Meri Gibson will never forget the day 29 years ago she found out she had breast cancer.
Now she’s part of a special group of women known as ‘Abreast of Life’, but it’s by no means free to join.
“It’s a pretty high entry price, you have to have had a diagnosis of breast cancer,” says Gibson, the co-captain of the crew.
Chairperson Janice Melville says most of the women have never played sport but to them, their squad is like no other.
The women paddle their dragon boat to raise awareness and enjoy life after cancer, Melville said.
It’s a crew of 26 women aged between 30 and 78 who back each other both on and off the water.
“The support through not just your breast cancer journey but through life has been awesome,” says Melville.
The club has lost 25 paddlers to breast cancer over the past 20 years, but Gibson says they're always with the women when out on the water.
“We've lost a full team and we refer to them as the angels in our boat and the angels on our shoulders,” she says.
Abreast of Life are looking for more breast cancer survivors to become paddlers to help grow their fierce community of women.
SHARE ME