By: Anne Cahill, KAB member
My story begins when I was diagnosed with Chronic Myeloid Leukemia CML in June of 2016. I had just started a daily oral chemotherapy when I received the dreaded “call back” after my regular mammogram and was diagnosed with Breast Cancer as well. I had a lumpectomy and luckily did not require a separate chemotherapy. I weighed the pros and cons with respect to my ongoing CML treatment and “opted out” of the standard course of radiation. At that point I decided that the medical team had done their job and it was now My job to get moving, get in shape and show cancer who was Boss!
I had heard about the Knot A Breast breast cancer survivor dragon boat team and their accomplishments but was hesitant to reach out. I called Geri, the new membership co-ordinator, and got some information about the team and how to join but didn’t follow through. I just wasn’t confident that I could do it! Even though I had been athletic in my younger years and loved playing sports, I was intimidated to try a new sport that I had no background in. Was I too old to learn a new sport? Was I too physically-depleted from cancer treatment to join this team?
