It was Anne Worcester's first full day back at work Thursday at the Connecticut Tennis Center.
Worcester, the New Haven Open tournament director, didn't want to miss the annual day of free tennis lessons for 300 New Haven first- and second-graders. The kids got free rackets this year thanks to one of the tournament's sponsors, First Niagara Bank, and she enjoyed seeing their faces when they were told they could keep the rackets.
So, selfishly, she said, she had rescheduled the event for Thursday instead of its usual time last month.
She wasn't able to work in May. Worcester, 50, was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer March 2 and had surgery at the end of April. Her surgery was delayed after her mother, Karene, had a cancer recurrence in the middle of February. Karene, who also had breast cancer and was a 15-year lymphoma survivor, died March 14.
As hard as it was, Worcester had to put away her Blackberry and leave the tournament's day-to-day workings to her new tournament manager Dana Cialfi and the rest of the office staff. First and foremost, she needed focus on her recovery and deal with losing her mother.
"I love my job," Worcester said. "I love my team. I love New Haven so much. But when you have the 'big C,' it puts everything in perspective. I was also grieving for a very significant loss in my life.
"The hardest part about this was saying, 'I'm going to put aside my to-do list, my personal and professional to-do list — which is like my Bible in life — and my only job is to get better.' But this was so important that I was crystal clear: I had to put everything in life aside other than getting better. I've taken that job very seriously."
The tournament, which will take place Aug. 18-27, went through major upheaval last year after losing title sponsor Pilot Pen. With the economy in a slump, Worcester wasn't able to get another title sponsor but instead announced last October that there would be four major sponsors (the fifth, First Niagara, came aboard later) and that the tournament would be known as the New Haven Open at Yale.
Also, largely because of the weak field on the men's side, the men's portion of the tournament was scrapped as it became a women's-only event.
Because Worcester spent much of her time selling the tournament last year, she delegated other responsibilities to members of her staff. That turned out to be a good thing when she learned she would not be able to work for a while in May.
"They've all stood up taller in my absence, even taller than last year when I was out selling," Worcester said. "It's brought a greater sense of unity to the team and pride."
Worcester went for her annual mammogram in January. Since both of her parents had cancer (her father, who had esophageal cancer, died in 2008), she was aware of her elevated risk.
She had an abnormal result. So she went the Smilow Cancer Center at Yale-New Haven Hospital for more testing. In early March, they gave her the bad news. But the good news – because Worcester is still unfailingly positive, even after what she's been through – was that the cancer was detected early.
She opted for a unilateral mastectomy, but then her mother passed away.
Worcester also wanted to wrap up a commitment from last year's Pilot Pen champion, Caroline Wozniacki, now the No. 1 player in the world.
So two days after her mother's funeral, where she gave the eulogy, she was in Key Biscayne, Fla. Just hours removed from a life-changing event, there she was, trying to recruit players, specifically Wozniacki.
"It would have been easy to cancel the trip," Worcester said. "I obviously knew I was going to disappear [for surgery]. And nobody else knew I was going to disappear. I knew I had to lay the groundwork. … And I also wanted to look Caroline Wozniacki in the eye and make sure she knew how important it was to come back."
She didn't tell anyone about her impending surgery, but finally, when she hadn't heard yes or no from Wozniacki's agent, told him she was having surgery and might not be able to be in touch with him.
Two days after her surgery, a basket of chocolates arrived at her house from the agent's office. Worcester found her Blackberry, typed in a thank-you, adding, 'Any news?' He emailed her right away; Wozniacki had just called him and said yes, she would come.
Now Worcester, who did not have to have any chemotherapy or radiation treatment, is full of plans for a breast cancer awareness day at the tournament. She wants everybody to wear pink. The mobile mammography unit from Yale-New Haven will be on site.
"Annual mammograms and other imaging for women is so important," she said. "I'm living proof that early detection is the name of the game."
Cialfi said that Worcestor's disposition during a time of trial motivated her staff.
"Her prognosis was so good from the very beginning, so I think we all knew she was going to have a positive attitude through the entire thing," Cialfi said. "It probably wouldn't take her long to get going back on the Blackberry. It's hard for her to not do something, just sit and rest.
"It was difficult but her attitude, the prognosis, we all thought at the end of the day, we'd be OK and we'd all get through it."