An inspirational group of women are set to raise their paddles on Saturday as part of the annual Sydenham Challenge Dragon Boat Festival in Wallaceburg.
The Breast Buddies have roughly 40 members, about 25 members that are in the boat and the rest are shore buddies.
“Everyone on the team has been through the journey of breast cancer,” said Margaret Oxford, coach of the Breast Buddies.
Margaret said the idea for the Breast Buddies team stemmed from Vancouver.
“There was a Dr.McKenzie who wanted to see the results of sports and the effects on lymphedema and reconfiguration for breast cancer survivors. He started a breast cancer team in Vancouver and he found at the end of his study that the women felt better, that anyone that had lymphedema didn’t get any worse and that the women were happier and in better shape.”
Margaret said the concept took off from there and there are now teams from all around the
world for breast cancer.
“Last October we went to Sarasota, Florida representing Chatham-Kent with our team. We competed with 110 teams from all over the world,” she said.
The Wallaceburg event is the best meet for the group to attend.
“Being our home meet, being supported by the community. Wallaceburg puts on an absolutely wonderful show for us, they make us feel so welcome. The energy is so positive and it’s so wonderful to participate in.”
To join the Breast Buddies, you have to be a breast cancer survivor.
Anyone survivor is welcome to come and give it a try. We are like a floating support group. There is a lot of camaraderie on and off the boat. On shore we do a lot of events throughout the year just to support one another. They are a wonderful group of women to get involved with,” Margaret said.
For more information about the group, check out their website: http://thebreastbuddies.com/
Also, check out this You Tube video of the group as well:
The 2015 event will be held on Saturday, June 6 from 8 a.m. to approximately 4 p.m. at the Wallaceburg Legion Br. 18. There will also be a host of kid’s events taking place from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information visit their website: http://sydenhamchallenge.ca/index.html
This article is sponsored content and is a part of our “Keep It Local Business Spotlight” feature. Contact Dana Haggith for more information – 519-784-4610 or dana@sydenhamcurrent.ca.
