American billiards legend Jeanette Lee has been diagnosed with Stage 4 ovarian cancer, a US pool website reported Wednesday.

Lee, nicknamed "The Black Widow," is considered one of the top players of her sport in her era, having won a gold medal at the World Games. She even took on Efren "Bata" Reyes in a race-to-13, 9-ball challenge in 2001.

“I intend to bring the same resolve I brought to the billiards table to this fight,” Lee, 49, said in an article posted on PoolPlayers.com.

“(Legendary basketball coach) Jim Valvano so eloquently told us to ‘Never give up’. I owe it to my three young daughters to do exactly that.”

• Young fan shows love to ‘idol’ Bata Reyes with portrait of billiards icon

Lee vowed to fight the disease through every means available including chemotherapy, which she has begun, as well as upcoming surgeries to slow the debilitating effect of the illness.

A group of her friends, family and business associates have launched a GoFundMe effort titled the Jeanette Lee Legacy Fund.

Lee’s competitive excellence and beauty helped extend billiards to a broader audience.

She even graced ESPN Magazine’s “The Body” issue and was a contestant on Korea’s “Dancing with the Stars”, was featured in an ESPN SportsCenter commercial, and made a cameo appearance in the Disney film, “The Other Sister.”

She was later inducted to the Women's Professional Billiard Association, Billiard Congress of America and Asian Hall of Fame.

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