For Elisabeth Villeneuve and Carol McKay, life after breast cancer is a new beginning of something else entirely.
“I guess that’s the message,” said Villeneuve. “There is life after breast cancer.”
Both Villeneuve and McKay are longtime members of Abreast in a Boat, a pioneering dragon boating team formed by Dr. Don McKenzie, whose goal was to prove that movement is better than being stationary after surviving breast cancer.
Villeneuve and McKay were a part of the first Abreast in a Boat team back in 1997, and almost 30 years later, this one team has since inspired nearly 400 similar teams around the world.
Villeneuve shared with Peace Arch News that she was diagnosed with breast cancer not once but twice, the second time in 2022, around 26 years after her first diagnosis.
She says that it was the support of her teammates, friends and family that helped her through.
“I credit my family and my friends on the team for getting me through that and back travelling again,” she shared.
While both Villeneuve and McKay still paddle out of Ladner, their time on the water today is less about competition and more about connection.
“We spend more time looking for the swans or for the babies and things like that,” McKay shared humorously.
That sense of community that both of these South Surrey locals feel has extended far beyond then just the shoreline.
Over the years, the pair have travelled extensively – often together – combining dragon boating regattas (competitions) with a shared curiosity about the world.
Villeneuve has spent more than five decades travelling, recently reaching the milestone of visiting 193 United Nations-recognized countries – a feat she says is achieved by only a small number of people worldwide. Villeneuve returned from Haiti – her final travel destination – on April 1, 2026.
McKay shared that she has done at least 100 countries of her own.
Though these numbers are something to recognize, it isn’t the full picture for both breast cancer survivors.
The point, Villeneuve says, is that it’s not the end after surviving breast cancer – or any medical event. “Life does go on, you pick yourself up and move on.”
Travel, for both women, has become one way of doing exactly that.
A lot of these locations were through international dragon boating events over the years such as South Africa, Singapore, Argentina and New Zealand.
Not all of these events were regattas, either; some included their international outreach team led by White Rock’s Adrian Bartoli, who helped grow the sport as well as its message across countries like Brazil, Hungary and Fiji.
Other trips have been more exploratory for McKay and Villeneuve, who try to go on a trip at least once every year – usually that trip doesn’t just involve one country, either.
“Well, if you’re nearby, may as well pop in somewhere else,” said Villeneuve.
That mindset has led to experiences far removed from typical tourist itineraries.
McKay recalls on one of the duo’s earlier trips together, the pair found themselves in Uzbekistan during a time of national mourning following the death of the country’s president.
What began as a quiet observation turned into something far more personal, as they joined a group of local women paying their respects and were eventually welcomed into the president’s childhood home.
“And somehow, we ended up at the head table,” McKay shared.
Moments like that, they say, come from choosing to be immersed in local communities rather than choosing what is convenient.
“There’s a difference between going to an all-inclusive and actually being amongst the people,” said McKay.
“We’re always the oldest people in the youth hostels,” Villeneuve continued.
In moments like the ones they’ve both experienced – whether in a village, on a crowded bus or inside a family home – their perspectives have been shaped.
“People are good,” said Villeneuve. “We read in the newspapers about all the bad things that happen in the world, but we have had so much kindness from people.”
That kindness, she added, has made their travel possible. “We would not have been able to do the travelling we had if it wasn’t for the local people in the countries we’ve been in that have helped us out,” she explained.
Through their journeys, both women have also seen how breast cancer is viewed differently around the world.
“In a lot of countries, if you have had breast cancer, you were sort of shunned by your family,” McKay shared.
Abreast in a Boat’s outreach program, along with Villeneuve and McKay, continues to show women otherwise.
Today, their joint message is simple.
Whether it’s stepping into a dragon boat for the first time or stepping onto a plane, they encourage others to push beyond their comfort zones.
“I think you need to get a little bit out of your comfort zone to keep going, keep challenging yourself,” Villeneuve said.
McKenzie proved it with the first Abreast In A Boat team back in 1997, and these ladies continue to believe in the sentiment that survivorship isn’t about standing still.
“Life after breast cancer, it doesn’t just end,” said Villeneuve.
The impact of Abreast In A Boat continued to resonate in the community, including through local storytelling efforts such as the documentary Power of the Paddle, highlighting the strength and connection found on and off the water.
Learn more about others who have travelled around the world at nomadmania.com and learn more about Abreast In A Boat at abreastinaboat.com