CALGARY -- A young woman, who is one formidable opponent inside the boxing and the mixed martial arts ring, says she is fighting for a much bigger cause.
Bree Howling recently made the move from Muay Thai to boxing and won her first fight back in September.
The 21-year-old says she has taken her inspiration from her father Ken, who was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia back in June.
The disease, which affects blood and the body's bone marrow, is treatable, but it doesn’t mean it's an easy fight.
Ken learned of his diagnosis when his daughter began her training camp and says it was just the thing he needed to take his mind off his troubles.
“She keeps me so interested as I have always been interested in combat sports," he says. "I'm just surviving. It's the hardest thing I've ever done in my life."
Ken recently received a stem cell transplant from his son after undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy.
Now, he says he is planning to be there, at ringside, for Bree's next fight.
"I know she puts in a good 25 to 30 hours a week just training."
Ken's ordeal hasn't just been draining his resources. The family, including Bree, says it's taken an emotional toll on all of them.
She says some days it was very hard to get up and be motivated considering what her father was going through. Because of that, she wants people to know more about how the mental health of family members can be impacted by a crisis like theirs.
"Training and getting ready for things felt kind of like a chore and it was just fighting," she says.
However, Bree says the whole thing has definitely brought her family closer together than ever before.
She's also managed to do even more good with her career because she's managed to raise $1,800 for the Alberta Cancer Foundation with her next fight, scheduled in February.
(With files from Tyson Fedor)
