ROSWELL/ALPHARETTA NEIGHBOR
WINNERS ON THE WATERS
Breast cancer survivors form bond through dragon boating
Wednesday, July 20, 2005 7:09 PM EDT
By Joan Durbin
North Fulton Neighbor Staff Writer
Sharon Beckman admits she had never heard of a dragon boat before she began going to Turning Point, a women's health care clinic in Alpharetta.
Now the Sugar Hill resident is the steersperson for Dragon Boat Atlanta, a paddling team of more than 20 women from all over north Atlanta. Their uniting factor is their medical history - all of them are breast cancer survivors.
"If it hadn't been for Turning Point, I wouldn't have found out about dragon boating," Ms. Beckman said. "And because of Turning Point, I felt comfortable giving it a try. I didn't feel intimidated. I feel welcome and also really challenged."
Jill Binkley, Turning Point's co-director and an Alpharetta resident, said the healthcare clinic for breast cancer patients became Dragon Boat Atlanta's sponsor in February 2004, the month that the team had its first organizational meeting.
"Because of its positive message about breast cancer, as well as the therapeutic exercise it provides, it was a natural fit for us," Ms. Binkley said.
"There's been a lot of misinformation and myths about breast cancer survivors, and one is that they can't do any strenuous or repetitive exercise with their arms because of a risk of lymphatic edema. But in 1996 a doctor of sports medicine at the University of British Columbia started a dragon boat team as a research project and after six months, he found that the vigorous upper body exercise didn't increase edema or cause it."
A dragon boat is a fiberglass or teak hull boat in which teams of 20 paddlers sit two abreast with a steersperson in the back. As they paddle in unison, a drummer or caller in the front of the boat sets the paddlers' rhythm.
Designed as replicas of 2000-year-old Chinese dragon boats, during races the crafts are adorned with dragon heads and ornate tails.
Just seven months after Dragon Boat Atlanta was formed, the team competed in the September dragon boat races in Atlanta, the first team of breast cancer survivors ever to enter the event. Last month, the team traveled to Vancouver for a dragon boat event in which all of the 1,600 women participating had been breast cancer patients.
The 500-meter Vancouver races were twice the distance of the ones in Atlanta, which was a bit daunting at first.
"We tried to train for the longer distance, but we have a wide range of athletic ability and health issues," said Susan McCormick of Sandy Springs. "We had no idea how it was going to be."
In their first Vancouver practice, they beat their best time so far by more than a minute. They finished their first two races with times of 3:07 and 3:08, but still placed last. On the second day, they improved enough to finish second from last. The winning team's time was 2:41.
"We were all so thankful we even completed the race," said Becky Humphrey, a Duluth resident. "And we were always right there in it. In our first race especially, we were always on the lead boat's tail."
Beverly Booth, Dragon Boat Atlanta founder, said that in the final standings, the home team placed above two others. "We did not come in last. It was key for us. We didn't want to just start and finish," the Sandy Springs resident said.
Up next is an August race in Knoxville and then the Atlanta races in September. Team members practice every Sunday at Lake Lanier in a dragon boat donated by the Hong Kong Association in Atlanta.
"People travel from all over the place to get to that lake," Ms. McCormick said. "It takes a lot of effort to get there, and that kind of commitment makes a big difference when everybody shares it."
For the paddlers, dragon boating is equal parts exercise, therapy and the camaraderie of others like themselves.
"What I like is working together as a team and the support I get from other breast cancer survivors," said Turning Point's Ms. Binkley, who's both a Dragon Boat Atlanta member and a breast cancer survivor herself. "Having people around you who know what you've been through and have had the same experiences as you've had is healthy and positive, as opposed to just sitting around feeling sorry for yourself."
The support she gets from her teammates also is important to Ms. Humphrey.
"It's liberating. It helps me feel strong about myself," she said. "It encourages the feeling that I can live through this and I can thrive."
Information: Beverly Booth, bb1249@bellsouth.net or (404) 869-3949.
