What does life look like after breast cancer treatment? For Ann Johnson, the answer came not in a church hall support group, but on the water — paddle in hand, surrounded by women who refused to let their diagnosis define them.
A Different Kind of Support
Ann was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2006. Like many survivors, she found herself at a loss once treatment ended — a feeling she describes as being "thrown off the edge of a cliff."
"The traditional support groups are all in church halls, sat round and talking about breast cancer," she says. "I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be outdoors and be doing something different."
After joining a breast cancer dragon boat team at Windermere in Cumbria, Ann was inspired to bring the sport closer to home. In 2012, she founded the Manchester Dragoneers — a team built not around illness, but around life.
"It's just so unique that you can get out on the water and forget about the clinics, the consultants and the doctors and your diagnosis really," she says. "We don't focus on breast cancer, we focus on life."
The Science Behind the Paddle
The connection between dragon boating and breast cancer recovery isn't just anecdotal. In 1996, Canadian sports medical specialist Dr Don McKenzie conducted research that found dragon boat paddling could help women rebuild their strength and confidence after treatment — directly challenging the long-held belief that strenuous upper body exercise was dangerous post-surgery.
For Kathy Yates, diagnosed in 2013, the results have been life-changing. For over a decade she struggled with pain from radiotherapy. Then she found the Dragoneers.
"I could not believe the difference the exercise was making to me," says the 58-year-old. "I came off my painkiller drugs that I've been taking every night, I was getting more flexibility and I was literally hooked from day one."
Silver Medals at the European Championships
What began as a support network has grown into something extraordinary. This month, five Manchester Dragoneers represented Team GB's breast cancer squad at the European Dragon Boat Championships in Munich — and came home with four silver medals.
For Sue Merby, 60, who was diagnosed more than a decade ago, competing for her country was almost unimaginable.
"It was disbelief really to think little old me who had breast cancer can then perform for the country," she says. "It's not until you start doing stuff like this that you realise 'wow — all that I've achieved because I've had breast cancer — it's mad'."
More Than a Sport
Kathy's story perhaps captures it best. When she was first diagnosed, her daughter was just nine years old. Her only thought was survival.
"All I could think about then was about survival and wanting to see her grow up," she says. "Not only have I seen her grow up but I've discovered a whole new passion in my life that I would have never known existed otherwise."
That is the power of dragon boating — and the spirit that drives everything we do here at DBUKStore. Whether you're a seasoned paddler or just starting your journey, we're proud to support the dragon boat community and the incredible people within it.
To every paddler, survivor, and supporter — this one's for you.