One single story can inspire, teach and provide hope for millions of women and men across the globe. And whether it's a story of survivorship, or information about innovative research or complementary treatments, the power of someone's words can have an impact greater than you would ever imagined.
Please, share yours today.
A friend said, Don't you feel like
you're giving up your individualism when you row? I found
that a very funny comment. The point is to keep in sync with
everyone else, working together to make the scull go where
you want it to. There are many things to coordinate--the
rowing itself, the moving of your body forward and back, the
push from your heels and ball of your foot, the movement of
your arms--and after four times in a scull, I'm still
working on them, and all the while the coxswain and the
coach are yelling encouragement and advice. I'm not an
automaton. I'm a person who was always clumsy and unathletic
who's trying to move in unison with a team. I was never on a
team before. I am learning what girls nowadays take as their
birthright.
After being diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago I began traditional treatment. In addition, my medical team recommended that I: be with people who make me feel well, do things that make me feel well, and go to places that make me feel well! I found ROW this summer and being on this amazing team fills the prescription! This "Proud Mary" keeps on ROWING!
ROW (Recovery on Water) is not a support group, but a SUPPORTIVE GROUP of women who help each other through whatever they are going through while focusing on activity, vitality, energy; and doing something pretty amazing that not many perfectly healthy young people are up to!
Marybeth:
From one proud Mary to another - Keep on Rowing!
Best to you and the ROW team!
Mary
When I was just finished with my treatment (chemo, etc), I became very depressed. Being a "younger" breast cancer survivor (under 40) felt very isolating. My friends couldn't relate and the whole experience made me feel like I was on a different planet. When I found ROW, it immediately cheered me up and changed my perspective. Not only was I learning to do something entirely new, but I was also getting important physical activity and actually having FUN! We don't sit around and talk about cancer; we get in the water and go! The older women have made me feel more secure and the newer, younger women have made me feel normal. Also, learning that each person contributes to the overall success of the boat is a lesson that I can apply in every other aspect of my life.
ROW has made me into a superhero in disguise. Under this short, flabby, old lady exterior, beats the heart of A ROWER!! A rower who can finish a race with a team of 4 or 8 other secret heroes in rain, wind, hail or sewage, and gladly comes back next week for more.
When my oncologist explained how critical a consistent exercise program is to breast cancer survivors, his concluding remarks to me were, "Just keep moving!" Rowing with the Recovery on Water team has added a very fun element to my exercise routine. The camaraderie, support and laughter with fellow breast cancer survivors who also want to "just keep moving" is a wonderful bonus of being on the ROW team.
Three years after being diagnosedfor cancer and having had a lumpectomey and radiation, I was 59 years old, 70 lbs overweight and adamantly anti-exercise. As you can imagine, my doctors had been encouraging me to exercise and lose weight. I then received an informational email about an open house for ROW (Recovery on Water). Because the practice was near my office, I attended the open house where I met other breast cancer survivors who spoke enthusiastically about their own experiences rowing. I didn’t lie, I told them that I don’t exercise. To which they replied “You will”. I then met Jenn, the founder and coach, a young woman who could only be described as a “dynamo”. Although I wasn’t sure I could share her passion for rowing, we could certainly find common ground in our hatred of breast cancer.
Since first attending that open house, I have lost over 25 lbs and my endurance increases all the time. My flexibility is improving, as is evidenced by the fact that I no longer need assistance getting in and out of those skinny little boats. And, they’re not nearly as scary as they once were!
The most important benefit that I have received, is the support and fellowship, as well as the examples of strength, given by the other women. I only hope that my contributions to the team in some way equal what they have given me.
While vacationing on a lake as a small child I witnessed something I will never forget: a rowboat full of people capsizing. No one was hurt, yet experience frightened me. I became very afraid of the water. Rowing was something I never considered, I was too afraid.
I was diagnosed with cancer on December 26, 2007. At the time, it felt as if many doors were slamming shut around me. I could no longer take my health, strength, and well-being for granted. I had always been the healthy one, the caregiver. Suddenly I was the patient, the one needing care. I became mortal. My world was a dark, twisted, frightening, and unfamiliar place. When I looked at myself in the mirror I wondered, who is that woman?
Since my experience with cancer, I don’t have time in my life for petty fears or insignificant concerns. ROW has opened a door to an opportunity that I never, ever would have considered prior to my diagnosis.
I row to be a member of a team. I row to create and share experiences with empowered women who have overcome similar challenges. I row to feel the boat move under my power. I row because I am able. I row because I am strong. I row because I am alive
One of the hardest things for me about being diagnosed with cancer was having to significantly limit my exercise routine. I was a healthy, active 31 year old and I was used to going to the gym and being active three to four times a week. When my treatments finally ended, a co-worker told me about a rowing team that was entirely made up of breast cancer survivors. I was immediately intrigued and after corresponding a few times with Jenn I came to my first practice. Shortly after that we went out on the water for the first time, and in spite of torrential rain and hail, I was hooked! Since then, I have participated in my first race and made a lot of new friendships with some of the coolest women I know. We come from very different walks of life, but the best part is realizing that we have a lot more in common than just breast cancer. Not just any breast cancer survivor wants to go out and try something new and challenging and especially something as physically demanding as rowing. I love being part of ROW and being part of this team of women who are so strong, independent, determined, funny and fun.
Being very new to this program, and not being a cancer survivor, I probably have a different perspective than the women who are involved in ROW. Having been a coxswain in college, I bring some knowledge and experience to the team. But what I have gotten back is a great deal more than I could ever contribute. I have so much respect and admiration for the women in ROW. They are positive and supportive, kind and compassionate, and champions in a way that most rowers will never know. They have conquered something greater than crossing the finish line first. I am humbled and honored to know them, to see their spirit, their comaraderie, their dedication and perseverance. They are not measured by their ability to move boats, but by their strength and desire to overcome obstacles, fears and challenges. To all the survivors, coaches and volunteers, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this program. I feel privileged to be a part of ROW.
I am a 18 year survivor. I had my left breast removed and the lymph nodes from the arm pit. I was fully employed and took off 1 day every 4 weeks to get CHEMO. The best way to cope with this is "don't go on a pity jag. Just do your regular routine, eat healthy and be grateful every day you wake up. I lost my hair, but I shopped prior to my 1st chemo for a wig that would best match my hair. I had four children and was a single mother. After my biopsy, I was resting at home and had not heard the results. My 4 children argued over who was the one to give me the news that I was to loose a breat. Thet were all afraid of telling me because they knew I would blow my top. We joke about that now. You must just get on with life. Today I seldom think of having had cancer.