Latest news with #CarolDale
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors celebrates 30 years in Vancouver
Nearly 30 years after it first started in Vancouver, a team of breast cancer survivors will compete in the upcoming Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival. The Abreast In A Boat team was started by Vancouver doctor Don McKenzie in 1996 — initially as a six-month trial to show whether there was any evidence to back up a commonly held idea that was limiting the lives of breast cancer survivors. At the time, the scientific consensus was that those who'd had a mastectomy shouldn't be raising their arms over their heads, lifting heavy objects or exercising. Instead, the team demonstrated that not only was strenuous exercise possible for breast cancer survivors, but physical activity and a sense of belonging helped them in their recovery from cancer. Ahead of the dragon boating festival, which starts June 20 in False Creek, members of the team told CBC News about how the team changed their lives. 'I could trust my body' When Carol Dale signed up for the team in 1996, she was celebrating five years being cancer-free, and thought it was an interesting experiment worth trying. "It just turned out to be a fascinating year, learning a new skill, learning that I could trust my body again to work for me," she said. "And I met some wonderful people, and that's what keeps me going." Dale says there are now six teams in the Lower Mainland alone composed of breast cancer survivors, and dozens more in Canada and around the world. And, there's even an international commission encouraging the establishment of more dragon boat teams for those with breast cancer. Recovery ideas change Kristin Campbell, a professor at the University of British Columbia's department of physical therapy, says that when the team was first started in 1996, it was thought that repeated exercise would lead to lymphedema, a painful chronic condition where lymph fluid builds up in a person's arm due to being disrupted by the cancerous cells. "The important piece about this dragon boat experience [is] how it's changed practice around the world," the researcher said. "I think they really have shown that the role of exercise and the camaraderie, that you get from that, really changed how people thought about breast cancer, and thought about exercise and recovery after treatment," she added. Dr. McKenzie's work, along with collaborators, helped demonstrate that regular physical activity is associated with a 35 per cent reduction in mortality among cancer survivors. Breast cancer is the second most-common cancer in Canada, and roughly one in eight women are expected to be diagnosed with it in their lifetimes. While some like Dale are veterans of the team, others like Anca Dobre, 29, are more recent competitors. She was diagnosed in December 2023, and finished her radiation treatment the following August. Dobre said that the team showed her that a diagnosis didn't necessarily mean she was going to be bedridden. "Actually, it was the opposite," she told CBC News. "We all became more active. "There's so much to life after cancer and it's not just about surviving, but actually thriving, with this team because they're all so inspirational in everything they do."
CBC
13 hours ago
- Health
- CBC
Dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors celebrates 30 years in Vancouver
Social Sharing Nearly 30 years after it first started in Vancouver, a team of breast cancer survivors will compete in the upcoming Concord Pacific Dragon Boat Festival. The Abreast In A Boat team was started by Vancouver doctor Don McKenzie in 1996 — initially as a six-month trial to show whether there was any evidence to back up a commonly held idea that was limiting the lives of breast cancer survivors. At the time, the scientific consensus was that those who'd had a mastectomy shouldn't be raising their arms over their heads, lifting heavy objects or exercising. Instead, the team demonstrated that not only was strenuous exercise possible for breast cancer survivors, but physical activity and a sense of belonging helped them in their recovery from cancer. Ahead of the dragon boating festival, which starts June 20 in False Creek, members of the team told CBC News about how the team changed their lives. 'I could trust my body' When Carol Dale signed up for the team in 1996, she was celebrating five years being cancer-free, and thought it was an interesting experiment worth trying. "It just turned out to be a fascinating year, learning a new skill, learning that I could trust my body again to work for me," she said. "And I met some wonderful people, and that's what keeps me going." Dale says there are now six teams in the Lower Mainland alone composed of breast cancer survivors, and dozens more in Canada and around the world. And, there's even an international commission encouraging the establishment of more dragon boat teams for those with breast cancer. Recovery ideas change Kristin Campbell, a professor at the University of British Columbia's department of physical therapy, says that when the team was first started in 1996, it was thought that repeated exercise would lead to lymphedema, a painful chronic condition where lymph fluid builds up in a person's arm due to being disrupted by the cancerous cells. "The important piece about this dragon boat experience [is] how it's changed practice around the world," the researcher said. "I think they really have shown that the role of exercise and the camaraderie, that you get from that, really changed how people thought about breast cancer, and thought about exercise and recovery after treatment," she added. Dr. McKenzie's work, along with collaborators, helped demonstrate that regular physical activity is associated with a 35 per cent reduction in mortality among cancer survivors. Breast cancer is the second most-common cancer in Canada, and roughly one in eight women are expected to be diagnosed with it in their lifetimes. While some like Dale are veterans of the team, others like Anca Dobre, 29, are more recent competitors. She was diagnosed in December 2023, and finished her radiation treatment the following August. Dobre said that the team showed her that a diagnosis didn't necessarily mean she was going to be bedridden. "Actually, it was the opposite," she told CBC News. "We all became more active. "There's so much to life after cancer and it's not just about surviving, but actually thriving, with this team because they're all so inspirational in everything they do."
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Australia holds its nose for the 3rd rancid bloom of a rare corpse plant in 3 months
MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A rare bloom with a pungent odor like decaying flesh has opened in the Australian capital in the nation's third such extraordinary flowering in as many months. The corpse flower, also known by its scientific name amorphophallus titanium, bloomed for the first time in its 15 years at Canberra's Australian National Botanic Gardens on Saturday and was closing on Monday, staff said. Another flowered briefly in the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens in late January, attracting 20,000 admirers. Similar numbers turned out to experience another rancid bloom at the Geelong Botanic Gardens southwest of Melbourne in November. What is a corpse flower? The corpse flower or corpse plant, known as bunga bangkai in its native Indonesia, is endemic to the rainforests of western Sumatra. It only blooms for a few days every 7 to 10 years in its natural habitat. Its rancid scent attracts pollinators such as flies. There are thought to be only 300 of the plants in the wild and fewer than 1,000 including those in cultivation. Why have three bloomed in Australia in as many months? Canberra's acting nursery manager Carol Dale said there was no clear explanation for Australia's spate of putrid blooms. A flower is produced when the plant has stored enough energy in its underground tuber known as a corm. 'One of the theories is that a lot of these plants are of a similar age, so they have just stored up enough carbohydrates in the corm to finally produce a flower,' Dale said. 'All of the plants around Australia are held in different conditions, so it's unusual that they're all flowering at the same time.' she added. She said Canberra, Sydney and Geelong had different climates. Gardeners used different fertilizing regimes on each plant and different management plans. Was the Canberra bloom expected? Dale said that after 15 years without a bloom, she had decided that Canberra, which occasionally receives snowfall, was not the place for a corpse plant to thrive. 'It's been in our collection for slightly longer than these plants would normally take to flower for the first time, so we just didn't think we had the right conditions here in Canberra,' Dale said. 'So yes, it did catch us by surprise; a very pleasant one,' she added. The flower began opening around lunchtime on Saturday and its rancid odor quickly deteriorated. 'By Saturday evening, it was incredibly pungent. We could smell it from across the road. It was definitely gag worthy,' Dale said. The crowds attracted to the 135-centimeter (53-inch) tall flower were limited to the hundreds by a ticketing system due to space constraints within the greenhouse. Admirers likened the stench to a range of dead animals, rotten eggs, sweaty socks, sewage and garbage. Dale said the worst had passed by Monday. 'We collected pollen about an hour ago and when you're right up close to the plant, it's still got that rotting flesh smell,' she said. Rod Mcguirk, The Associated Press
Washington Post
10-02-2025
- General
- Washington Post
Australia holds its nose for the 3rd rancid bloom of a rare corpse plant in 3 months
MELBOURNE, Australia — A rare bloom with a pungent odor like decaying flesh has opened in the Australian capital in the nation's third such extraordinary flowering in as many months. The corpse flower , also known by its scientific name amorphophallus titanium, bloomed for the first time in its 15 years at Canberra's Australian National Botanic Gardens on Saturday and was closing on Monday, staff said. Another flowered briefly in the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens in late January, attracting 20,000 admirers. Similar numbers turned out to experience another rancid bloom at the Geelong Botanic Gardens southwest of Melbourne in November. The corpse flower or corpse plant, known as bunga bangkai in its native Indonesia, is endemic to the rainforests of western Sumatra. It only blooms for a few days every 7 to 10 years in its natural habitat. Its rancid scent attracts pollinators such as flies. There are thought to be only 300 of the plants in the wild and fewer than 1,000 including those in cultivation. Canberra's acting nursery manager Carol Dale said there was no clear explanation for Australia's spate of putrid blooms. A flower is produced when the plant has stored enough energy in its underground tuber known as a corm. 'One of the theories is that a lot of these plants are of a similar age, so they have just stored up enough carbohydrates in the corm to finally produce a flower,' Dale said. 'All of the plants around Australia are held in different conditions, so it's unusual that they're all flowering at the same time.' she added. She said Canberra, Sydney and Geelong had different climates. Gardeners used different fertilizing regimes on each plant and different management plans. Dale said that after 15 years without a bloom, she had decided that Canberra, which occasionally receives snowfall, was not the place for a corpse plant to thrive. 'It's been in our collection for slightly longer than these plants would normally take to flower for the first time, so we just didn't think we had the right conditions here in Canberra,' Dale said. 'So yes, it did catch us by surprise; a very pleasant one,' she added. The flower began opening around lunchtime on Saturday and its rancid odor quickly deteriorated. 'By Saturday evening, it was incredibly pungent. We could smell it from across the road. It was definitely gag worthy,' Dale said. The crowds attracted to the 135-centimeter (53-inch) tall flower were limited to the hundreds by a ticketing system due to space constraints within the greenhouse. Admirers likened the stench to a range of dead animals, rotten eggs, sweaty socks, sewage and garbage. Dale said the worst had passed by Monday. 'We collected pollen about an hour ago and when you're right up close to the plant, it's still got that rotting flesh smell,' she said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
10-02-2025
- General
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Australia Holds its Nose for 3rd Rancid Bloom of Rare Corpse Plant in 3 Months
A rare bloom with a pungent odor like decaying flesh has opened in the Australian capital in the nation's third such extraordinary flowering in as many months. The corpse flower, also known by its scientific name amorphophallus titanium, bloomed for the first time in its 15 years at Canberra's Australian National Botanic Gardens on Saturday and was closing on Monday, The Associated Press quoted staff as saying. Another flowered briefly in the Sydney Royal Botanic Gardens in late January, attracting 20,000 admirers. Similar numbers turned out to experience another rancid bloom at the Geelong Botanic Gardens southwest of Melbourne in November. What is a corpse flower? The corpse flower or corpse plant, known as bunga bangkai in its native Indonesia, is endemic to the rainforests of western Sumatra. It only blooms for a few days every 7 to 10 years in its natural habitat. Its rancid scent attracts pollinators such as flies. There are thought to be only 300 of the plants in the wild and fewer than 1,000 including those in cultivation. Why have three bloomed in Australia in as many months? Canberra's acting nursery manager Carol Dale said there was no clear explanation for Australia's spate of putrid blooms. A flower is produced when the plant has stored enough energy in its underground tuber known as a corm. 'One of the theories is that a lot of these plants are of a similar age, so they have just stored up enough carbohydrates in the corm to finally produce a flower,' Dale said. 'All of the plants around Australia are held in different conditions, so it's unusual that they're all flowering at the same time.' she added. She said Canberra, Sydney and Geelong had different climates. Gardeners used different fertilizing regimes on each plant and different management plans. Was the Canberra bloom expected? Dale said that after 15 years without a bloom, she had decided that Canberra, which occasionally receives snowfall, was not the place for a corpse plant to thrive. 'It's been in our collection for slightly longer than these plants would normally take to flower for the first time, so we just didn't think we had the right conditions here in Canberra,' Dale said. 'So yes, it did catch us by surprise; a very pleasant one,' she added. The flower began opening around lunchtime on Saturday and its rancid odor quickly deteriorated. 'By Saturday evening, it was incredibly pungent. We could smell it from across the road. It was definitely gag worthy,' Dale said. The crowds attracted to the 135-centimeter (53-inch) tall flower were limited to the hundreds by a ticketing system due to space constraints within the greenhouse. Admirers likened the stench to a range of dead animals, rotten eggs, sweaty socks, sewage and garbage. Dale said the worst had passed by Monday. 'We collected pollen about an hour ago and when you're right up close to the plant, it's still got that rotting flesh smell,' she said.
