Dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors celebrates 30 years in Vancouver

Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 16, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours ago

Nearly 30 years aft it archetypal started successful Vancouver, a squad of bosom crab survivors volition vie successful the upcoming Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival.

The Abreast In A Boat squad was started by Vancouver doc Don McKenzie successful 1996 — initially arsenic a six-month proceedings to amusement whether determination was immoderate grounds to backmost up a commonly held thought that was limiting the lives of bosom crab survivors. 

At the time, the technological statement was that those who'd had a mastectomy shouldn't beryllium raising their arms implicit their heads, lifting dense objects oregon exercising. 

Instead, the squad demonstrated that not lone was strenuous workout imaginable for bosom crab survivors, but carnal enactment and a consciousness of belonging helped them successful their betterment from cancer.

WATCH | Breast crab survivors' dragon vessel squad began successful Vancouver: 

Ahead of the dragon boating festival, which starts June 20 successful False Creek, members of the squad told CBC News astir however the squad changed their lives. 

'I could spot my body'

When Carol Dale signed up for the squad successful 1996, she was celebrating 5 years being cancer-free, and thought it was an absorbing experimentation worthy trying.

"It conscionable turned retired to beryllium a fascinating year, learning a caller skill, learning that I could spot my assemblage again to enactment for me," she said.

"And I met immoderate fantastic people, and that's what keeps maine going."

Dale says determination are present six teams successful the Lower Mainland unsocial composed of bosom crab survivors, and dozens much successful Canada and astir the world.

And, there's adjacent an planetary committee encouraging the constitution of much dragon vessel teams for those with bosom cancer.

Recovery ideas change

Kristin Campbell, a prof astatine the University of British Columbia's section of carnal therapy, says that erstwhile the squad was archetypal started successful 1996, it was thought that repeated workout would pb to lymphedema, a achy chronic information wherever lymph fluid builds up successful a person's limb owed to being disrupted by the cancerous cells.

"The important portion astir this dragon vessel acquisition [is] however it's changed signifier astir the world," the researcher said.

"I deliberation they truly person shown that the relation of workout and the camaraderie, that you get from that, truly changed however radical thought astir bosom cancer, and thought astir workout and betterment aft treatment," she added.

Dr. McKenzie's work, on with collaborators, helped show that regular carnal enactment is associated with a 35 per cent simplification successful mortality among crab survivors.

Breast crab is the 2nd most-common crab successful Canada, and astir 1 successful 8 women are expected to beryllium diagnosed with it successful their lifetimes. 

While immoderate similar Dale are veterans of the team, others similar Anca Dobre, 29, are much caller competitors.

She was diagnosed successful December 2023, and finished her radiation attraction the pursuing August.

Dobre said that the team showed her that a diagnosis didn't needfully mean she was going to beryllium bedridden.

"Actually, it was the opposite," she told CBC News. "We each became much active.

"There's truthful overmuch to beingness aft crab and it's not conscionable astir surviving, but really thriving, with this squad due to the fact that they're each truthful inspirational successful everything they do."