Auburn family: Marquis and Shana Askew Daniels AUTLIVE cancer

AUBURN, Ala. – In her husband’s hospital room, two days after a car accident that would leave him wheelchair-bound for months, Shana Askew Daniels prayed over his broken body, then noticed something off about her own.

A lump in her right breast, surprising given that it hadn’t been there a month earlier during her annual physical. 

Marquis suggested that Shana ask one of his nurses for her opinion. 

“’Mrs. Daniels, we think you need to get checked,’” the nurse told Shana, who scheduled the appointment as soon as Marquis went home from the hospital weeks later. 

“We weren’t really prepared for that mentally,” she said. “I had to show strength and be strong for my family because at that time, he couldn’t do anything. He was solely dependent on me for everything.”

An abnormal mammogram led to a biopsy, which revealed ductal carcinoma. 

“I was speechless,” Shana remembered. “My heart just dropped.”

On Dec. 16, 2019, one month to the day after Marquis Daniels’ accident, the already treacherous storm the family faced was now twice as menacing.

“We have kids and they look up to us,” Marquis said. “That was probably the toughest move, having to tell them, to see their faces and help them understand what’s going on. 

“There’s times when you’re alone, you feel like the world is closing in on you, you start wondering and crying, you break down. You have to get it out of you, but you have to stay focused and stay positive throughout the whole process.”

While Marquis recovered, he mustered the strength to support Shana in her time of need. 

“You have to water what you want to grow,” he said. “She was watering me when I was hurting and I had to do the same for her. It’s a blessing that we’re here today. It lets you know that family is more important than anything, having love for each other.”

Surgery and 17 chemotherapy treatments – one every three weeks - followed. On Feb. 3, 2021, 15 months after Shana first discovered the lump, she rang the bell at the Cancer Treatment Center of America in Newnan, Georgia, signifying victory over cancer. 

“It was awesome to finally be done with that. I’m cancer free as of now,” she said. “The plan is to keep it that way. I’m praying that it doesn’t reoccur and I’m doing everything in my power to keep it from reoccurring.” 

LOVE AND BASKETBALL

 

For Marquis and Shana, it was anything but love at first sight. 

“I didn’t like her at first,” he said. 

The feeling was mutual. Shana was a starter on Auburn’s women’s basketball team two decades ago when Marquis arrived from Orlando on a recruiting visit.

“He wasn’t acting like he was sociable to anybody,” she said. “He kept to himself. I spoke to him and he didn’t speak back so it kind of offended me.”

Marquis went home to work on his grades. When Shana learned that one of his closest friends had died, she reached out to Marquis to check on him.

“We just stayed in contact,” he said. “When I came back to school, the first place I went was to her house. We’ve been together ever since.” 

“Once he came back to school, we’ve been connected at the hip ever since,” she said. 

Sharing a love of basketball, sometimes their dates consisted of rebounding for each other.

Once, they played one on one. Only once. In a since-demolished, minimally ventilated practice gym student-athletes affectionately called the “Hot Box,” Shana drove for a layup. 

Marquis committed what might be referred to as a hard foul. Flagrant, in Shana’s estimation. 

“He slapped me literally in my face,” she said. “I said, ‘I’m done. I quit.’ I didn’t want to play anymore. That was just the competitive nature in us. We were done after that. No more playing basketball.”

Shana played for the Tigers from 1997-2001. Marquis played for Auburn from 1999-2003, leading the Tigers to the Sweet 16 his senior season before a 10-year NBA career.

Marquis and Shana relied on their faith and their friends while he recovered from the accident and she underwent chemo. Rides to practice for their son and daughter, meals. Whatever the Daniels needed, friends and coworkers provided.

“We didn’t want for anything,” Shana said. “People were stepping up when we didn’t even ask for it. That’s awesome and we’re so grateful and thankful for that. 

“It was hard but we knew we had to get through it. We sometimes have to lean on other people to help us, and that’s what happened.”

“We’re still here where it all started,” Marquis said. “The Auburn family, and the support we get, is second to none. It’s the best.” 

AUTLIVE

 

First as a graduate assistant and now as director of player development, Marquis Daniels has long supported AUTLIVE, Auburn men’s basketball’s fight against cancer that head coach Bruce Pearl founded to promote early detection and to raise money for local cancer patients. 

“Your health is your wealth,” Marquis said. “Check on your family as well and make sure they get these procedures and screenings done. You can’t help anybody if you’re not doing well. Make sure you’re eating healthy, you’re exercising. Do as much as you can to stay here because you have people on this earth who love you.”

“Cancer doesn’t discriminate,” Shana said. “It can attack anybody. We all need to keep up our medical history and know what’s going on with our bodies. We need to get checked. We don’t need to wait until the last minute or until we’re sick. We need to take care of ourselves and do checkups on a routine basis.”

‘I’M STILL HERE’

 

From basketball, Shana and Marquis learned the power of perseverance. 

“When you’re faced with adversity, you can’t let it get the best of you,” Shana said. “You can’t just lay down and quit. 

“I knew I had a family I had to fight for and I’m here trying to live for every day because they need me just as much as I need them. There was no way I was going to quit.”

“Not giving up,” Marquis said. “Learning how to deal with hard situations and keep fighting, keep pushing. Keep putting one foot in front of the next just to make it to the next day.”

Early in 2019, Marquis played a pivotal role in Auburn’s historic Final Four run. That same year, he earned his master’s degree in adult education from Auburn University. Then came the twin trials only days apart, testing and refining their faith.

“God brought us here. He’s going to get us through it. It’s made us lean on Him even more,” said Marquis, who would awaken at 3 a.m. to pray for his wife and family. “Whatever it is that God is trying to show us, I was praying that we’d have our feet ready to move and obey his word.”

“My body has been through a lot,” Shana said. “I have endured a lot. I’m grateful to God that I’m still here, and I was able to get through it all and come out on top.

“If you ever get in a storm, you have to understand the storm is not going to always last. There’s going to be some type of sunlight at the end of the tunnel. Stay prayerful and be encouraged.”

Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer