For more than two decades the WonderBroads have been pulling together. This month, they are taking that strength, and their Windsor-Essex story, across the Atlantic. The local dragon boat team, made up of breast cancer survivors, is heading to Aix-les-Bains, France for the International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission Participatory Dragon Boat Festival. For Marybeth Helkie, who joined the WonderBroads five years ago, getting on the boat has meant far more than learning to paddle. “I’ve never felt so strong in my life,” she told CTV News. “One of the things that I wanted to do was show my granddaughters that I was okay after breast cancer. And this … I’ve never been stronger,” said Helkie. From Windsor-Essex to the world The WonderBroads have been part of Windsor-Essex since 2003, giving breast cancer survivors a place to exercise, compete, and find community among women who understand what each other has been through. But getting to France has required plenty of work on the water. “This team has worked really, really hard this summer,” said team captain and assistant coach Peggy Hurley. “I’ve seen women who have never been in sports before become these amazing athletes that we have here today.” Hurley said the group will be carrying a little piece of home with them. Their message of strength and unity. “This message will be brought from Windsor-Essex County to France on a global level with the International Breast Cancer Commission,” she said. The festival is expected to draw about 4,500 participants, including supporters, from 25 countries. Paddlers taking part are breast cancer survivors. For Dawn Bosco, the trip comes less than a year after joining the WonderBroads. “I’m one of the newest members of the wonderful team,” she said. “Not new to cancer, but new to the boat. And it is an incredible honor to be part of this team and to compete, not only with this team, but for Canada.” Bosco survived breast cancer nearly 14 years ago and said joining the team had been on her bucket list, “Going to France was the cherry on top because I had no idea we were going.” A sisterhood that keeps growing New paddlers are regularly welcomed into a group where Helkie said some things never need to be explained. “Every new girl that we come join our group we are just take them right in, like, yes, you can do this. Let’s go,” she said. “And we don’t even have to talk about it because we just all know what everybody feels.” That shared experience is what Bosco said makes the team about much more than racing. “Not only are we all connected as a sisterhood of breast cancer survivors, but we’re also lifting each other up and supporting each other along the way,” she said. The international festival runs Aug. 24 to 30.
