British tennis player Ryan Peniston, 26, upset Casper Ruud in his opener at the Queen’s Club but the biggest victory of his life came around 25 years ago when he was able to beat cancer. When Peniston was just one, he was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma.
Rhabdomyosarcoma is a soft tissue cancer found in kids and Peniston underwent a surgery to remove the tumor. After the surgery, Peniston underwent an extensive period of chemotherapy in London. “It is a difficult period to look at.
I don’t remember anything when I was younger and even when I was a kid I didn’t know that much about the situation. It is only in the past 10 years that I have become more interested and asked my parents to tell me,” Peniston told the ATP Tour “I am sure my parents didn’t really want to talk about that time in their life as it must have been so hard for them, like everyone around me.
But it gives me a lot of strength when I look back to it. I think any other kids or families that are going through such a tough time, if they can have any kind of glimpse of hope or see what is possible, that would be a great”.
Peniston: I’m now more grateful
When Peniston is having a bit of a rough day or starts thinking negative, he just reminds himself that he was able to beat cancer, and in those moments, he is just grateful to be alive and healthy now.
“It has hugely changed my perspective [on life],” Peniston said. “When I am having a tough day about something or getting annoyed about something little, I kind of remind myself that I literally might not have been here 25 years ago.
When I think about stuff [that has annoyed me], It makes me relax and I try and enjoy everything. It definitely makes these kinds of days a little bit sweeter”.
