International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission

Jane Frost is one of the twenty- four women living with breast cancer who, in 1996, slipped into a dragon boat, becoming the team Abreast In A Boat (AIAB) and giving birth to a Canadian legend and an international movement.

Dr Don McKenzie, Diana Jespersen, Dr Sherri Niesen Magee and Dr Susan Harris (also a member of that first crew who are now affectionately referred to as “The Originals”) took those twenty four- women through what was to be a six-month project to test Dr McKenzie’s theory that repetitive upper body exercise would in fact be beneficial and not injurious to women who had been treated for breast cancer.

After that first season it was Jane’s idea to take Abreast In A Boat to paddle in an international dragon boat festival in Wellington, New Zealand in 1998. The rest, as they say, is history.

Since its inception Jane has been responsible for providing AIAB with a comfortable structure. In 1996 she was instrumental in acquiring the services of Contemporary Communications, a media advisory company that worked with Jane put together the AIAB sponsorship program. This program garnered the support of the Bank of Nova Scotia and other prominent Canadian corporations and organizations. A special relationship subsequently developed with the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. Scotiabank and CBCF continue to support AIAB as well as other teams in Canada and British Columbia.

Of all Jane’s activities with AIAB her favourites have been: co-chairing with Jenny Yule the Ten Years Abreast Celebration which took place in Vancouver in 2005 to celebrate AIAB’s tenth birthday and to which almost 2,000 women living with breast cancer came to Vancouver to wear fuchsia boas, paddle, sing, dance and make new friends. Her other favourite activity was coaching and mentoring the novice members of AIAB; affectionately referred to as “Goslings”, named after the Canada geese and their newborn goslings that, each spring, share our local waters with the AIAB crews.

Jane’s travels with AIAB have taken her to New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and all across Canada and the United States. In 1998 AIAB went to Toronto to paddle with Dragons Abreast and to receive the CTV National News Story of the Year Award. It was here that Jane first met Eleanor Nielsen. Then on a return trip to Toronto in 2000 Jane met Michelle Hanton and the crew from Australia. One thing led to another and today these friends, and others, have organized the International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission.

Jane was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1986 at the age of 36 and in 1999 was diagnosed with metastasis. Thanks to Dr McKenzie’s wise advice, she views her cancer as a chronic disease and just gets on with her life. Jane is a proud mother, mother-in-law and grandmother. She loves spending time and traveling with friends and family. She has a full time job as a negotiator representing Canada’s interests in settling land claims with Canada’s First Nations people. Jane has been awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal, the Community Achievement Award from the Province of British Columbia and a Community Service Award from the Government of Canada.

Jane’s next adventure, along with her paddling pals, Jenny Yule and five Originals will be to take a crew of women living with breast cancer to a paddling venue (not just dragon boats), a regatta called the Vogalonga in Venice, Italy in May 2009. Jane sees this as a new and innovative opportunity to raise awareness about life after breast cancer in a country and on a continent that needs to see and hear the message of life, love and laughter that women with breast cancer demonstrate while paddling in dragon boats.

Michelle Hanton Michelle is a multi award winning business woman who works across Australia. Home is the tropical and relaxed city of Darwin where she lives with her husband of 27 years. Her entire life has involved cross-cultural environments and she is comfortable with people from all walks of life.

Michelle’s career has included working in the world of private banks in London, as an ambulance office in the Northern Territory and moving on to own and establish her own businesses in retail and export to the UK, USA, France and Middle East as well as extensive and varied contract work within both government and private enterprise.

A diagnosis of breast cancer in 1997 forced a chance of life style and focus.

As the founder of Dragons Abreast Australia – a not for profit charity that promotes breast cancer awareness and education, primarily but not exclusive through the sport of dragon boat racing. www.dragonsabreast.com.au – Michelle has brought breast cancer into the public spotlight in a dynamic, innovating, fun and very powerful way whilst also empowering and inspiring women living with this insidious disease to seize the day and enjoy every moment!

Michelle has extensive experience in developing business ‘from the ground up’ and thrives on helping individuals achieve their fullest potential.

Michelle and her businesses have been the recipient of several awards, including 1997 NT Export Award for Manufacturing, 2003 Avon Sprit of Achievement, 2001 Chief Ministers Women’s Achievement Award, 2004 Telstra NT Business Woman of the Year.

In June 2008 in the Queens Birthday Honours list Michelle received an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for her services to womens health and in particular for her work founding Dragons Abreast.

Elanor Nielsen Eleanor Nielsen, Reg. N., M.H.Sc. retired from the National Office of the Canadian Cancer Society, where she was Director of Programs from1991 – 2001. She was responsible for program development, implementation and evaluation of Public Education and Patient Services programs across Canada. Her graduate studies at McMaster University focused on Health Promotion and Adult Education. Prior to that, Eleanor developed closed-circuit television systems in Canadian hospitals after many years in hospital nursing management.

Eleanor represented the Canadian Cancer Society in many components of the Canadian Breast Cancer Initiative, Health Canada, as well as early meetings of the Canadian Cancer Control Strategy federally. During the latter years of her position, she developed the background material for the Society’s broad based primary prevention program. She was responsible for planning and facilitating national meetings and worked with other disease based voluntary organizations collaboratively.

Eleanor co-founded the Toronto breast cancer dragon boat team, Dragons Abreast in 1997, and is an active volunteer for many organizations. She has attended all 5 Canadian World Conferences on Breast Cancer, and was the volunteer project manager for the International Support Links project in 2002 and 2008. She was an advisor for a Food Share project, investigating factors that enable women with breast cancer to make and sustain healthy eating habits; and an advisor for a research project on Psychosocial Benefits of Dragon Boating for Women with Breast Cancer. She has participated in research review panels for the National Cancer Institute of Canada (NCIC) and was a lay representative on the Steering Committee of the NCIC’s Cancer Prevention Research Initiative. She does public speaking on breast cancer and dragon boating, and was the inspiration for the book, How to Ride a Dragon: women with breast cancer tell their stories, Michelle Tocher, Key Porter, 2002.

Eleanor and her husband, Charles, have 5 children and 6 grandchildren between them.

Jenny Yule from Vancouver, British Columbia was born and educated in Wales. She was diagnosed with breast cancer when her children were four and seven and later they, her daughter-in –law and husband Ken became inspirational supporters of her paddling commitment. She joined Abreast In A Boat (AIAB) in 1997, the second year of breast cancer survivor dragon boat paddling, a team sport that has become an international symbol publicizing breast cancer survivorship. She felt the impact AIAB in its founding year, 1996 when a story hit the news headlines to the effect that a team of breast cancer survivors in fuchsia pink had participated in the Vancouver Alcan International Dragon Boat Festival, crossing the finishing line to tumultuous cheers.

She subsequently learnt that this had resulted from a medical experiment by Dr Don McKenzie, a sports medicine physician and exercise physiologist at the University of British Columbia challenging the received medical thinking that after treatment for breast cancer the upper body and arms in particular needed protecting, and activity risked lymphodema.. To do this he chose dragon boat paddling, the archetypal strenuous, repetitive upper body exercise, and he invited twenty four women who ultimately paddled at the 1996 Alcan Festival to participate. What they had in common was that they were breast cancer survivors Their life experiences, fitness levels and athletic abilities were as varied as their ages which ranged from 31- 62. Their paddling careers began with a careful regimen of land and water training and within five months they were paddling at Alcan, the only breast cancer survivor team. None of them got lymphodema, everybody became healthier and fitter, they had fun, they had challenged themselves to do something they had never thought they would do and had succeeded. They showed that there is life after a diagnosis of breast cancer and gradually realised that dragon boating was a vehicle for raising breast cancer awareness. It is a profound story.

As Jenny’s first season progressed she herself realised the other enormous benefits for all these women literally in the same boat: the acceptance, the instant camaraderie, the laughter, the understanding, the support, the physical gains. Since then she has worked locally to raise awareness about the disease amongst young women and to encourage those emerging from it to try dragon boat paddling She has watched with awe as breast cancer survivor paddling has spread around the world bringing similar benefits to all those who paddle: she has paddled in Poland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia.and was at the launch of the first team in England in 2004. In 2005 she was thrilled and honoured to co –chair, with Jane Frost, Ten Years Abreast Celebration in Vancouver. Nearly two thousand paddlers and their supporters from seven countries came together, as indeed they were to do two years later in Australia, to enjoy, support and learn from each other, to celebrate the impact paddling has had on their lives, their families and communities and again to spread the word.

Jenny is pleased and honoured to be on the steering committee of the IBCPC encouraging international awareness and supporting participatory events. Nothing speaks to its mission more that the words of a 2008 AIAB novice when she said “ Two years ago I was in a hole in the middle of treatment and everything looked black. Then, one day I saw you guys, in fuchsia pink, paddling. As I watched I thought, they must have been where I am now and if they can get there and do that then so can I”.

Mary McAvoy from Wellington, New Zealand has been involved with Breast Cancer Dragon Boating since 2002.She is a founding member of the CanSurvive Dragon Boat Team and has been six years on Committee with the last three as Chairperson.At that time Busting with Life,Auckland had been on the water since 1998 followed by Abreast of Life,Christchurch in 1999.Since then there has been rapid evolvement of BC dragon boat teams both in New Zealand and around the world.

Mary’s experience has included paddling at the Pacific Basin Festival at the Viaduct Basin,Auckland in 2003,Abreast In A Boat ten years abreast celebration in Vancouver ,2005 and Abreast in Australia,2007.What is of considerable importance to her is keen interaction between the various teams in New Zealand.Due to the geographical distance there are limited opportunities to compete against each other.Seasonal changes denote the time available to spend in an activity which renews hope and inspiration to breast cancer survivors by pushing limits of physical and mental endurance.They come together as a result of their of the journey through adversity with the choice to participate in dragon boating having no common thread except the challenge of the unknown experience.Friendships are made whilst creating a support network and awareness for other women to be vigilant.

Each year around 2,400 New Zealand women are diagnosed with breast cancer,and 600 will die from the disease.Whilst survival rates are improving and do not significantly differ from the OECD average of 83.6% at five years one in nine women will be diagnosed in a lifetime.

There are eight Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Teams in New Zealand with others on the horizon.
Auckland:Busting with Life ( 1998),Pink Dragons ( 2005)
Waikato: Treasure Chests ( 2005 )
Tauranga:Boobops ( 2004)
Taranaki:Taranaki Dragons ( 2007)
Wellington:CanSurvive (2002)
Blenheim:Simply the Breast ( 2007)
Christchurch:Abreast of Life ( 1999)

The New Zealand Dragon Boat Association have recognized the significance of Breast Cancer Dragon Boating with their own division at National Regattas and a position on the NZDBA executive board which Mary has been appointed to.

On a personal note Mary is the Managing Director of Medical Matters a company involved in importing and marketing breast prostheses from Germany to the New Zealand market.Ironically this was a chosen path by her for quite some time before she in fact was diagnosed herself in 2001.Mary has utilised personal experience to enhance her ability to educate,support and assist others to move forward through involvement with various regional cancer societies.

Mary is married to Bob who has been Mary’s most avid supporter in Dragon Boating and even assisted in managing the CanSurvive Dragon Boat over the last three years.He shares her vision of “paddling with attitude”.

Alias Sandi B-J (USA)

Sandi is a two time breast cancer survivor. Her first breast cancer was in 1996, at age 39. Cancer was found by mammogram. Sandi’s second cancer was in 2005, almost 10 years after the original cancer. Again, the cancer was found by a mammogram – remember to get regular mammograms.

Sandi became involved in paddling in 1999 and joined the Pink Phoenix™ Dragon Boat Team in Portland, Oregon. Pink Phoenix™ is the first dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors in the United States. Sandi has been very active with the team paddling in races in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Sandi has been very active on the team’s Board of Directors. Currently, she is not paddling due to shoulder damage from her second breast cancer surgeries.

In 2004, Sandi paddled with Internationally Abreast in Shanghai, China. In 2005, she again paddled with Internationally Abreast in Berlin, Germany.

Sandi enjoys volunteering with the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Sandi has been a member of the Board of Directors, the Survivor Coordinator for Oregon and SW Washington, 2001 Oregon Survivor for the National Race for the Cure, and a member of the Race for the Cure® race committee. Sandi enjoys meeting other breast cancer survivors and listening to their story.

Sandi is a native of Portland, Oregon. Sandi has worked for the City of Portland for 28 years as a data supervisor. In a little under 2 years, she will be retiring and dividing her time living in Arizona and Oregon. Sandi is married to husband, John. Together the couple has a son, Justin and a cat KC.

Sandi’s hobbies include traveling, reading, movies and walking. Sandi’s goal is to walk a Race for the Cure® in every state of the United States. So far she has walked Races in Oregon, Washington, California, Hawaii, New York, District of Columbia, and Rome, Italy.

On June 29, 2008, Sandi will be bike riding in a Lance Armstrong Bike Challenge “Ride with Lance”. In 2005, a friend rode the bike challenge in honor of Sandi. This year, Sandi is riding with that friend in memory of a friend and paddler who died in 2007, Deanna.