Raina Lloyd, Andrea Bogle and Chantel Williams are like sisters.
“You go through a lot with breast cancer and this team has really, really helped everybody. The support and the family values you get with this is just incredible,” Lloyd said.
She’s speaking about Spirit Abreast, a Chilliwack-based dragon boat team that she, Bogle and Williams joined together in 2022.
The team, which has paddlers from throughout the Fraser Valley, is hosting a meet-and-greet on March 28 with the hope of recruiting more breast cancer survivors to paddle with them.
Lloyd (age 46), Bogle (48) and Williams (35) are some of the youngest paddlers on the team. They connected through a mutual friend when they were all diagnosed with breast cancer in 2021.
After going through cancer treatment, Lloyd was having a lot of trouble with her arm. She heard paddling was an excellent sport which helps prevent lymphedema, which is swelling due to build-up of lymph fluid in the body that can be caused by cancer or cancer treatment.
“It definitely helped hugely,” she said.
Williams works with the BC Cancer Agency in the hereditary cancer program. She has the BRCA1 genetic mutation (BReast CAncer gene 1) and was diagnosed with stage-three, triple-negative breast cancer at the age of 33. Because of her age, doctors were a bit more “aggressive” with the dosage, she said.
According to Toronto-based charity Rethink Breast Cancer, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) are tumours that test negative for estrogen receptors, progesterone receptors, and excess HER2 protein (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2). These results mean the growth of the cancer is not fuelled by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, or by the HER2 protein. TNBC does not respond to hormonal therapy medicines or medicines that target HER2 protein receptors and is typically treated with a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
After her initial chemotherapy, Williams had a double mastectomy with reconstructive surgery.
“Being young as well, I had a very poor prognosis. But, I’m doing well,” she said.
Williams continued to paddle with her ‘sisters’ while going through cancer treatment.
“I did my 25 radiation treatments while we were paddling and I found that I didn’t get as much tightness through my arm while going through radiation and I completely give credit to paddling for it,” she said. “It kept everything nice and loose and it helped a ton.”
Bogle used to be a personal trainer and said she became “inactive and depressed,” when she had cancer.
Joining Spirit Abreast was something she had considered, but it was the encouragement from Lloyd and others that made her join.
“The women that you paddle with have become a family of sisters,” Lloyd said. “They are amazing. The support you get, it’s incredible.”
“And the stories and the laughter,” Williams added.
Being diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age and being a widow at the age of 31, Williams has gone through quite a bit. Like some fellow paddlers, she doesn’t have great support systems outside of Spirit Abreast.
“Joining the team gave us the support through treatment, which I found very helpful,” Williams said.
“She’s been through a lot. We just hug her a little closer. We call her the baby of the team,” Lloyd said bringing Williams in close.
Lloyd and Williams shared a special moment one day last year. Williams had found out she was approved for medication that would have cost $8,000 a month, and Lloyd was waiting to hear if there was cancer in her thyroid.
“We both, the same day, had the good news that mine was clear and she was covered,” Lloyd said.
They had practice that day and the two held hands and jumped into Cultus Lake to celebrate as their fellow paddlers were there to support them.
“That was a big moment,” Lloyd said. “The best therapy you could ever have is when you meet with other people that are going through what you’re going through.”
Any breast cancer patients or survivors in the Fraser Valley, including Chilliwack, Abbotsford, Mission, Agassiz, Hope, Maple Ridge and surrounding areas can get in on that therapy.
Spirit Abreast’s meet-and-greet is set for Tuesday, March 28 at 6:30 p.m. It takes place in the Bob Chan-Kent Family YMCA (formerly the Chilliwack YMCA) at 45844 Hocking Ave. in Chilliwack.
For more, go to spiritabreast.org, or contact chairperson Ingrid Bates at 778-241-2920.
About Spirit Abreast:
The Spirit Abreast Dragon Boat team was formed in 2002 and is the first Fraser Valley dragon boat team of women breast cancer survivors and supporters. They paddle on Cultus Lake from late April to early September. The team’s mission is to raise awareness about breast cancer and to demonstrate that women breast cancer survivors can lead full and active lives.
The team is also a registered charitable organization and a non-profit society called the Spirit Abreast Dragon Boat Society. The purpose of the society is to: improve the physical and psychological well-being of individuals who have had breast cancer; provide support to individuals whose breast cancer has returned; and support breast cancer research and education through community awareness activities.
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