KIM CHRISTENSEN:

Her sister, 49-year-old Isidora Arzú is a radiation oncologist at M.D. Anderson's facility in

Richmond.

"It's very difficult when patients as young as she was come up with breast cancer," said

Isidora, a Missouri City resident. "I was hopeful for her, yet afraid for her, even though I know

there was newer technology that would help her."

When Frances Arzú completed treatment in September 2004, she received an e-mail from

Bayshore Medical Center, 4000 Spencer Highway in Pasadena, which was looking for breast

cancer survivors to participate in a workout program.

"I had always exercised," Arzú said. "But I was having trouble getting it back together after

treatment. Chemo just takes so much out of you."

When Arzú checked into the program a little further, she learned that the exercise program was

for dragon boat racing.

James Guzman, a physical therapist assistant and certified strength and conditioning specialist,

began working with breast cancer survivors at Bayshore Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation in

Pasadena.

"When we started the Dragon Boating Workshop, it was to help prepare breast cancer survivors

for the actual rowing event out on the water," said Guzman, who now works at Clear Lake

Rehabilitation Hospital in Webster.

"That meant teaching them a little bit about exercise, flexibility, core stability and

sport-specific movements. It was free to any breast cancer survivor who wanted to participate

in dragon boating."

Arzú, who had never paddled before "in any way, shape or form," was intrigued. "I love the

water," she said. "I swim. I scuba dive. So I thought, why not?"

The first team Arzú joined was the Draggin' Queens, sponsored by Dr. Tim Yang of Bayshore

Medical Center.

"That first year, it was basically a breast cancer survivor boat that was kind of a hodgepodge

of a number of ex-patients we had treated," said Yang, a radiation oncologist. "After that first

year, we had a couple of ladies who really enjoyed the paddling, so they established a core

group. One of them was Frances (Arzú."

The first race Arzú participated in was in 2005, and that's when she met a Canadian team of

breast cancer survivors who had been paddling for 15 years.

"From that moment on," Arzú said, "I wanted a team like that, too."

With the support of Yang, Arzú created Pink Phurree.

"My thinking was, I wanted the ladies to have an opportunity to regain their entire lives —

physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually," Arzú said. "Although we want to win, we do

want to have fun at it."

Arzú said the Texas Dragon Boat Association, 4723 Waring Street in Houston, lets them use

one of its boats. But what she dreams of is a sponsor so they can proudly put their name on a

pink boat, sport pink life jackets, row with pink paddles — whatever it takes to gain even more

momentum as a force to be reckoned with.

Her ultimate goal, she said, is to beat those Canadians — as long as everyone has fun doing it.