TAYLOR MADE IN SACRAMENTO
Credit: Anita Milas
Taylor Cirkensa is Sacramentan through and through. “I live in the city, went to Sac State and played college soccer – I was a goalkeeper – here.”
This week, she’s sporting the distinctive yellow t-shirt with green tournament logo, as a local volunteer – in the role of scoring manager – for Homeless World Cup Sacramento 2023.
“I was just looking for a way to get involved in some football again,” she explains. “I saw the ad for volunteers online, have been following the activities over at the Street Soccer USA park in midtown, and thought why the heck not!”
One big reason for ‘not’ is the fact that Taylor is currently undergoing treatment for cancer. The chemo port – an implanted device to allow treatment to be delivered – taped to her upper arm, just below the sleeve of her t-shirt, attests to that.
“About a year ago I got diagnosed with a bone tumour,” she explains. “After more and more testing they found some problematic cells and got me into infusion and radiation treatment pretty quickly.
“I’ve had the port for about three months – I get it changed every week – I hook up and do three infusions (of chemotherapy drugs) myself every day. Then every week I go to the hospital for a larger treatment.”
Taylor’s course of treatment was scheduled to have been completed at the beginning of June but was extended for another month when it was found that the cancer had spread.
“It’s in my lymph nodes now,” she says, matter-of-factly, “so this round will, hopefully, be done at the end of July. It’s a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month thing.”
When asked why she decided to join the physically hectic ‘circus’ that being a volunteer for the tournament entails – not to mention running around in 103-degree Fahrenheit heat – when her health is currently compromised, she assures her reasoning was perfectly valid.
“It’s a distraction, a great distraction – in fact, so much more than a distraction! I’ve met so many people with a multitude of challenges. We all have our own baggage; we all have our own issues, and this puts mine in perspective. Each one of us is going through something.
“The heat is tough but, for me, this has always been more of a mental battle than a physical fight – stuff like this keeps your spirits up. When you’re around these people, and you get to spend your days around soccer, it’s hard to be down.”
Among the new friends she’s made this week is a fellow goalkeeper, from the US team.
“We’ve chatted a bit – she's incredible,” Taylor enthuses. “She got through a penalty shoot-out yesterday. The joy was incredible. All the teams are amazing. Even with the language barriers, you see how soccer is a global language – cheering for each other and supporting each other is universal. You can’t beat it.”
Credit: Anita Milas
Words: Isobel Irvine