This column is addressed to male breast cancer ‘survivors’ although I have no desire to stop anyone else from reading it. The ‘survivors’ is in quotes because I want to include those who have not had breast cancer but are living with or know some woman who has suffered through breast cancer. Surviving breast cancer is not limited to the person but also affects their family and friends. While that struggle is very personal, there is something the rest of us can do. Especially the men. I call them ‘associates’.
I am one of those associate survivors, my wife being a true survivor for more than a quarter century, and I want to share something with the associates. Along with all the deserving TLC that any cancer survivor needs after diagnosis and treatment, the one thing that will help immensely is encouragement and on-going support. That encouragement and support can take many forms but there is one special way that may offer not only a challenge but great rewards for a breast cancer survivor.
In 1999 a group of women in North Bay formed a breast cancer survivors’ dragon boat team. The news about breast cancer survivors and the health benefits of dragon boat paddling had spread across the country since the success in 1996 of a team in British Columbia working with Dr Dave McKenzie. Following in the footsteps of the Abreast in a Boat, North Bay’s Warriors of Hope have been a most successful team ever since their inception.
My wife Diana hesitated when the ‘girls’ asked her to join the team. She was not a water person, having almost drowned once as a youngster, and she never played on a team other than varsity hockey for one year at Queens. However, she thought she would try dragon boating since it fit in nicely with her Tai Chi studies which included Chinese culture and history. As the Warriors practised and paddled they soon became a team, a team that was happy just to participate. When they saw that they could compete with other teams and even win a few races, the Warriors kicked it up a notch.
I hung around on the outskirts of the team, trying to help during set-ups at festivals, cheering at races and talking thousands of photographs over the next fifteen years. I came to know most of the paddlers quite well and they are a remarkable team. Not only are they amazingly fit from the training and paddling but they have a strong bond of supporting each other and working together to bring the message that there can be an active life after breast cancer.
The Warriors, and that is a suitable name for a team with quite a few type ‘A’ personalities (what you seem to need to be to survive surgery, chemo and radiation) are active in the community. You can see them at the Relay for Life, the Run for the Cure, their Waterfront flower display and on Trout Lake two nights a week once the ice is off. You can join them at their annual yard sale and their golf tournament or even at the Santa Fund morning at Twiggs. You might also have seen them in team colours at a funeral service when one of their members has left the team. Their support for each other is powerful and spills over to the ‘associates’ in time of need.
Breast Cancer Survivors teams are legion as the movement has spread all around the globe. Three years ago 75 teams from around the world gathered at Peterborough and it was awesome. (finally a place to use that word!) To see what these women (and a few men) feel about their teams simply go to the web and search for breast cancer dragonboat teams. We in North Bay and surrounding area are so fortunate to have a team – a team where true breast cancer survivors can find the rewarding experience of paddling, sharing and community service.
However, the team is aging and we are slowly losing members to old man time. The Warriors need some more members and this is where the associates can help. If you are within driving distance of North Bay, and I include Sudbury, Huntsville and Temiskaming Shores in that category, you may want to suggest that your survivor could join the team. Currently doing their annual dry-land weight training, they will be on the water Tuesday and Thursday evenings starting in May. The Warriors attend several festivals each year on weekends and associates are welcome to join in the fun and excitement.
If you or someone you know would like more information, call Chris at 705-474-9076 or email the team at [email protected] . Paddles up!
