How in the World Did Dragon Boating Land Me in a Global Sports Documentary?

Before the Kentucky Thorough-Breasts left for France to compete in the International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission Dragon Boat Festival, our coach forwarded an email to us about a documentary called SPORT, directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand. She encouraged us to apply. The email explained that the film draws on thousands of personal stories from athletes around the world. Not about winning, performance, or medals, but what athletics reveal about people -resilience, struggles, relationships, commitment, and humanity.

They were looking for people at the festival willing to tell their story. So I applied.

One of the 10 questions on the application was: 

“Tell us about your relationship with sport. What has sport changed in your life?”

My answer:

Since my mid-20s, exercise has been a big part of my life. I like pushing myself and finding out what my body can do. And some of my proudest athletic moments happened after I was diagnosed with breast cancer at 33.

For years, I wanted nothing to do with the breast cancer “sisterhood.” I didn’t want cancer to be my identity. I knew about dragon boating and was intrigued. But joining a team with other breast cancer survivors was a hard NO.  

And yes, there’s some irony here. I co-founded Pink Ribbon Good just one year after my diagnosis. I wanted to help other people dealing with breast cancer, but I was still carrying around plenty of my own anger about being dealt the cancer card and thought it was best to step away from that group. 

Eventually, specifically 22 years later, I decided it was time to dump the anger monkey (name that movie reference) off my shoulder and try something new. 

So I joined the local dragon boat team. For the first time, I was training and competing alongside other breast cancer survivors. And I loved it. We train hard. We laugh. We race. We are teammates and friends.  Nobody needs to make cancer the center of everything.

Dragon boating taught me that I could be part of the breast cancer community without letting breast cancer define me. It only took me 20+ years to figure that out. 

Two weeks later, I received an email from the film's production assistant. It read: Thank you so much for taking the time to share your story with us. We were truly touched by your words and by what you shared with us. We would love to meet you and interview you for the film, so that you can tell us more about your story, your experiences, and the role sport has played in your life.

Two weeks later, I was interviewed at a hotel in Aix-les-Bains. It was an enjoyable, slightly nerve-wracking, and powerful 90-minute process. I was honored to share my answers, and the film will take about three years to complete. I will share an update when it is released. 

Other documentaries directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

WOMEN  Overview: Interviews with 2,000 women across 50 topics on what it means to be a woman. 

HUMAN  Overview: Combines stunning aerial cinematography with intimate first-person interviews from 2,000 people across 60 countries to explore what it means to be human.