Featured Warriors

I’m a newbie to Wellness Warriors, 2021 being my first season. I learned the hard way that cancer can rob not only your health but also your marriage, relationships, employment, financial stability and in my case my sight. I have Multiple Myeloma, I will always have it. It can run chronic or acute. Like a [continue]

I first learned of Wellness Warriors at a lymphedema symposium a few years ago. I was interested, took the pamphlets, but after I got home, I didn’t follow up or contact them. I let the materials sit until Spring of 2021. After becoming an empty nester and living life in isolation due to Covid, I [continue]

It was raining- no let me rephrase that- it was pouring so hard that we couldn’t see beyond the front of the boat! And I laughed, dripping with happiness because I found a crazy group of cancer survivors that were willing to try anything! I’m not sure I was addicted to dragon boating my first [continue]

My first glimpse of this team came on a low day, outside a lymphedema lecture. I arrived with legs throbbing, my body and spirit weakened from surgical complications. High grade uterine cancer had taken my energy, my career and my confidence. In the lobby stood a scenic poster of the sunny Charles River; it featured [continue]

Peter Lew 1952 – 2020     Wellness Warriors celebrates the life of our founder, Peter Lew. A memorial gathering will follow in better times.             1,714 views

Let me first start by saying… Hi. My name is Rhonda…and I am a newbie. I am a newbie to Wellness Warriors… I am a newbie to any kind of sport let alone a water sport. AND a newbie to Boston.   In fact, it was just over 2 years ago that my husband Tim [continue]

I became involved with the Wellness Warriors when it was still a fledgling organization. It has been a remarkable experience to watch the Wellness Warriors evolve into the amazing entity it is today.   I was recovering from the cumulative effects of chemotherapy and multiple surgeries when I had the good fortune to meet Erica [continue]

Fear is the enemy of hope. I had just started my treatments for stage 4 neck and throat cancer. My friend from work named Sandy Tise happened to be a cancer survivor. She handed me a photo book and said, “These are photos of our dragon boat team called the Wellness Warriors”. As I looked [continue]

Fifteen years ago I joined the Wellness Warriors Team with my daughter after my 1st cancer surgery. Like so many I have had relocating cancer, surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, and clinical drug trials. But through all this I feel grateful for many things, my faith, family, friends and my united Wellness Warriors.   The Wellness Warrior [continue]

“You are strong” has replaced “you have cancer” in my internal dialogues, thanks to Wellness Warriors.   I was very hesitant about joining the team. I sort of tiptoed in and hid in the back, half turned to the door in case I needed to escape. What I found was an overwhelmingly welcoming atmosphere – [continue]

I was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in 2013 with new growth noted in 2015. At that time, I began searching out complementary treatments as my options were limited. I saw a flyer for the Wellness Warriors at a local wellness center where I had taken a workshop and was intrigued as I had [continue]

I joined WW in 2008 to support my family member and to be part of a team of folks who were living with cancer like myself. Paddling is more than healthy exercise; it is about being a team player, sharing and enjoying the skyline and sunset over the Charles River, giving your all in the [continue]

I joined Wellness Warriors in 2010. I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2005 and had recurrence in 2007. I saw a tiny notice in my local newspaper about a paddling group for cancer survivors. While I was not a complete couch potato having done aerobics and Pilates for years I was far from an [continue]

The original reason I joined Wellness Warriors was actually due to the fact that I was unable to find a stable close enough to the city to continue my hobby of horseback riding. Wanting to do something that kept me active and got me outside I took a risk and went to an info session [continue]

I’m one of the strange breed who grew up dragon boating—it’s kind of a big deal in Portland, Oregon, where I grew up. I raced for my high school team, but an ovarian cancer diagnosis as a teenager put an end to my paddling on the Willamette. After ten years out of the sport, I [continue]

Five years ago, after a mastectomy and reconstructive surgery for breast cancer, I was invited to a summer barbecue party at the home of a colleague who was also on the faculty of Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine. I mingled, spoke to a few of my former professors, and then was introduced to a [continue]

After fighting breast cancer and becoming a survivor, the next step was getting my strength back. I attended a survivors conference in Boston, where I found the Wellness Warriors Team.   As I made time to attend practice on the Charles River, I was excited to meet the people I would be exercising with and learning [continue]

I had no idea what I was getting into on that first night of dragon boat practice. I had done an online search for cancer survivor groups in Boston and stumbled across the Wellness Warriors. I had never heard of dragon boating and I didn’t know anyone on the team. It was nothing more than [continue]

There is something about being on the water that nourishes the part of me that craves calm and freedom. So when my Livestrong buddy Vartus asked me if I would be interested in joining Wellness Warriors, a dragon boat team for cancer survivors, it was an immediate and enthusiastic YES! I knew nothing about the [continue]