Featured Warriors

I discovered the Dragon Boat in Texas, but I became truly addicted when I joined Wellness Warriors. I have had two cancers and I did not know that I needed a support group. I brushed off my cancers like a bad memory. Wellness Warriors showed me that I did not have to brush it off. [continue]

I joined Wellness Warriors in May 2023. Who would have known that my cancer in 2000 would be my ticket to this amazing team of cancer survivor athletes? I’d always wanted to do dragon boat paddling but felt it was just a fantasy. My first time in a boat was both thrilling and terrifying. It [continue]

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.             2,110 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]