ALRIGHT, WE ARE MOVING ON NOW TO ANOTHER KIND OF MOBILE ACTIVITY.
DRAGON BOATING IS A TEAM SPORT THAT HAS ITS ROOTS IN ANCIENT CHINA.
NOW, SOME BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR GROUPS HAVE STARTED TO USE THE SPORT TO REBUILD THEIR
LIVES.
VOA'S JUNE SOH CAUGHT UP WITH A TEAM ON WASHINGTON'S POTOMAC RIVER AND TALKED WITH ME ABOUT IT.
WE BEGIN WITH THE START OF HER REPORT, NARRATED BY AMY KATZ.
"ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, ----" ON A SATURDAY MORNING, A GROUP OF 20 WOMEN PADDLES IN SYNC
TO THE COACH'S CALL ON THE ANACOSTIA RIVER IN WASHINGTON.
THEY ARE MEMBERS OF GO PINK!
DC, A DRAGON BOAT RACING TEAM.
LYDIA COLLINS JOINED FIVE YEARS AGO AFTER SHE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A BREAST CANCER.
"I LOVE THE TEAM SPIRIT, I JUST LOVE EVERYTHING ABOUT IT.
IT IS LIKE A FLOATING SUPPORT GROUP ON THE WATER."
THE PADDLERS ARE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS.SO JUNE, HOW DID YOU FIND
THE STORY?
I JUST HEARD ABOUT THE WASHINGTON, D.C.
DRAGON BOAT FESTIVAL AND I DID SOME RESEARCH.
WHILE I WAS DOING RESEARCH I FOUND THIS GO PINK!
DC DRAGON BOAT TEAM, BUT THEY ARE NOT JUST AN ORDINARY DRAGON BOAT TEAM, THEY BREAST
CANCER SURVIVORS.WHAT STRUCK ME IS THIS DESCRIPTION BY ONE OF THE GO PINK!
DC TEAM MEMBERS OF THE GROUP AS BEING LIKE A FLOATING SUPPORTING GROUP ON THE WATER.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE - YOU WERE THERE WITH THEM, YOU SPENT SOME TIME WITH THESE WOMEN - WHAT
SENSE OF CAMARADERIE AND SISTERHOOD DID YOU SENSE?
MOST OF THEM ARE BREAST CANCER SURVIVORS AND SOME OF THEM ARE SUPPORTERS, THEIR SISTERS
OR CLOSE FRIENDS THAT JOINED THE TEAM...AND EVERYBODY HAS ONE COMMON THING - BREAST CANCER
- SO THEY START THIS JOURNEY WITH DIAGNOSIS OF BREAST CANCER.
SO EVERYBODY UNDERSTANDS WHAT THEY ARE GOING THROUGH, WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN THROUGH, SURGERY
CHEMOTHERAPY OR RADIATION, ALL THIS STUFF SO THEY UNDERSTAND HOW HARD IT IS TO GO THROUGH
THESE STAGES.
SO THEIR UNDERSTANDING IS BETTER THEN OF THE OTHER PEOPLE.
RONDA HARTZEL RECEIVES CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT EVERY THREE WEEKS.
"IT IS HARD BUT I THINK YOU HAVE TO CHALLENGE YOURSELF IN LIFE.
THIS IS SOMETHING I LOOK FORWARD TO.
I GET TO BE OUT HERE WITH MY SISTERS AND SUPPORTERS THAT UNDERSTAND WHAT I AM GOING THROUGH AND
HELP MOTIVATE ME.
SO IT MAKES ME STRONGER AND IT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER."
SO LET'S TALK ABOUT DRAGON BOAT RACING ITSELF.
IT IS NOT A VERY WELL KNOWN SPORT HERE IN THE U.S. AND WE'VE SEEN IT ON THE RISE, BUT
NOT A LOT OF PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT IT.
SO WHAT IT IS ABOUT DRAGON BOATING THAT ATTRACTED THESE WOMEN?
THEY SAY IT IS VERY HELPFUL PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY BECAUSE THEY PRACTICE TWICE A WEEK.
THEY ARE TOGETHER ON SATURDAY AND ONE DAY OF A WEEK IN THE EVENING AND MOST OF PEOPLE
COME ON SATURDAYS.
WHILE THEY ARE DOING THIS PADDLING, THE MOTION OF THE PADDLING HELPS REDUCE THEIR SWELLING
OF ARMS.
MANY PEOPLE WITH BREAST CANCER END UP WITH THIS SWELLING ON ARM SO THIS MOTION HELPS."WHEN
I AM PADDLING, IT HELPS WITH MY LYMPHEDEMA, WHICH IS SWELLING OF THE LYMPHATIC FLUID.
WHEN YOU HAVE MASTECTOMY, SOMETIMES YOU WIND UP WITH THIS CONDITION.
WE HAVE MANY PADDLERS WEAR COMPRESSION SLEEVES."
IS THERE ANYTHING, IF YOU WERE TO SAY, YOUR MAIN MESSAGE WITH THIS STORY WHAT YOU HOPE
THAT PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM IT?
I THINK IT IS VERY HARD TO GO THROUGH THESE ACHIEVEMENTS BUT THERE IS A WAY THEY CAN HAVE
SOME KIND OF SUPPORT AND WHILE THEY ARE DOING THIS, THEY FEEL...THEY FORGE THEIR FRIENDSHIP
AND THEY...
FEEL THEY REBUILT THEIR LIVES.
THANKS TO VOA'S JUNE SOH FOR THAT STORY WHICH IS FAR FROM JUST A LOCAL PHENOMENON.
IT'S ESTIMATED THAT ACTUALLY THERE ARE AS MANY AS 400 BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR DRAGON
BOATING TEAMS NOW AROUND THE WORLD.