Berry
Dragon Boats set the stage for breast cancer survivors
When Jayne Berry was diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2019, she had no idea where her journey would take her. Five years later the breast cancer survivor has been around the world competing in dragon boats to raise awareness for breast cancer, including competitions in New Zealand and Ireland. She’s also an avid rower and kayaker.
Berry moved to Georgia from Massachusetts in 1999 and soon joined the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club team to learn a new sport and meet people.
“I’ve always had a relationship with water and boats and joining LCKC was just what I needed as a new resident of Hall County,” she said. “For five years, I paddled in K-1, K-2 and K-4s eventually competing in the 2005 World Masters Games in Edmonton, Canada.” At that event she earned nine individual medals – three gold, three silver and three bronze.
Berry is quick to admit that she’s competitive and that she thrives on challenges, so shortly after the Edmonton competition, she took a learn-to-row class at the Lake Lanier Rowing Club.
“Rowing just felt right and soon I joined the Lake Lanier Rowing Club Race Team,” she said. “Both the LLRC and the LCKC fielded teams for the 2009 World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia. I went and competed in both sports.”
She received one gold, one silver and two bronze medals in the kayak events.
In the Beaufort competition, eight women were in the LCKC boat; four of them are breast cancer survivors, designated by (BC), (l-r) Lilly Kiley, Linda Spencer, Becky Treff (BC), Nancy Crawford (BC), Jayne Berry (BC), Esther Wallace, Nancy Dalman, Terri Kemmerer (BC)
She continued to participate in both sports and occasionally sailed and raced with friends on Lake Lanier. In 2005 she met her future husband Joe Garcia who was a sailing enthusiast.
“We met at the Barefoot Open Sailing Regatta in October 2005. We both loved the water and were active in sports, so we had many things in common, plus our circle of friends were all boaters.”
The two married in 2012 and began their lives together, but late in 2019, things changed.
“On my 70th birthday, just two months after getting an all-clear mammogram, I had an itch on my left and felt something that shouldn’t have been there, so I called my physician and said ‘I’m coming to the office now, and I’m not going to leave until you see me,’” she said. “I sat there most of the day, but once I was examined, they had me in surgery in less than two weeks.”
Just before the pandemic began, she had her reconstruction surgery in February 2020.
“When my treatment was finished, I had one question for my medical team ‘Will I be able to row again?’ The next day, Joe bought me a rowing single so that I could row on the lake, through the pandemic. It was my lifesaver, a place where I could exercise and be alone and reflect on life.”
I had been aware of dragon boating and a LLRC friend suggested I join the Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Team. Developed in 1995 by a Canadian sports medicine doctor, he found that dragon boat racing and upper-body exercise helped breast cancer patients post-cancer, both with physical and mental healing.
The LCKC Dragon Boat heads out to the course on the June 29 race in Beaufort, SC; Jim Odell is at the drum in the bow of the boat.
“I had seen dragon boat competitions at the Olympic Venue, but it wasn’t until I joined the Dragon Boat Atlanta team in 2020 that it all began to make sense. Here we are in a 43-foot-long boat with 22 people all pulling together and relying on each other.”
The team competed locally, regionally, nationally and internationally, sometimes with a full team of cancer survivors, and sometimes needing to add family or friends to fill a boat. In several competitions, they would merge with Dragon Boat paddlers from other states to have a full boat of breast cancer survivors.
In 2022, Berry traveled to Venice, Italy, for a 30K athletic rowing competition on the Venice Lagoon. The next year New Zealand hosted the International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission, where 4,000 cancer survivors from around the world met, including Berry.
That same year, Berry was asked to be an “International Pink Sister,” global ambassadors for Breast Cancer Dragon Boat events globally. They promote breast cancer survivors getting healthy through paddling. Berry also has joined the LCKC Dragon Boat team for more competitive coaching.
This year in late June, the LCKC team won the Dragon Boat Race Day 2024 event in Beaufort, SC, besting more than 30 teams from around the country. The 22-person team included breast cancer survivors, Dragon Boat World Champions and LCKC athletes. Jim Odell was coach and drummer.
Berry splits her time between rowing, dragon boating and canoe/kayak practicing multiple times each week. “I do this for fun, exercise and the camaraderie,” she said with a smile. “In fact, just for fun, later this month I’m going to Greece to ocean row with a group of good friends.”
As the Dragon Boat team prepares for the Atlanta Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival September 7 at Lake Lanier Olympic Park, it’s a time for reflection for the members, some of whom have been on the Breast Cancer team since its inception in 2004.
“This is a special group of people who have all been through similar circumstances and come out the other side,” she said. “Not only did we share the history of having had cancer, being part of the Dragon Boat team has brought us together to look forward to a healthy tomorrow. We paddle as one and create such a rhythm that we truly are a team accomplishing much together that we couldn’t do alone.”
Photos: by Natalie Martin
Support or join Breast Cancer Dragon Boat Festival in France next year
The Breast Cancer Dragon Boat team plans to compete in the 2026 International Breast Cancer Paddlers Commission Dragon Boat Festival in Aix-les-Bains/Lake Bourget, France, August 24-30, 2026. You can be a part of it.
“As we continue to rebuild our Breast Cancer Dragon Boat team, please consider joining us as a paddler,” said Marilou Frizzell. “If you’re a breast cancer survivor – female or male – you are eligible to paddle with us as we prepare for this important global event.”
The event is not a competition. It includes demonstrations, workshops, social events and opportunities for awareness and dialog.
“Breast cancer is the leading cancer among women, so this will be an excellent opportunity to help raise awareness about the disease and experience the amazing hope and lasting friendships from around the world,” said Jayne Berry. “These events are incredible. To see thousands of breast cancer survivors in dragon boats on the water is life changing, even if you’re not paddling.”
For more information about the 2026 France trip, to make a donation or join the Breast Cancer Atlanta Dragon Boat Team, contact dragonboatatl@gmail.com.
Lanier Dragon Boat teams give breast cancer survivors hope
The colorful 42-foot boats may look intimidating, but in reality, Dragon Boat Breast Cancer paddlers are finding comfort and hope when they join other dragon boat paddlers who have survived breast cancer.
Dominated by a large open-mouthed dragon head at the bow and a spiky tail at the stern, the boats have a long history, but it wasn’t until 1995 that a Canadian sports medicine physician found that upper-body exercise, particularly paddling a boat, benefits recovering breast cancer patients. Enter the sport of Dragon Boat Paddling.
Fast-forward almost 30 years: More than 260 Breast Cancer Paddler teams exist in 33 countries around the world, becoming an international movement not only for exercise and competition but also a special support system for those who know breast cancer.
Twenty years at Lanier
In 2004, a group of breast cancer survivors from Atlanta and north Georgia met at the Lake Lanier Olympic Park to form Dragon Boat Atlanta. They met once or twice a week and paddled in a borrowed dragon boat. And when they didn’t have access to a boat on the water, they lined up 20 folding chairs to mimic sitting in a boat and practiced their strokes, timing and coordination.
“We’ve come a long way since then,” said Marilou Frizzell of Braselton, president of Dragon Boat Atlanta. “Thanks to the help and support of other paddlers and our access to the lake through Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club, we’ve been able to grow the sport, help numerous cancer survivors heal more quickly and find unconditional support and friendships with other survivors.”
Three of the team’s founding paddlers continue to participate with the team: Sharon Beckman, Cumming; Nancy Crawford, Buford; and Kathy Cunningham, Cumming.
Frizzell began her breast cancer journey in June 2015.
“I found Dragon Boat Atlanta in October and was welcomed by the team,” she said. “I paddled twice with them and I was hooked.
“I met women and men – breast cancer survivors – who have become my most stalwart supporters, confidantes and close friends. We look forward to seeing each other at practices, Dragon Boat events and other cancer-related activities.”
Post-pandemic rebuilding
Members of the Dragon Boat Atlanta team get ready for a moonlight paddle last month.
For practical reasons, practices and events shut down during the pandemic. “At one time we had around 60 women survivors participating with us,” she said. “The pandemic changed many things, but cancer survivors still need the support and caring of others.”
Dragon Boat Atlanta expanded its mission beyond breast cancer survivors after the pandemic to include survivors of any kind of cancer. Some races are breast cancer survivors only and some are all cancer survivors.
“That’s not to diminish the seriousness of breast cancer, but for anyone who’s been on a cancer journey, shared experiences can be extremely powerful.”
Meanwhile, Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club Dragon Boat team includes cancer survivors. Depending on the event, the boats may have an all-breast-cancer team or one that includes all types of cancer survivors.
“If you’re interested and a survivor, we’ll find a place for you in a boat,” Frizzell said. “The most important thing is the mental support dragon boat brings and there’s really nothing that replaces it.”
She explained that no boating or paddling experience is necessary.
Both groups go beyond the water to spread the word about breast cancer and dragon boat events. They have information tables at other area cancer-related events, they speak to groups about their journeys and, of course, paddle in events like the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival next month.
For more information about Dragon Boat Atlanta, visit dragonboatatlanta.us. To learn more about the LCKC paddling program, visit www.exploregainesville.org.
Photo: by Dragon Boat Atlanta
