A wellness and recovery
rowing program for women
treated for breast cancer
A wellness and recovery
rowing program for women
treated for breast cancer
US Rowing News June 7, 2026
“As we crossed the finish line, we all let out screams of delight, relief, and maybe a bit of pain. But we did it. I did it. Cancer left me with many scars. But participating in the HOCR left me with a lovely medal, wonderful memories and greater determination.”
Read more about survivors like our own Deb Smith in the US Rowing article about the Survivors Rowing Network (SRN).
By Hanna Ali
“October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And for the first time, the regatta will celebrate the resilience of those battling breast cancer with an exhibition race. Eleven boats from the Survivor Rowing Network will launch into the water at 3:30 p.m. Saturday during the regatta.”
By Amy Laskowski
After Jeanette Millard was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a mastectomy, friends warned her to take it easy. Exercise might aggravate her stitches, they said, or even worse, lead to lymphedema, a potentially dangerous condition that causes chronic swelling and often affects breast cancer survivors who have had surgery.
By Molly Simms
Our esteemed and respected founder, Holly Metcalf, is interviewed in a Jan 2019 article in O Magazine that describes how “when we move in sync, there’s precious little we cannot do.” Holly is the reason we can row.
“It was the first time I’d experienced something that demanded that, as a woman, I didn’t hold back strength,” she says. “Rowing gives you pure joy of movement, speed, and balance. There’s an efficiency and musicality to it.” The sport loved Metcalf back, bringing her Olympic gold in 1984.”
Her story, and ours, is third in the article!
By DAN-VICTOR GIURGIUTIU, M.D. – ABC News Medical Unit
Rowing Group Helps Women Physically, Emotionally.
As the sun sets on the Charles River, and the reflections of skyscrapers mix with the fiery red of Fenway Park’s Citgo sign, a team of eight rowers and their coxswain glide along the water pulling their oars.
Eight women row, copying the movement of the woman ahead, and reciting a mantra of “catch, drive, feather, recover, repeat,” as exhaustion builds.
The scene might have been one of Olympian athletes in training, or a high school crew preparing for a meet. But these women are not Olympians, nor are they teenagers.
They are all breast cancer survivors.
WeCanRow-Boston schedules an annual New Member Learn to Row in the spring. This allows us to provide a coordinated introduction to rowing for new members that incorporates the safety and wellness aspects that are critical to our program.
New members meet with the coaches and our physical therapist to review their rowing- related health needs and determine what side they will row on (port or starboard) depending on the effects of surgeries, radiation etc. With wellness in mind, the Learn to Row event is designed to help new members avoid potential injuries and the exacerbation of problems, such as lymphedema. Women who are interested in joining WeCanRow-Boston should email us at : info@wecanrowboston.org.