WHO ARE WE?
Forza Rosa is a group of Canadian women living with breast cancer who, in May 2009, are going to Venice to paddle in the Vogalonga with Italian women who also have had breast cancer. The Italian and Canadian women believe the Vogalonga is a new and innovative opportunity to raise awareness about life after breast cancer.

WHY ARE WE DOING THIS?
In 1996 Dr. Don McKenzie, a sports medicine physician and exercise physiologist at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver Canada, undertook to challenge the medical thinking that after treatment for breast cancer, the upper body needed protecting and any strenuous repetitive upper body activity would cause lymphedema, (a debilitating and painful swelling of the arm which could severely restrict and affect the lives of post treatment breast cancer patients).

To challenge this thinking, Dr McKenzie chose dragon boat paddling as a demonstration of strenuous repetitive upper body exercise. He invited 24 women, all breast cancer survivors, to participate in his project. Their life experiences, fitness level and athletic ability were as varied as their ages, which ranged from 31 to 62. Their paddling careers began with a careful regimen of land and water training and within five months they were paddling in 650 metre races in the Rio Tinto (Alcan) Dragon Boat Festival in Vancouver, as the one and only breast cancer team.

To their delight, each woman became healthier and fitter and no one developed lymphedema. For Dr. McKenzie the project was a success and his findings were published in an article, “Abreast In A Boat – A Race Against Breast Cancer”, Canadian Medical Association Journal, August 25, 1998 . And the 24 paddlers wanted to continue: they had challenged themselves, enjoyed the physical benefits and experienced the instant camaraderie, support and laughter of “being in the same boat”. They also realized that dragon boat paddling was a vehicle for raising breast cancer awareness.

What started as one team in Vancouver in 1996 has grown to be a global phenomenon. In 2009 there are over 150 breast cancer dragon boat teams throughout the world: Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and Europe including Italy.