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Pete Rose surprises breast cancer survivor at Reds game

Pete Rose, Courtney Line
Posted at 11:03 AM, Sep 03, 2022
and last updated 2022-09-03 11:03:44-04

CINCINNATI — The Hit King made a royal appearance Friday evening by surprising a Reds fan who is battling breast cancer.

Courtney Line, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in October, said she couldn’t contain her excitement.

“To have him here with me means the world,” she said.

Getting to Friday’s Reds game was a journey nearly one-year in the making.

“I wasn’t checking myself regularly before," she said. "It was one of those things I was going through anxiety. Knew something was wrong. I decided to start checking, and that’s when I found it."

Courtney had surgery to remove the cancerous lumps. She was in remission in January, which was followed by rounds of chemotherapy.

She said her family then celebrated the end of chemotherapy treatments in May by going to a Reds game.

“Last time he was here, he gave us some really encouraging words. Spending the whole evening with him watching baseball, and talking baseball,” she said.

Former Cincinnati Red, Pete Rose, heard of Courtney’s story and decided to swing by their suite during the game in May. He took pictures, shared stories and autographed baseballs for the family.

“Really special experience. It kind of kept me going,” she said.

Courtney’s husband, Justin, was by her side during her journey.

“It really lifted her spirits in that time," he said. "Yes, she was done with chemo, but she also knew she was facing radiation.”

Which brings us to Friday evening.

“She has no clue about the next thing. None. She’s very gullible. She won’t figure it out,” Justin said ahead of the surprise.

In the fifth inning, Rose returned to congratulate Courtney on completing her radiation treatments.

“Yeah. I couldn’t have went through that. I don’t think many people could. She’s strong. She’s happy. That’s why she went through it and made it,” Rose said.

“When he was playing ball he always had the mindset of be your best, do your best. With this, I just remembered that,” Courtney added. “When I’m going through every step of this journey. Go through each day. Give it all I’ve got. Do my best. It really did help. I really did just take it one day at a time.”

Courtney said she’s hoping women take time every month to do self checks.

“If I could tell anybody anything, do your self checks. If anything feels off, you go and get checked. Reassure yourself. It could be nothing, or it could be something,” she said.

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