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A8 -The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday March 19, 2003 Knot A Breast documentary is gift of love Film premiers Thursday night atfundraiser Craig MacBride SPECIAL T O THE BEAVER When you think about cancer, you don't usually think about laughter and good times. Nor do you think about drag on boat racing. But for Oakville breast cancer sur vivor Laurie Lawson, all of the above go hand-in-hand, and she has a documentary to prove it. Lawson is a member of Knot A Breast, a dragon boat racing team made up of approximately 70 breast cancer sur vivors. two of them men, that range in age from 30 to 70 years. " It was started five years ago by a woman named Cathy Levy," Lawson said. " She wanted to find a way to move through the experience of having had cancer and start to live life in a healthy but fun kind of manner, and to develop a team that would become a support group for other people who had suffered and survived through breast cancer." It was Bob Fleck, a friend of Lawson's, at Teamwork Commun ications in Oakville who decided to make this remarkable group the subject of a documentary -- Men ami Women on a Voyage of Courage, Raising Awareness. "The documentary." Lawson said, "is a gift to us. Bob very kindly came for ward last year and suggested to me that he follow the team through the entire year and pull together a documentary, so that we had a way of getting the word out about ourselves and reaching newly diagnosed people and encouraging them as they move through their treatment." Reck attended the team gym prac tices, water practices and races, taping the process that led up to a spectacular victory in Stratford. To tie the documen tary together, he interviewed members of the team and intermingled those inter views into the year-long story. Lawson has already had the privilege of watching the documentary. "H e's done a marv ellous job of build ing a book out of the whole year and put ting it together with pieces of these inter views." she said. "It's fabulous." With the documentary, as with the team, the group has several goals. They have been newly diagnosed, that there is hope to have the documentary on televi sion to inspire and raise awareness, and life after treatment." Lawson's own battle began in 1999, they hope to raise money from Thursday's premiere to help pay some of after she found a lump in her breast. She the fees to attend a dragon boat race in went to her general practitioner, who wasn't worried but recommended a Vancouver this summer. The documentary. Men and Women mammogram just to be safe. The mam; mogram led to an ultrasound, and on a Voyage of Courage, Raising Lawson found herself Awareness, will be pre sitting down with a sur miered on Thursday at 7:30 - II p.m., at the "There is so much laughter geon. being told that there was a possibility Oakville Conference and, of course, everyone she had cancer. Centre, 2525 Wyecroft has their own uphill bat " I was in denial. I Rd. The screening will be followed by a wine tles, but with all of us hav couldn't believe it until the results came back. and cheese reception, ing come through the And then you're sucked featuring wines from treatment of breast Peller Estates. into a medical process Tickets cost $25. Call cancer, we want to be able that's all about you for the moment. You feel a Caroline Brown at 905to pull together and show little bit out of control 540-8999 to purchase each other and other peo and there's nothing you tickets. can do about it, and it's a They're also trying to ple, who have been get the tape in oncology diagnosed, that there is life long journey." Lawson's journey clinics in hospitals. after treatment." was about a year long, " I can assure you it's · Knot A Breast team mem beginning in October of not a fun place to be." 1999. She finished her ber Laurie Lawson Lawson said, explaining treatments in June 2000, that watching the docu and then spent a few mentary will raise the spirits of women waiting for treatment. months recovering. It was at Wellspring. a cancer support " It's not a sad story; it's an uplifting centre in Oakville, that she met Margaret story." The premiere w ill also be a chance Elsdon. " [Wellspring was) a very supportive, for Knot A Breast to thank the people that have helped them assemble their educational environment for me," Lawson said, " so I attended some func team and keep it running. " We wanted to acknowledge the gift tions and met Margaret." Elsdon had been on the Knot A Breast that Bob has given us. and we wanted to thank him for his long, hard work in put dragon boat team for two years at the ting this together, and then beyond that time, and she invited Lawson to a prac tice. we wanted to thank our sponsors. Tim "There's nothing like that first time in Hortons gives us coffee for every prac the boat: It's scary, and it's hard. It's a tice. Burlington Racquet and Athletic Club allows us to use their gym and their tough paddle." Lawson said. " For first few months I thought they'd be ready to weights to work out during the year. The Y M C A provides the pool for winter kick me off the boat. I didn't have the practices, so what we wanted to do for timing. I didn't have the strength, but all our sponsors as a thank you was to they are so encouraging. The people who invite them to view it, to show what they have been on the boat for any length of have allowed us to accomplish and time keep saying `we've been there, it'll happen.' And sure enough, by the end of develop." Macassa Bay Yacht Club in Hamilton the season I felt stronger and very sup has also given them a lot of support, ported by the rest of the group." Lawson credits the group with help from building a dock to renovating the yacht club's original building so that the ing with her emotional recovery from breast cancer, which often takes much team could have their own clubhouse. longer than the physical recovery. "W e have a ball," Lawson said. " It was a place where I could just "There is so much laughter and, of have a lot of fun and just laugh a lot and course, everyone has their own uphill battles, but with all of us having come work hard." For more information about Knot A through the treatment of breast cancer, we want to be able to pull together and Breast, visit its Web site at www.dragonshow each other and other people, who boats.net/teamknotabreast.htm. Chantal Ayotte · Special to the Oakville Heaver Cancer survivor Laurie Lawson is one of the Knot A Breast team members featured in the documentary Men and Women on a Voyage of Courage, Raising Awareness that premiers this Thursday. Chairs by v o g e I OF C A N A D A 25% off R E G . P R IC E S ! Limited Time Only! 4M T Your Convenie turday 9am-5pm Si m m m S T O U S S .. I N T E R I O R S . . t p All in stock Tiffanys Table Lamp, art nouveau bronze, 2 light jj M 3 0 % Off j* I5 , Chandelier with illuminated centre column 66018 W a s «' X ^ 0 8 Now 217 Lakeshore Rd. E. 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