Thursday, June 16, 2005
Breast cancer survivors headed to Canada
By DEBBIE GILBERT
Get Out
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On the Net
The "10 Years Abreast" international dragon boat celebration takes place in Vancouver, British Columbia, June 25-26. To learn more, visit www. abreastinaboat.com.
Helen Ray doesn't consider herself an athlete. But after surviving breast cancer she felt compelled to take on a physical challenge.
Ray, a Gainesville resident, is among 19 North Georgia women who are traveling to Vancouver, British Columbia, for the June 25-26 international dragon boat competition. They are members of Dragon Boat Atlanta, a team of breast cancer survivors and supporters.
"Everybody is from a different background, but we have this one thing in common. We're literally all in the same boat," said Ray, who is vice president of academic affairs at Brenau University.
Dragon boats, replicas of the colorful vessels used in ancient China, are generally more than 40 feet long and seat 20 people. The Hong Kong Association of Atlanta stores its boats at the Lake Lanier Olympic Venue on Clarks Bridge Road and allows the Dragon Boat Atlanta team to use them.
Team leader Beverly Booth of Sandy Springs said the women have been practicing since February, whenever they could get a reasonably warm Sunday afternoon.
Attendance poses a hardship for some of the members, who live all over the metro Atlanta and North Georgia area.
But the women have sacrificed family time in order to participate in the event.
"And we'll continue practicing after Vancouver. We hope to go to a general competition in Knoxville in August," Booth said.
But Vancouver will be special. It marks the 10th anniversary of Abreast in a Boat, an event created for breast cancer survivors.
"The point is to show people that we are not sick. We can get on with our lives," said Booth, who was diagnosed six years ago.
She's been with the Atlanta team since it formed in February 2004.
"I was never a paddler or kayaker before. This was new to me," she said.
The team's sponsor, Dahlonega-based Turning Point Women's Healthcare, paid the race entry fees, and each woman bought her own plane ticket. But for the past six months, team members have been holding garage sales and benefit dinners to raise $10,000, enough to cover four nights' lodging for each person.
Booth said because one of the members had to drop out, someone in Vancouver will fill in so that the Atlanta team will have the full complement of 20 people. Each boat is required to have 18 rowers and one person each at the front and back, to help steer.
Ray, who underwent a mastectomy eight years ago, said the sport has helped some participants to recover their upper-body strength after surgery.
"It's a good workout, but it's a challenge for some of us," she said. "There's a lot of endurance involved. But the key is timing and working together as a team."
The group will compete in several races Saturday and Sunday, typically 500-meter sprints that last about three minutes each. Ray said more than 50 teams are expected to attend.
"None of us (on the Atlanta team) have great hopes of bringing back a trophy," she said. "But it's the experience that counts. There's a sense of victory in still being here (alive)."
Some of the women are bringing friends or family members and plan to stay several extra days after the competition, to do some sightseeing in the area.
"I cannot wait," said Booth. "I've never been up to that part of North America before."
Ray said it's been the journey, not the destination, that counts. "Breast cancer is frightening, and it changes you forever," she said. "The dragon boat team gives survivors a camaraderie and a spirit of understanding. It's been so helpful, and so empowering."
E-mail: dgilbert@gainesvilletimes.com.
Originally published Thursday, June 16, 2005
