Stories

Linda K.
When I was sick on chemo I was so angry and frustrated because I did not have the energy or strength to do anything – I couldn't remember what it felt like to be healthy. When I heard a paddling team was being started in my area I didn't jump, I leaped at the chance to join and become an active member. I feel ALIVE, when I am paddling in the boat or traveling with my new friends, or hanging out with their friends and loved ones. I don't focus on what was – I look to what is and what could be – a future filled with smiles, laughter and promise. Breast Cancer Survivor Dragon Boat Teams send a message to women and their support groups that there is life after breast cancer. We create friendships and foster emotional and spiritual support. We encourage survivors to become physically and mentally active. We instill in minds and hearts, a feeling of strength, determination, courage and love.

Leanna
When I first heard about the dragon boat team I wanted to join because I wanted to find away to turn the most difficult experience of my life into something positive. At first I was unsure how I would like it, but I have found it to be a very uplifting experience. I feel very connected to the other women on the team and I enjoy being outdoors doing something healthy for myself. It makes me feel stronger and filled with passion for living. I feel like we are making a difference by increasing awareness of breast cancer and supporting women who have had breast cancer.

Heidi
When I was going through my treatments, my mind often wandered to a time when things would be better. I thought I could beat this thing, and then be able to go on with my life as if nothing had happened. Support groups were never for me, as I felt they were just a constant reminder of the past. Little did I know, but that the key to the future lies within the past. What I realized with the dragon boating team is that this was not just a bunch of women sitting around and feeling sorry for themselve - they are happy, vibrant, motivated survivors out spreading the word of breast cancer awareness through positive reinforcement and camaraderie. Although, at this time, I am unable to join them in their efforts, I am proud to have the opportunity to be involved with so many positive people, supporting such an important cause, and I look forward to joining them in the future.

"The First Time's Always the Worst"
Leigh Anne Jasheway - Eugene, Oregon
The first mammogram is the worst. Especially when the machine catches on fire. That's what happened to me. The technician, Gail, positioned me exactly as she wanted me (think a really complicated game of Twister - right hand on the blue, left shoulder on the yellow, right breast as far away as humanly possible from the rest of your body). Then she clamped the machine down so tight, I think my breast actually turned inside out. I'm pretty sure Victoria's Secret doesn't have a bra for that. Suddenly, there was a loud popping noise. I looked down at my right breast to make sure it hadn't exploded. Nope, it was still flat as a pancake and still attached to my body."Oh no!" Gail said loudly. These are perhaps, the words you least want to hear from any health professional. Suddenly, she came flying past me,her lab coat whipping behind her, on her way out the door. She yelled over her shoulder, "The machine's on fire, I'm going to get help!" OK, I was wrong, 'The machine's on fire,' are the worst words you can hear from a health professional. Especially if you're all alone and semi-permanently attached to A MACHINE and don't know if it's THE MACHINE in question.I struggled for a few seconds trying to get free, but even Houdini couldn't have escaped. I decided to go to plan B: yelling at the top of my lung (the one that was still working). I hadn't seen anything on fire, so my panic hadn't quite reached epic proportions. But then I started to smell smoke coming from behind the partition. "This is ridiculous," I thought. I can't die like this. What would they put in my obituary? Cause of death: breast entrapment?I may have inhaled some fumes because I started to hallucinate. An imaginary fireman rushed in with a firehose and a hatchet. "Howdy, ma'am," he said. "What's happened here?" he asked, averting his eyes. "My breasts were too hot for the machine," I quipped, as my imaginary fireman ran out of the room again. "This is gonna take the Jaws of Life!"In reality, Gail returned with a fire extinguisher and put out the fire. She gave me a big smile and released me from the machine. "Sorry! That's the first time that's ever happened. Why don't you take a few minutes to relax before we finish up?" I think that's what she said. I was running across the parking lot in my backless paper gown at the time. After I'd relaxed for a few years, I figured I might go back. But I was bringing my own fire extinguisher.
  This story won 1st in Humor category of 2003 Erma Bombeck Writing Competition.
  Published in Dayton Daily News.

Nice story about Pink Phoenix's oldest member AND
she is a 42 year breast cancer survivor!!!
http://www.thereislifeafterbreastcancer.com/boobs/ElvaRene_Plimpton_65.html