Six-Time and Four-Division Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero and his wife Casey appeared on the top-rated Christian news and talk program “The 700 Club” today when the couple visited the Christian Broadcasting Network in Virginia Beach, Virginia to discuss Casey’s triumphant battle with cancer.
In 2007, Casey began feeling sick. Her glands were swollen and she was unable to keep food down. After realizing she was not getting any better Robert took her to the emergency room where they received the news of her diagnosis – leukemia. Robert recalls feeling sick at his stomach when he received the devastating news. He had been preparing to defend his IBF featherweight title at the time and wanted to cancel the fight, but Casey wouldn’t let him. “You have worked hard for this,” she said. “You have to fight.”
A few days later Robert flew into Tucson for the fight and ended up knocking out Martin Honorio 56 seconds into the first round. A few hours later he was on a plane back to California to be with Casey who started chemotherapy soon after her diagnosis. Her cancer went into remission twice and came back twice. Then it spread from her blood up her spine and into her brain. The doctors injected the chemo into Casey’s brain. She went from 125 to 98 pounds in less than a year. In 2009, the doctors said the chemo was no longer working. Casey needed a bone marrow transplant even though her odds of survival were fifty fifty. “I turned to God and relied on him to heal me,” shares Casey. Both Robert and Casey grew up going to church. Robert says his personal relationship with the Lord developed when he was about twenty years old. While preparing for fights at training camps, Robert read his Bible and drew closer to the Lord. They turned to God for strength during this difficult time.
In January 2010, Casey received the news she had been waiting for – a college student in Germany was a match. Robert vacated his title and suspended his career. He stayed by his wife’s side during the day and at night he would take care of their children. “I really didn’t have a choice,” says Robert. “My fight wasn’t going to be with Michael Katsidis (a professional Australian boxer). It was going to be against Casey’s cancer. I couldn’t be away; I had to be there for her and with her. I needed to do what I did.” Each day Robert would commute 50 miles from their home to Stanford Hospital. “I knew the kind of guy he was and I knew he would be with me,” shares Casey. She received an injection of healthy cells from her donor and was kept in isolation for a month with limited visits from her children. Her kids were young at the time and being away from them was extremely difficult for her. She fought hard to get better for her children. Once her white and red blood cell count started to return to normal, she was allowed to go home. Casey had to retrain her body to hold down solid foods, but each day she got better. Soon, she was able to play with her kids.
Six months after the surgery, Casey was declared cancer free. “God has blessed me in so many ways. I’m thankful to him for what he’s given me and for the fact that he’s given Casey her health,” shares Robert. It has been three years since Casey’s bone marrow transplant. “I am a walking miracle,” says Casey. Both Robert and Casey give credit to God for healing her and for carrying them through such a difficult time in their life. Casey feels a special connection with Katharina, her donor match, from Germany. “We’re family now. She is a part of us.”
On May 4, 2013 Robert will face Eight-Time and Five Division World Champion Floyd “Money” Mayweather at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada which will be televised live on Showtime PPV. “The 700 Club” is viewed daily by over one million people nationwide and is one of the longest-running television shows in broadcast history.