<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>333137</docID> <postdate>2024-11-19 04:15:10</postdate> <headline>Dragons, ahoy! Meet the paddlers with a passion</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-333138" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Jeannie-Cotterell-resized.jpg" alt="" width="900" height="604" /></p> <caption>Breast cancer survivor Jeannie Cotterell in front of the GoAnna II… “There’s a moment that happens at the end of treatment where all of the doctors have gone away and there’s not that much support left." Photo: Elizabeth Kovacs</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line" style="font-weight: 400;">By <strong>Elizabeth Kovacs</strong></span></p> <p><b>Canberra's Dragons Abreast is the longest-running breast cancer survivors' paddling team in Australia.</b></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It's celebrating 25 years advocating for breast cancer awareness and therapeutically paddling a 22-seat dragon boat.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s a support group without being a support group,†said breast cancer survivor and club event co-ordinator Jeannie Cotterell. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We don’t talk about cancer very often.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“‘You have cancer’ is a really interesting three words to hear, and you know that the people around you have all heard those words and know what that feels like. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We don’t talk about it a lot, but it’s almost like a safety blanket.â€</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The most important thing, she says, is that members know they are themselves, and not their diagnosis. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Discovering a lump and receiving a breast-cancer diagnosis in 2014, Jeanie Cotterell’s life forever changed.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I was 37,†Jeanie said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“You’re not told to check out these things at that age.â€</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Jeanie quickly proceeded with surgery, chemo, radiation and 12 months of hormone therapy, using the same drug that her aunt had taken for its clinical trial. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A roadside sign inspired Jeanie to become a paddler and now 10 years after her diagnosis, she is cancer free and eager to spread awareness of the good that Dragons Abreast does for breast cancer survivors.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There’s a moment that happens at the end of treatment where all of the doctors have gone away and there’s not that much support left,†said Jeannie.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It’s that moment that can feel awful, and we want people to know that in that moment: here we are.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“We don’t mind if people get tired of us talking about it because we don’t want people to go through what we have.â€Â </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Twenty five years ago a Canadian doctor was in Canberra for a presentation of research he'd been doing into the treatment of women post breast cancer surgery. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The accepted wisdom at the time was that once [you’d] had surgery, you couldn’t do too much because it might exacerbate the risk of lymphedema,†said Jeanie.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The doctor, Dr Don McKenzie, had challenged this theory by starting a dragon boating club named Abreast in a Boat in Canada with 24 breast-cancer survivors. Finding a positive result in healthier and happier women, Dr McKenzie inspired local Anna Wellings-Booth to start a Canberra version of AIAB.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Initially called Tickled Pink, Anna and Michelle’s dream turned into Dragons Abreast Australia.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In the past month, Dragons Abreast Canberra, alongside eight other dragon boating clubs, have moved into new facilities on Menindee Drive alongside Lake Burley Griffin. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Dragons Abreast boat can be easily spotted in the water with a smattering of pink scales and a striking pink figurehead and tail, named GoAnna II in honour of founder Anna Wellings-Booth. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The team trains three days a week all year round, and continues to steadily grow. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Now sitting with 75 members (and counting), the team hopes to get another pink boat on the water soon. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It regularly travels across the country to regattas, recently returning from Tasmania alongside 200 other cancer survivors. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To mark its 25 years, Dragons Abreast is hosting a social and corporate regatta, 7am-2pm, on November 23 to raise funds for boat care, life jackets, etcetera. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Our goal is to have 500 people out on the water and 25 teams to celebrate our 25th anniversary,†said Jeanie. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">With a total of 30 teams registered and 28 full boats (each boat takes on 22 people), the organisation has smashed its goal out of the water. </span></p> <p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dragons Abreast Canberra Social and Corporate Regatta, 15 Menindee Drive, Barton, 7am-2pm, November 23.</span></i></p> <p> </p> </body>