After surviving cancer and other illness, NC paddlers leave their troubles on the dock

As the sun set over Lake Wheeler, paddlers propelled a long, narrow boat across its surface, cutting through the reflection of the pinks and oranges. Their strokes were smooth, in rhythm: blades in, pull, blades out. As one.

This group, called the Chemo-Kazes, is made up of survivors of cancer or other illnesses and their caregivers. It’s one of the Raleigh Dragon Boat Club’s two teams. And they represent different generations, careers and languages.

Bonnie Townsend, one of the team’s newer members, is a cancer survivor in her 70s who refuses to stop paddling despite her children’s pleas otherwise.

Maria Burgos joined the Kazes in 2017 while in treatment for triple-negative invasive ductal carcinoma, an aggressive form of breast cancer.

Jennifer Buel came from the Pittsburgh Hearts of Steel, a breast cancer survivor team, four years ago. She and her husband, Robert, also paddle with Relentless, the club’s other team.

Missing this day was Jess Newport, a coach and the team’s captain. She had just returned home from a hospital stay. Newport inspires the team, and they’ll need inspiration as they train for their big race a few weeks away at Asia Fest in Cary on Sept. 17.

History of the Kazes

Dragon boat racing, a sport originating in China, involves a team paddling in unison, sometimes to the beat of a drum and always in synchronization with the caller, a leader who sits or stands at the back of the boat and keeps time.

The Raleigh Dragon Boat Club was formed in 2011 with its first team, Relentless.

In 2018, Carol Kurtz approached the club’s president, Alicia Koblansky. Kurtz saw the benefits of dragon boating for cancer survivors like herself and wanted to start a boat. She reached out through various support groups to find paddlers and formed the Chemo-Kazes.

That’s how Cynthia Fistler, one of the team’s coaches, found the Kazes.

“One of the things that really attracted me to the Chemo-Kazes was the spirit of Carol,” she said. “I was going through cancer treatment myself when Carol was making her rounds to the different support groups, and it was so inspiring to hear her story.”

Kurtz is a survivor of triple-negative breast cancer.

“My feeling was, ‘Hey, if she can do it and she’s willing to get on a boat after all of the things that she went through with her treatment, I have no excuse,’” Fistler said.

Her first time on the water, she was hooked.

“There’s nothing but you and the people around you just paddling, and you can’t think about anything else,” she said.

That’s the mantra of the team, Fistler said — to leave your troubles on the dock.

‘You can’t not make friends’

One of the team’s inspirations is Newport, the coach. Born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that eventually destroyed her lungs, she had to decide whether to get a double lung transplant or go into hospice care.

At 23, in college at the University of South Florida, she wasn’t ready for her story to end. She went on the transplant waiting list, moved to Durham to get the lung transplant, then returned to Florida. When she was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis, a complication caused by her cystic fibrosis, Newport moved back to Durham.

But she felt socially isolated. After watching a documentary on someone with similar health conditions who raced on a dragon boat, she joined Relentless in 2013 and later the Kazes.

Above the physical benefits of the sport, Newport values the fellowship she has found across both teams most.

“You can’t not make friends,” she said.

There is some crossover between teams, with survivors paddling on Relentless for a challenge and expert paddlers from Relentless showing new Kazes the ropes.

One goal of the Kazes is to provide a space for paddlers to transition between boats — Newport being an example.

With her chronic illness flaring up more this year, Newport tries to make as many Relentless practices as she can, but the back-to-back schedule of Relentless on Wednesday and Saturday and the Kazes on Sunday can be exhausting. She no longer races with Relentless, focusing her energy on captaining and coaching the Kazes, especially since her 2020 melanoma diagnosis deepened her connection to the team.

“I feel like (the Asia Fest race) is a success no matter whether we medal,” she said, because they would be racing again for the first time in three years.

“We just want people to get together and have fun together and we’ve kept that mission at heart with all that we do,” Newport said.

1st race in 3 years

As the team gathered at Koka Booth Amphitheatre at 8:30 a.m., the air buzzed with excitement.

“It’s been three years,” Newport said. “We’re ready to race.”

In the shade, Newport slathered on sunscreen, then carefully assembled all the pieces of her elaborate handmade costume. A colorful tutu stood in stark contrast to her skeleton bodysuit.

“Jess never disappoints,” one team member said.

As everyone mingled, only jerseys differentiated Relentless and the Kazes.

Allyson Dunn, a new Kaze, was competing for the first time. She finished radiation in June and found the team through a breast cancer survivors’ group just six weeks before the festival.

She said being on the team makes her “feel like a real person again.”

At 9:30 a.m., both teams began warming up. When Newport asked who was racing in their first competitive race, almost every Kaze hand went up.

“I believe in you,” Newport said. “For a lot of you — my cancer and illness survivors — this is easy (in comparison).”

They trekked to the waiting boats, loaded everyone on and paddled to the starting line. Then the race began, four dragon boats shooting through the water.

The Kazes came in last, but morale stayed high — until they learned they had to race again almost immediately.

“Should’ve just left us in the boat,” one member grumbled.

“We do races every 10 minutes in practice,” Fistler said. “We got this.”

It was not quite the redemption they had hoped for — another boat crossed the finish line just before the Kazes — but the team was not discouraged. They used their long break to cheer on Relentless.

Finally, it came time for their last race of the day. This would determine their placement for potential medals.

Racing against three boats, they started out significantly behind, almost ready to be written off, but somewhere in the middle picked up speed and never looked back.

With a time of 1:38, they beat another survivor team by 0.3 seconds. It was so close that, as the Kazes unloaded from their boat, Relentless members had to tell them they won the heat.

“You came from behind and shot out like a rocket,” one Relentless member said.

“Photo finish, baby, photo finish,” Newport cheered. “That is training right there.”

At the final ceremony, Olympic music playing, the Kazes took the stage to receive their gold medals in the Consolation Division. Relentless took silver in the A Division Championship, the highest bracket.

The day was a success, not because of their new hardware, but, as Newport anticipated, because they were able to enjoy themselves and celebrate the resilience of the club and their strength as individuals and as a team.

The group posed for a photo, smiling despite the exhaustion of the day. The Kazes would take the next week off from practice — to rest, to heal.

But they’d be back at Lake Wheeler the following Sunday, paddles in motion as they row toward the next race.

UNC Media Hub is a collection of students in the Hussman School of Journalism and Media who create integrated multimedia packages covering stories from around North Carolina.