DRAGON boat racing is proving the ideal therapy for a group of breast cancer survivors, writes SARAH HUDSON

Take an evening stroll along the banks of the Gateway Lakes between Albury and Wodonga and you are likely to see a curious, yet inspiring sight.

Clad in pink life jackets and hats, paddling to the beat of a drum in a blue boat with pink hearts, you will spy the members of the Brave Hearts on the Murray dragon boat team.

For the past few weeks the women have been paddling long and hard in readiness for their Dragon Boat Regatta this Sunday, which follows the inaugural event last year.

As curious as this sight is, theirs is no ordinary dragon boat race: the team is made up of breast cancer survivors.

Retired breast-care nurse Jenny Black says there is method in the madness of a group of formerly ill women taking on a tough sport such as dragon boating.

"It has enhanced all their lives," says Jenny, a leading figure in breast cancer recovery and fundraising in the region. "Being in a team and having the support of other paddlers provides really good survival outcomes. It's about taking part in a sport and having fun."

And there are physical benefits.

She says breast cancer surgery can see some of the nodes under a patient's arms removed, which can interrupt muscle and nerve supply.

"As a result there is risk of developing a condition called lymphoedema, where your arm can swell up. It can be very debilitating," Jenny says.

"It was thought that any activity involving intense upper body exercise, such as dragon boat paddling, would would cause or aggravate lymphoedema, but research has shown the opposite is the case."

The dragon boat is just the latest in a long list of inspiring feats the breast cancer survivors have accomplished.

The Brave Hearts on the Murray was formed about six years ago when 53 survivors - and supporters - stripped for a nude calendar, based on the inspiring British cancer story of the Calendar Girls.

Jenny, the president of Brave Hearts, was at the time one of two breast-care nurses for the region and so led the project.

"With treatment, their self-esteem, body image and confidence often goes out the window and the calendar made them media stars. They had make up artists and hairdressers and they realised they were beautiful, which they were all along," Jenny says.

The calendar raised $70,000 for local cancer services, including a wig library, workshops, information days and oncology equipment.

It was just after the calendar was released that the Brave Heart members watched an ABC documentary about dragon boat racing and breast cancer benefits.

So the obvious next step for this feisty group was to build their own boat.

Jenny says the local TAFE offered to teach about 45 women the basics of woodwork.

"We learnt how to use drills, saws, lathes. It was hilarious. We'd start off doing tai chi to warm up and we'd all be dressed in pink in a male-oriented part of the TAFE," she says.

"We built a 12m dragon boat and were the first group of women in Australia to build our own."

With the launch of the boat five years ago, the women have since practised each week at the Gateway Lakes and have also taken part in other dragon boat races around the country, including the annual Falls Creek competition, as well as the first Australian international dragon boat regatta in Queensland.

Other community members have also joined the team.

On March 7, the Albury Wodonga regatta will include a breast cancer survivors section, a mixed section with teams coming from as far afield as Sale, Bendigo and Ballarat, and local corporate teams.

Jenny says Brave Hearts is also working on a pictorial book to be published later this year that shows there is life after cancer.

She says with such a motivated, life-loving group of women, there are many more plans in the pipeline.

"I have been privileged to be with them and part of many of their lives since diagnosis. I'm so proud of this crew. They have enriched my life and they constantly inspire me," Jenny says. "I can't imagine life without them."