About Us

What is Busting Out?
Busting Out is Ottawa’s Dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors. The team has been paddling together since 1998.
Our philosophy is that any possible limitations imposed by breast cancer can be kept to a minimum, and that exercise plays an integral role in restoring health and well-being.
Our mission is to:
- Promote health, wellness and self-confidence for breast cancer survivors while demonstrating to the community that there is a quality of life after the diagnosis of breast cancer.
- Promote that a full and active life is possible beyond the diagnosis of breast cancer.
- Provide breast cancer survivors an opportunity to be part of an athletic team and to share in the satisfaction of striving towards a common goal.
- Provide opportunities for breast cancer survivors to train and compete at local, regional, national, and international levels.
What is Dragon Boating
The use of dragon boats for racing is believed to have originated in southern central China more than 2500 years ago. The modern dragon boat team consists of 20 paddlers, 1 drummer and 1 steersperson onboard.
Why Dragon Boating
- By participating in dragon boating, survivors regain a sense of health, wellness and self-confidence while demonstrating to the community that there is quality of life after the diagnosis of breast cancer.
- Participants demonstrate that a full and active life is possible beyond the diagnosis of breast cancer and team members can rebuild their lives in a positive way.
- Dragon boating provides an opportunity to be part of an athletic team and to share in the satisfaction of striving towards a common goal.
- Dragon Boating provides opportunities for members to experience joy, laughter, and support both on the water and off.
Breast Cancer and Dragon Boating
In 1996, Dr. Don McKenzie and Dr. Susan Harris in Vancouver, Canada challenged a commonly-held medical belief that strenuous upper body exercise in breast cancer patients could lead to lymphedema. They gathered a team of survivors for a six-month training program (with the goal of racing at a festival), and the very first Breast Cancer Dragon Boat team in the world, Abreast in a Boat, was born. Their goal was to prove that the repetitive motion of dragon boat paddling would dispel this theory and sure enough, these pioneering women completed their six-month program without a single case of lymphedema. In the process, they also learned that the social connections formed among teammates appeared beneficial to both the paddlers’ physical and mental health.
Since that time, Breast Cancer Dragon Boat teams have been started all over the world. The teams compete locally, nationally and internationally.
Here are a few links to some interesting sites / information on Breast Cancer and Dragon Boating.
- International Breast Cancer Paddlers’ Commission
- Dr. Donald McKenzie Order of Canada
- Government Article
- BC Article
- Original Breast Cancer Dragon Boat – abreastinaboat.com
Links to specific pages on our site: