A group of 25 breast cancer survivors from around the Capital District are “hope in a boat” every time they paddle their dragon boat around the Hudson River.
Celebrating five years, the team called Hope in the Boat is part of the international sport dragon boating and paddle for fun and competitively from May to September.
“There’s something about just the idea of getting together with other women who have had breast cancer and having a lot of fun,” said Lu Allegretti-Freeman, team founder. “There’s about 20 people in the boat, you’re paddling, there’s dragon heads and tails.”
Hope in the Boat has been a slow growth process and mostly a grassroots effort but dragon boating itself has been around since ancient Chinese times and has teams across the country and world. Some are specifically breast cancer survivor teams and some aren’t.
Allegretti-Freeman founded Hope in the Boat to target women like her. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and during treatment was looking for some sort of exercise routine to start when she was cancer-free.
“When treatment is behind me, how can I improve my life, build on some healing principles?” Allegretti-Freeman said she asked herself.
She stumbled across dragon boating online and was “blown away” by the sport common around the country but nonexistent in the Capital District.
“I reached out to one in Vermont, one in Buffalo, one in Philadelphia. … I went to dragon boat camp to learn the sport,” said Allegretti-Freeman.
That first season Hope in the Boat didn’t actually have a boat. Instead, the women would practice on picnic tables, then the dock beside the river. In fact, the first time Hope in the Boaters tested their dragon boating skills on the water was at a breast cancer survivors festival.
“We were gutsy and brave and went to festivals anyway. We went to two festivals and that’s the only time we were in a boat,” said Allegretti-Freeman.
In 2009, the team raised enough money to buy a dragon boat of its own and now it paddles on the Hudson River in Cohoes a couple nights a week.
“I love the people, I love the women, it’s a support system,” said Barbara Neiman, a Hope in the Boat member since 2008 and membership chairperson for the team.
Neiman, diagnosed with breast cancer in 2001, said she was thrilled when she saw Allegretti-Freeman’s call for team members.
“I probably knew a little bit more about the sport than most people in the area because my sister, also a survivor, had been involved with dragon boating in Philadelphia,” said Neiman.
As an aerobic instructor since 1989, remaining physically fit was important to Neiman and she wanted to help other women improve and maintain their health.
“It was much easier for me to get through my treatment being that I was already physically fit,” said Neiman. “This was just one more opportunity for me to do something physical and help other women to see the benefits of physical activity.”
Women don’t have to be exercise fanatics to fit in, said Allegretti-Freeman. After a few months of dragon boating, though, that might become the case.
“We have committed ourselves to year-round exercise,” said Allegretti-Freeman. “There are women on the team who weren’t athletic to begin with and decided to stay fit throughout the year.”
There’re more to dragon boating than a full body workout, though.
“There’s a healing aspect about being on the water. We have a really good coach, relax on the Hudson, it’s a quiet section with eagles in the trees,” said Allegretti-Freeman.
For Neiman, too, the “camaraderie” has proven to be just as beneficial as the exercise.
“We have a shared mission to bring about awareness … of what survivors are capable of doing,” said Neiman.
The team meets monthly off the water for discussion and team building activities.
Hope in the Boat will hold an orientation program on Wednesday, May 2, at 6 p.m. at Hope Club in Latham. The team is always looking for new members and Allegretti-Freeman encourages local breast cancer survivors to check it out.
“There are a lot of really nice people, supportive, we’ve all been through a very similar experience,” said Neiman.
To RSVP for the orientation, visit www.hopeintheboat.org or call Allegretti-Freeman at 765-2307.