Paddling with a purpose:
Female cancer survivors get exercise, support on dragon boat team
By By Tanya Mannes December 29, 2009 Publication: San Diego Union-Tribune, The (CA)
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Roberta Wells-Famula never considered herself the athletic type until after she was diagnosed with breast cancer. The 53-year-old San Diego resident decided to begin exercising for her health after having a mastectomy in December 2006
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Then she heard about a group of female cancer survivors who were learning to paddle on traditional Chinese boats and joined them once a week for their practices.
"I was having a lot of pain in the arm and chest, around the area where I had surgery," said Wells-Famula, director of education for the Old Globe theater. "What I found was that doing the upper body motion actually helped the pain go away."
The paddling group — known as the dragon-boat team — is a project of Team Survivor San Diego, the local chapter of a national nonprofit that offers free fitness programs to female cancer survivors. The San Diego group has the paddling team, yoga classes, group walks and triathlon training for women who have had cancer.
The idea is to provide emotional support built around healthy activity, said Angie Bagnas, founder and CEO of the local group.
"You don't have to have any experience paddling or any experience in a team-sport environment," Bagnas said. "We just want women to come out and enjoy something active with other survivors."
Team Survivor launched the team in April 2008, although an informal group led by coach Cheance Adair was active before that. It is one of scores of cancer-survivor boat teams in the United States, Canada and several other countries.
The dragon-boat movement for cancer survivors began with the efforts of a Canadian doctor, Donald McKenzie, who determined that the paddling motion helped breast-cancer survivors by strengthening their upper bodies and improving their mobility. With seating for between 10 and 20 paddlers, the Chinese boats also provide a shared activity, building camaraderie among cancer survivors in need of emotional support.
The San Diego team has about 25 women, ranging from their late 20s to their late 60s. Team Survivor pays $1,000 in annual membership dues, allowing the group to use boats owned by the San Diego Dragon Boat Club.
Adair, the mail-center manager at the University of San Diego, donates her time to lead the group in its practices and is the only member who has not had cancer. The team this year began entering races, with 20 women in a 48-foot boat decked out with a large dragon head and tail. During the races, a team member pounds on a drum to set the pace.
On a recent Sunday morning, the women gathered at about 7:30 outside the Youth Aquatic Center on Fiesta Island for their practice. Wearing matching purple jerseys and brightly colored rain boots, they warmed up in the parking lot with squats, twists and reaches. They strapped on their life jackets, pulled on neoprene gloves and piled into two long, narrow 10-person boats. Seated two across, the women began paddling with sure strokes until their boats moved in parallel lines along the center of the channel.
"Three … two … one … and push!" Adair shouted, getting the group in a unified rhythm.
Before joining the team, Wells-Famula had never played sports, or even belonged to a gym. The workouts gave her a surprising energy boost, she said. She began walking to work, and doing push-ups and sit-ups at home. She even bought hand weights and began lifting for the first time in her life.
"I just got into a regular routine of doing exercise," Wells-Famula said. "Being with other people who had experienced similar things also helped me emotionally."
Another team member is Del Mar Councilwoman Crystal Crawford, 52, a two-time breast cancer survivor. Crawford has been cancer-free for more than six years and is running for state Assembly. She is seeking the Democratic nomination for the 74th District seat held by Republican Martin Garrick.
"What I have learned through Team Survivor is the benefits of team sports," Crawford said. "I think it's an amazing support group, to be with a group that knows exactly what you've been through and how you feel."
Jean Snow, 55, joined the team after fighting lymphoma four years ago. Snow, an art teacher in the Poway public school system, said she has always enjoyed water sports, such as kayaking. She was thrilled to find a team of women training to paddle together.
"It gives you kind of a reason to get out and go," Snow said. "I think as you've been out of treatment longer, you feel you want to stick with it because you want to be there for the people just coming out of it."
For more information about Team Survivor and the dragon boat team, go to teamsurvivor.org, call Bagnas at (858) 578-5731 or e-mail sandiego@teamsurvivor.org.
Tanya Mannes: (760) 476-8243; tanya.mannes@uniontrib.com
1. "Strokers" Grace Bernal (left) and Roberta Wells-Famula put on their serious faces as they led a dragon boat of nine other women in a paddle on Mission Bay. Most of the women have had cancer at some point in their lives. 2. Grace Bernal led Team Survivor, a group of women who have survived some form of cancer, in warm-up exercises in the parking lot before they headed out to paddle on Mission Bay. 3. Team Survivor paddled in the Tecolote 2000 race under the direction of coach Cheance Adair. 4. Coach Cheance Adair and her dog Jack steered the dragon boat for Team Survivor, a group of women who have survived cancer, on Mission Bay. The group also offers yoga classes, group walks and triathlon training for female cancer survivors. 1-4. Peggy Peattie / Union-Tribune photos
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