cancer completely, but it's kind of in a way indirectly helping my mom as well."
He hasn't decided upon an organization to donate to yet, but has received numerous suggestions since revealing her mother's diagnosis on social media. In the meantime, she's keeping track of all her birdies, and plans to choose an organization to donate to at the end of the year.
Because doctors discovered the cancerous cells while they were still non-invasive, He is confident that her mother will come through and be stronger than ever before.
"Thankfully it's not Stage 3, so more positive things came out of it than negative," she said. "If there's anything that me and my dad took out of it, it's that you never know. You never know when somebody close to you is going to be diagnosed with something that's going to affect them long-term, or might cause them to pass one day. So I think it's very important to let the ones you love know that you love them. And to not take things for granted."
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The sophomore USC golfer was born in Chengdu, China, but left her hometown for another Chinese city at the age of six to take the next step in her game. At age eight, she moved to Vancouver, then moved three hours outside of the city before relocating to San Diego for high school and finally ending up in Los Angeles.
He's mother, Jenny, has been alongside her every step of the way. For years it was just the two of them, as He's father stayed behind in China to work when He and her mother moved to Canada. He's father finally rejoined the family when they moved to San Diego.
After years of He's mother making sacrifices to take care of her daughter, the tables have turned. He's mother was diagnosed with breast cancer in July, and He has done her best to be there for her ever since.
He describes her mother as soft and gentle, and has been surprised at the toughness she's shown throughout her cancer treatment, which has consisted of more than 30 sessions of radiation.
"I would say for someone who seems so fragile and who has very soft and fragile personality, she's taken it on pretty well," He said. "She's trying to exercise a little more and she's trying to rest a little more. But I think she's doing great, she's being positive."
While He can't control how her mother's body responds to the treatment, she's trying to help her stay strong mentally. She visits her parents, who live in the Valley, at least once a week, and has decided to use her platform as a golfer to benefit her mother.
He decided to start donating $5 for every birdie she makes in competition to a breast cancer foundation.
"Ever since we found out about the issue, we felt like my mom needed the mental support as well," He said. "And we thought that if I was able to do a little bit by raising a little bit of the money every single day, then not only am I helping, let's say, them finding a better technology to cure breast cancer completely, but it's kind of in a way indirectly helping my mom as well."
He hasn't decided upon an organization to donate to yet, but has received numerous suggestions since revealing her mother's diagnosis on social media. In the meantime, she's keeping track of all her birdies, and plans to choose an organization to donate to at the end of the year.
Because doctors discovered the cancerous cells while they were still non-invasive, He is confident that her mother will come through and be stronger than ever before.
"Thankfully it's not Stage 3, so more positive things came out of it than negative," she said. "If there's anything that me and my dad took out of it, it's that you never know. You never know when somebody close to you is going to be diagnosed with something that's going to affect them long-term, or might cause them to pass one day. So I think it's very important to let the ones you love know that you love them. And to not take things for granted."
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