Cancer Survivors
Paradise City Dragon Boat is a team of Survivors and Supporters, bringing together athletes living with, through, and beyond cancer, paddling alongside supporters who share the journey.
This sport enables athletes of all levels to build strength, confidence, and connection after diagnosis and treatment. We train hard, race hard, and celebrate what our bodies can do together. Our team includes people at many stages of the cancer experience - newly diagnosed, in treatment, long-term survivors, and those living with metastatic disease. Everyone’s journey is different, but in the dragon boat we move forward together.
Cancer may bring us together, but what keeps us going is the joy of paddling, the challenge of racing, and the friendships we build on and off the water.
Whether you’re newly diagnosed, years into survivorship, or supporting someone you love, you are welcome here.
You don’t have to face cancer alone. There’s a seat in the boat waiting for you.
Why dragon boating?
While exercise is widely known to support good health, the connection between dragon boating and cancer recovery began in the 1990s when Canadian doctor Don McKenzie challenged the belief that breast cancer survivors, should avoid strenuous upper-body exercise. His research showed that paddling could safely rebuild strength and endurance, while the team environment of dragon boating supported both the physical and emotional wellbeing of survivors.
Today, dragon boat teams around the world embrace the strength of survivors, and many festivals feature BCP (Breast Cancer Paddler) and ACP (All Cancer Paddler) divisions as well as flower ceremonies honoring loved ones we have lost to cancer.
Special organizations like the IBCPC work to grow the sport in these categories, and in 2025 a BCP division was added to the IDBF World Championships for the first time.
What Our Paddlers Are Saying
“The same breast cancer has returned to my body three times. My Dragon Boat team carried me through each recurrence. With their love, strength, tenacity and POWER, I know in my heart I will never be alone!”
“This dragon boat team has taken me from a place where I felt broken, beaten, scared, unstable and weak to a place that I am whole, safe, strong, fierce, happy, and 100% supported in all of my life challenges. It’s a camaraderie you don’t think you need that you quickly learn you can’t live without.”
“We are survivors who paddle together, literally and figuratively, through challenges of the body and spirit. The resulting camaraderie is enormously healing.”
Watch our inspirational short film “Paddle Together”
Community Engagement
Our team is proud to connect with the broader community through fundraising and participation in events that support people affected by cancer. Each year we take part in events for Ray of Hope and Bikes Fight Cancer, helping raise funds that provide critical services, research, and support for individuals and families facing cancer. These efforts extend the spirit of our team beyond the boat as we paddle, ride, and rally together for a cause that touches so many lives.
