Lake Windermere ceremony honours breast cancer survivors

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 22 Oct, 07:02 · Archive

Paddlers for Life Windermere held a pink paddle ceremony on Lake Windermere to honour breast cancer survivors and remember those lost to the disease.

Paddlers for Life Windermere held an annual pink paddle ceremony on Lake Windermere on Sunday 18 October to mark the end of their paddling season. Members, dressed in pink and fancy dress, gathered in their two dragon boats and a Tahitian V6 outrigger to form a triangular shape. They tossed flowers into the water and held a moment of silence to remember those lost to breast cancer and those still dealing with it in the group.

Paddler Diana Mountain, 62, described the ceremony as 'a very beautiful and poignant ceremony, it's both joyful and very moving'. She said that for those who have had breast cancer, 'it's a privilege to get older, really, that each year is a year to celebrate'. She noted that many group members have lost family members or friends to the disease. 'It's a time to think of them as well, but also to celebrate their own, their own survival and journey and that they're surviving and thriving,' she said.

The ceremony is part of an international breast cancer dragon boat movement that began in Canada in 1996. The pioneering group Abreast in a Boat was founded in Vancouver and led to a study that challenged the medical belief that upper-body exercise caused lymphoedema.

How it is being reported

• 'Beautiful and poignant' ceremony held to remember those affected by breast cancerPaddlers for Life Windermere held a poignant pink paddle on Lake Windermere on Sunday (October 18) to honour breast cancer survivors.Westmorland Gazette · 22 Oct, 06:00
• 'Beautiful and poignant' ceremony held to remember those affected by breast cancerPaddlers for Life Windermere held a poignant pink paddle on Lake Windermere on Sunday (October 18) to honour breast cancer survivors.NW Evening Mail · 22 Oct, 06:00

In this story: Paddlers for Life Windermere · Lake Windermere · Diana Mountain · Abreast in a Boat · Vancouver · Canada

This summary was written by AI from the headlines and standfirsts above, and states as fact only what at least two outlets report. How we use AI · Report a problem