Jeanette Lee, who is considered one of the best billiards players of all time, has been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Doctors reportedly discovered Lee, also known as “The Black Widow,” has stage four ovarian cancer, which has spread into her lymph nodes.
“At this stage, her doctors say she has a few months to a year left to live,” according to a GoFundMe page created by her family and friends. “In typical Black Widow fashion, she has vowed to fight the progress of her disease as fiercely as possible with both chemotherapy, which has already begun, and a succession of upcoming surgeries.”
The page also states that Lee has three kids – Cheyenne (16), Chloe (11) and Savannah (10) – and has been a “single mother for the last several years.”
“Those of us who are closest to her know that the last ten years or so has not been kind to Jeanette,” the GoFundMe page states. “The scoliosis that has plagued Jeanette since childhood has continued to progress. In fact, it has been suggested that the scoliosis masked the pain from the cancer in part allowing it to progress undetected for so long. The increasing effects of scoliosis has not allowed her to play at the highest level for years now and has limited her ability to make a living. ”
Lee, 49, was arguably the most popular Billiards player in the 1990s.
In 1994, Lee won three WPBA Classic Tour events, the U.S. Open 9-Ball Championship, and the WPBA Nationals. That led to her being named Player of the Year from Billiards Digest and Pool & Billiard Magazine.
From 1995-99, Lee won seven more Classic Tour titles and two ESPN championships – the Tournament of Champions and Ultimate Shootout. She won a gold medal in 2001, coming in first place in the World Games in Japan. She continued to dominate the sport in the 2000s, winning WPBA Florida Classic and BCA Open Championship in 2004 as well as the International Skins Billiard Championship and the World Team Cup Championship in 2007. She was inducted into the Billiard Congress Hall of Fame in 2013