Member Profile: Jennifer

by Marla Khan-Schwartz

“After I was diagnosed, I was really worried about cancer becoming my identity. I don't think this team makes cancer your identity. I feel it's a part of who we are, but it makes our lives so much bigger than just our diagnosis.”

Jennifer was diagnosed with cancer in January, 2022 and endured one year of treatments that included surgery, chemo, radiation, and endocrine therapy. Following surgery, she began asking her medical providers about physical activity almost immediately, with an overall goal to stay physically active. 

That’s when one of her providers suggested the Dragon Divas. Although Jennifer had experience with crew rowing in college, she was unfamiliar with dragon boat racing as a sport. She was intrigued when she was asked, “Did you know there's a dragon boat club of all breast cancer survivors?” 

Her interest was sparked, responding, “No, but that sounds amazing.”

Within a day, Jennifer had already placed a call to the Dragon Divas and after learning more about the team, eagerly registered for the 2023 season. A mentor was assigned to Jennifer, helping her learn the ins and outs of the schedule, team routines, and basic dragon boat knowledge before her first day on the water. 

She felt a mixed bag of emotions before her first practice thinking, “Am I ready for this? What are people going to think of me? How am I going to be and am I going to feel included in this group? What's it going to be like to talk about cancer over and over again?”

Jennifer’s first experience challenged her initial fears and brought out excitement and yearning for more. She was 100 percent all-in. She realized she was surrounded by other women who had different breast cancer stories, but a common purpose.

“Just being in the boat the first time, feeling surrounded by athletes who had cancer like me, are now athletes, think of themselves as athletes, and not afraid to talk about what happened to us” all stood out to her. “You share this experience and it kind of bonds you in a way that is really unexpected.” 

And with that, Jennifer’s ambition and love for the sport took off. In 2023, she participated in two festivals with the Dragon Divas in Lake Superior and Minocqua, and jumped in for a race with a La Crosse-based team. Her passion to learn dragon boating techniques led to a week-long training camp in Arizona where she was able to skill-build and participate in a culminating dragon boat festival with other camp participants. The 2024 season led to more festival participation including Lake Phalen in St. Paul, Chicago, and an exciting culmination in Kansas City. In early 2025, Jennifer’s dedication to the sport landed her in Los Angeles, where she tried out for the first women’s breast cancer USA World’s Championship team. 

Jennifer’s excitement led to a new aspiration: becoming a coach. Prior to the 2025 season start, she became a level 1 coach certified through the USA Dragon Boat Federation and is now teaching others on and off the boat. Additionally, Jennifer also co-coached a youth team through Twin Cities Paddling with two others, helping lead the youth team to a gold medal finish at their first festival in July.

Now that Jennifer is deep into the 2025 season, she will continue to define her skills and encourage others to join a sport she is now invested in and plans to continue. So far this year, she's participated in the 30th anniversary festival of breast cancer dragon boat participants in Vancouver, British Columbia, races in Starbuck, Minnesota, and looks forward to Kansas City in late September. 

She believes that even though learning a new sport can be tough, cancer was much harder to navigate. She encourages any survivors interested in tackling their physical health to give dragon boat paddling a chance. 

“It’s a really hard sport and it's harder as you learn more about it,” she said. “But I think that cancer, at least for me, has made me braver. I think this takes a little bit of bravery and it's saying, ‘yes, I can.’”

“I went through this really hard thing, but now I'm choosing to go through a hard thing. I didn't choose to go through cancer, but now I make this choice. Every time we show up for practice to do something that's really hard, it's my choice.”

Jennifer will race with the Dragon Divas in the 2026 IBCPC Participatory Dragon Boat Festival in Aix-les-Bains, France, where over 25 countries and 4500 breast cancer team participants will come together to race alongside each other with a common purpose– survival, camaraderie, and celebration.