By Drew Silverman - Red Line Editorial For years, Jackie Garcia suffered through a medical nightmare.
Body pain. Constant headaches. Rapid weight gain of 100-plus pounds — and that was just the beginning.
In September 2023, Garcia learned about a massive tumor in her abdomen. The nearly 20-pound tumor was removed several months later, but the damage had been done. Not only was Garcia hurting physically, but she was beaten down emotionally and psychologically after years of doctors ignoring, mishandling and misdiagnosing her symptoms.
Healing, however, wouldn’t end in another doctor’s office. It would continue in an unexpected place.
“There is a silver lining to getting cancer,” Garcia said. “I have always told people, ‘You view life differently than you did before.’”
For Jackie Garcia, pickleball played a hue role in paving her path to recovery.
Following doctor orders to avoid strenuous exercise for a year following her surgery, Garcia began introducing new activities midway through 2025. Pickleball became part of the mix because her company, Hewlett Packard, has a pavilion area for their Houston-based employees to play recreationally.
“We began playing every Tuesday and that’s how it started,” said Garcia, who plays about two days a week — once with colleagues and once with friends outside of work.
In many ways, pickleball has helped Garcia rediscover an active lifestyle.
“It’s hard to get back into what I used to be doing,” she said. “Before my tumor, I was doing heavy-impact weightlifting and CrossFit. That’s something I can’t really go back into.”
Whether it’s health or hobbies, the grieving process for any cancer survivor includes an element of acceptance that post-cancer life is going to be different.
“From a mental perspective, it was really tough for me when I realized I couldn’t jump back into activities I did before cancer,” Garcia said. “It was really hard. But I have found joy in new types of activities. Pickleball wasn’t something I did before cancer. But now I’m finding a lot of joy in it. Pickleball keeps me active.”
Garcia, who grew up competing in team sports such as cross-country, track and cheerleading, notes that the built-in partnership of doubles pickleball is one element that drew her to the game.
“I like the team aspect when you play with another person,” said the 34-year-old. “I think also what makes it more fun is the time I get to spend with my colleagues. Some of us are still pretty new to the game, so we’re learning alongside each other. I also really like that it’s helping me rehab my abdominal area — you reach for the ball or you’re doing turns with your body and it helps work those muscles in a different way than the physical therapy.”
Thanks to pickleball, among other forms of rehabilitation, Garcia is feeling much better physically these days.
Of course, pickleball is just one piece of the puzzle. You don’t recover from a situation like Garcia’s by simply learning a new sport.
“I have found that grief and joy can coexist,” Garcia said, thinking big picture about her recovery. “I have been working really hard on rehabbing my body but also taking care of me. You have to work on taking care of your physical health — but also the emotional aspect.”
When people hear her story, Garcia hopes they come away with three things: address health issues proactively, advocate for yourself and remain open to trying new things.
“I don’t know if I would have tried pickleball if I hadn’t had cancer,” Garcia said. “Because you get stuck in the same routine. I think one of the main reasons why I really like it is because it’s something new, and I’m learning to move in this new body, and I think pickleball has provided an outlet to be able to be more OK with this changed body and be more accepting of new experiences that I probably would not have had before.”
Ultimately, Garcia says sharing her story has become just as important as living it. She has become an advocate for Latina women, women of color, plus-size women, cancer survivors and anyone who feels their medical concerns are not being heard.
Above all, Garcia wants people to know that a cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to define the rest of their lives.
“Just because you’ve had cancer, it’s not the end. You can have new dreams, and you can try new things. There’s still more life to live.”
Drew Silverman is a freelance contributor to USA Pickleball on behalf of Red Line Editorial, Inc. 
