BROOMFIELD, Colo. -- Three years ago, going to a different high school than her sister sounded fine to Taylor Archuleta.

But over the summer, after her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, Taylor transferred to Legacy High School in Broomfield, leaving friends and a lot of playing time at Mountain Ridge High behind.

Her mother, 46-year-old Doreen Archuleta, has endured seven surgeries and six aggressive and trying chemotherapy sessions since being diagnosed about a year ago.

Because of her treatment, it became too hard for Doreen to drive her active, basketball player to and from games, practices and other events. As a practical matter, the family decided to send Taylor to Legacy, so her older sister could be her ride more often.

"It's hard enough we had to rip her from a school that she loves, friends that she loves, a team that she loves, a coach that she loves. This wasn't her choice. She had to do it based on what was best for our family at the time," Doreen Archuleta said.

It has not been a smooth transition for Taylor.

Her grades have dropped, she said. And now she will have to play roughly half of this basketball season on the junior varsity team after her hardship waiver application to play on the varsity team was blocked like a weak layup attempt.

"How is it that cancer is not considered a hardship?" TheDenverChannel asked Colorado High School Activities Association (CHSAA) Commissioner Bill Reader.

"It's how it applies to the situation," Reader said. "And this is one of many tragedies that high school families face while kids are in high school. I feel you take the emotion out of the situation and then you can make a fair decision to all 140,000 kids."

Since Oct. 14, CHSAA has denied the Archuleta family's waiver request twice.

The reason was not Doreen's medical condition, Reader said, but earlier choices, such as when the family decided to split up the sisters.

"Many times in life we all make decision (sic) with risk (sic) that could come back to haunt (sic) at a later time," said one of Reader's e-mails to a friend of the Archuleta family.

"Since transportation issues should have been considered ... the hardship criteria has not been met," Reader wrote in another e-mail.

"I learned that there's (sic) consequences with every action," Taylor said.

The family has one last appeal on Nov. 18 before the CHSAA Executive Committee. It's a half-court heave though.

Reader said no one has come away from such an appeal victorious in at least eight years.

He also points out that Colorado has a very lenient transfer rule.

In another state, Reader said, Archuleta would have had to sit out an entire year, period.

He hears roughly 100 such "hardship" waiver requests each year, approving 40 percent, he said.

Many times, Taylor has considered and then rejected, the notion of a return to Mountain Ridge.

"Because I have to think of other people besides myself," Archuleta said, stifling tears."Sometimes doing the right thing won't always benefit you."

"My daughter is paying a huge penalty because her mom has cancer. And that feels very, very, very unfair to me," Doreen said.