Houston Cancer Survivors Paddle to France for Dragon Boat Race

When breast cancer survivors grab their paddles and step into a dragon boat, they're doing more than exercising. They're reclaiming their strength, their joy, and their futures together.

Pink Phurree, Texas' first all-women breast cancer survivor dragon boat team, was founded in 2007 with a simple but powerful mission. The nonprofit helps survivors rebuild physical strength, resilience, and confidence through synchronized paddling and unshakable community support.

This August, 10 team members will represent Houston at the International Breast Cancer Paddlers' Commission Festival in France. The global event happens every four years, bringing together survivor paddlers from around the world to celebrate survivorship, advocacy, and the connections that help people heal.

For paddlers like Gaile Stiteler, Susan McGee, Dora Lipper, and Maria Buenabad, dragon boating has become proof that life after cancer can be full of new challenges and victories. The synchronized sport requires trust, communication, and collective effort as 20 paddlers move in perfect rhythm to propel their boat forward.

The team name says it all. "Phurree" sounds like "fury," representing the fierce determination these women bring to both their recovery and their racing.

Why This Inspires

Pink Phurree shows that survivorship doesn't mean simply returning to normal. For these women, it means discovering new strengths they never knew they had and building friendships forged through shared struggle and triumph.

The team welcomes women at every stage of their cancer journey, creating a support system that extends far beyond the water. Some members are newly diagnosed, others are years into remission, and all find purpose in paddling together toward the same goal.

As they prepare for France, the Houston paddlers are honoring everyone touched by breast cancer: those still fighting, those who have survived, and those they've lost along the way. Their message is clear: survivors are so much more than their diagnosis.

Every stroke of the paddle is a celebration of life.