Donella Scown Brisbane, QLD Australia Amazon Heart Thunder Australia 2006 Rider

I was born and raised in New Guinea and married in 1970 after completing my paediatric specialist nursing in Sydney.

We have lived in 19 homes around Australia and the UK. Our last and present home we built ourselves of mud brick in the early 1990’s. Quite an undertaking as we gave up work to do it and had four children to keep a roof over and educate at the same time. I guess it was very stressful and I feel that is when breast cancer took a hold of me with my depleted immune system awry.

Breast cancer wasn’t in my vocabulary before 1997. I was sailing along in supposed good health and keeping up with mammograms etc but a month after a ‘clean bill of health’ I discovered a lump myself.There is a lot in the press about this these days but I feel very lucky to be well educated in looking after one’s own health so have never relied totally on the medical profession for this. My surgeon said at the time that I was lucky!! Lucky, I thought! This is not in my scheme of things but what he meant was that I was the lucky one because I knew I had breast cancer and could do something about it.

I now have the opportunity to greet every day with joy and hope and live life to its fullest. I work part time, enjoy my family and friends and make plenty of time to smell the roses……….

As a member of Missabittatitti Dragon Boat – Dragons Abreast Australia, I feel so lucky to join up with other members and paddle in such a happy, healthy environment. I joined eighteen months ago when my husband took a job away from home for sixteen months and it has been a wonderful, positive experience. It wasn’t until January this year that I competed in the Chinese New Year Regatta in Sydney – what a week end. I was overwhelmed at the end when we rafted up – 12 boats, each of 20 women in pink – how could this disease be so prevalent and especially for so many young women. I was staggered to say the least.

Now I am able to do this ride and ‘hopefully’ increase awareness of breast cancer. I am upgrading my current 250 cc motor bike licence to see what I can achieve on this magic ride – one never knows!

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