Pink Challengers Malaysia is the nation's pioneering dragon boat team for breast cancer survivors.
Formed in 2005, the club aims to spread cancer awareness and help survivors prevent lymphedema.
However, its members has also gained more than just paddling benefits.
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Formed in 2005, the club aims to spread cancer awareness and help survivors prevent lymphedema.
However, its members has also gained more than just paddling benefits.
Read more at https://shorturl.at/fiHN6
WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news
SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar
LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Are you ready?
00:02 Action!
00:08 Go!
00:09 The placing is important.
00:14 But to finish the race together
00:19 is the most important thing for us.
00:22 It's the most important thing for us.
00:24 Debbie Wong has been the president of the Pink Challenges Dragon Boat Club since 2019.
00:37 It's unlike any other Dragon Boat Club
00:40 as most of its members are either cancer patients or survivors.
00:44 Now we are 18 years old already.
00:47 It started under the umbrella of Breast Cancer Welfare Association
00:51 and 3 years ago we came out of our own.
00:53 We have registered ourselves with ROSA, which is the sports association.
00:58 The main reason we actually Dragon Boat for breast cancer survivors
01:02 actually is to try to prevent lymphedema after the surgery
01:06 whereby the lymph nodes are being removed.
01:08 Minimum lymph nodes have to be removed is about 4
01:12 and some, like me, has gone up to about 26 lymph nodes are removed.
01:17 We can develop lymphedema if we do not do any upper body physio exercises.
01:23 In a nutshell, lymphedema is swelling due to the build-up of lymph fluid in the body.
01:28 Lymph nodes act like a drain in a sink.
01:31 When these nodes are blocked, the fluid cannot drain properly
01:35 typically leading to swelling in the arms or legs.
01:38 Other common symptoms include a feeling of tightness in the affected area
01:43 and a tingling sensation.
01:46 Debbie is a two-time breast cancer survivor herself.
01:49 The 55-year-old financial advisor and single mum
01:53 was first diagnosed in 2015 with stage 2 cancer.
01:57 Two years later, she had a relapse and underwent a bilateral mastectomy.
02:02 During my treatment, I have not stopped exercising.
02:06 At that time I was a cyclist, then I was introduced to dragon boating.
02:10 So that's what dragon boating came into.
02:13 The first day when I sat on the boat, I know this is my sport
02:16 and I know this is what I like to do.
02:18 I fell in love with the boat, the water, the adrenaline, everything, the drive.
02:25 Above all, she said dragon boating also helped her alleviate
02:29 the side effects she experienced after her treatment.
02:32 When we talk about dragon boating, a lot of people will just imagine
02:36 on watching the TV, you know, how this dragon boat team, you know,
02:41 when they paddle, you know, it's so vigorous.
02:43 A lot of people have this perceptive that, oh, when you are dragon boating,
02:46 you are using so much of your strength on your arm.
02:50 But actually, the strength for dragon boating comes, 70% comes from the leg.
02:56 We actually need to use our legs, give the power to move the boat
03:01 and actually the movement of the, our twisting our body,
03:05 our core muscles, it really does the work too.
03:08 For the arm, it's actually just to guide us how we want the paddle to move.
03:13 The repetitive movement is the one that helps us to move the fluid in our body.
03:18 Debbie said the Pink Challengers take the sport very seriously.
03:23 Since their founding, they have participated in numerous competitions
03:27 ranging from local to international events.
03:30 In October 2023, they secured a gold medal in the International Cancer Survivors
03:36 Open category at the 8th Sarawak International Dragon Boat Regatta in Kuching.
03:42 We do have the supporters here and we do have other cancer survivors here.
03:48 But every time when we come in, the first thing we talk about is, you know,
03:53 like the races, what is our plan, what is our training today and all.
03:57 We don't really talk about cancer, you know what I mean.
04:00 When you meet the survivors, when you come in,
04:03 you just feel like you like to be with them and you like to be on the game boat with them.
04:10 A member who found more than just paddling benefits in the club is Tiong Wai Yin.
04:20 Hi, my name is Wai Yin. I am 56 years old.
04:24 I'm married with two boys. I am a metastatic breast cancer patient.
04:31 Metastatic breast cancer is an advanced form of breast cancer
04:35 where it has spread to other parts of the body such as the bones, liver, lungs or brain.
04:41 My journey started like 10 years ago, 2013, when I was first diagnosed with breast cancer.
04:48 So I had a mastectomy done on my right breast.
04:52 Doctor tells me I'm stage zero, so it was an early detection.
04:56 Four years later in 2017, bad news came.
05:01 I had stage 3A breast cancer on my left side, so I did a mastectomy.
05:06 Mid of 2021, I had a liver resection to remove one tumour in my liver.
05:12 2022, another routine PET scan.
05:17 They tell me, "Oh, it doesn't look that good, you know, tumour is back again in my liver."
05:22 They found three tumours. My normal oncologist was like telling me, you know,
05:27 "Looks like whatever he has tried giving me, all this oral medication, it seems it doesn't work."
05:35 So he suggested that I try out clinical trial.
05:39 Wai Yin said she had a tough time accepting her situation
05:43 and her initial coping mechanism was to be in denial.
05:47 I was in like a shell, you know, like I just don't want to get out.
05:50 So it affected me without me realising it.
05:53 By not sharing, you are actually putting more stress on yourself.
05:58 After being approached by a friend in 2021, Wai Yin joined the Pink Challenges a year later
06:04 and her life took a big turn from there.
06:07 I don't know what made me just tell her, "Okay, I'm coming."
06:11 You know, I just came to try.
06:13 And surprisingly, you know, even though it looks like a very tough sport,
06:18 but I find it fun because you are with a group of people.
06:23 So, you know, to me, I get to mingle around, I get to speak to them.
06:27 Now I would say I'm more of an open person.
06:31 You know, when I joined Pink Challenges, I see some of the survivors.
06:36 I told myself, "Why can't I be like them? I need to open up.
06:40 I need to see the world. I mean, I'm still alive, right? I'm not bedridden.
06:45 So why would I not come out of the house, you know, and enjoy life?"
06:51 Being diagnosed with cancer wasn't easy,
06:54 but it taught both ladies some invaluable life lessons.
06:58 For Debbie, it not only opened up a whole new world,
07:01 but also taught her how to balance her life and redefine happiness.
07:06 After cancer, that's when my life starts.
07:10 Seriously.
07:12 I think I have done a lot of things after cancer,
07:15 which I have put on hold for a long time, you know.
07:22 But once I was diagnosed with cancer, I don't procrastinate so much.
07:29 And I learned to be happy and accept a lot of things, good or bad, you know.
07:34 I see things differently.
07:36 For Wai Yin, it was a matter of choosing the right perspective
07:40 when faced with harsh situations.
07:43 You know, for the past, like, eight years during my cancer journey,
07:48 I thought I wasted my eight years without doing anything that benefits me
07:54 rather than just sit at home.
07:56 Like, these past two years, I did so many things that I never thought I would be doing.
08:00 I tell myself, "Hey, you know, maybe this is my time now."
08:05 How I want to enjoy my life, how I want to go on, you know,
08:09 by helping others if I can, by telling my story out,
08:13 hoping that it gives people hope.
08:16 Having cancer is not the end, you know.
08:19 There's life after this. You can enjoy life.
08:23 It's never the end.
08:25 [Music]
08:35 [Music fades]
08:39 [BLANK_AUDIO]