On a lagoon at the edge of Santiago, Chile, a group of women who have faced breast cancer, some still in its shadow and others long past it, gather to row together under the name Fortale-Senos Chile. Their belief that the repetitive pull of the oar helps their bodies recover after surgery is grounded in their own lived experience rather than in clinical evidence, yet it speaks to something older than any study: the human need to heal in company. What began, by their leader's account, in hesitation has become a community that carries its members beyond the physical toll of illness, and now look
Chilean Breast Cancer Survivors Find Healing and Community Rowing on Santiago Lagoon
Women recovering from breast cancer and surgery are using rowing as part of their rehabilitation and emotional support.
"Not only for the body; it is also for the soul."
Mark
Why does a story about a rowing team matter?
Mimi
Because the women are describing recovery as something that happens in two places at once. Paula Farias says it's not only for the body, it's for the soul.
Mark
What's the physical side, specifically?
Mimi
The team says the circular, repetitive rowing motion helps rehabilitation, especially after surgery.
Luke
Worth noting that's the team's own account. The piece cites no medical study and no clinician, so it shows what the women experience, not proof the motion works.
Mark
And the community part?
Mimi
Farias said they all came timidly and now they're a fully formed team that supports each other. That's the heart of it.
Luke
We don't know how many women are on the team, or when it started. The story doesn't say.
Mark
What are they aiming for next?
Mimi
An international rowers' meeting in Brazil this October.
Luke
Whether that trip is confirmed or funded isn't stated. It's an aspiration right now.
Mark
And Farias says their attitude toward life is different.
Luke
That's one leader speaking for the group. It's a meaningful statement, but it's her words rather than a measured result.
Il Polso
- Surgery and treatment have left these women with bodies that need careful, repeated rebuilding, and rowing has become the vehicle for it.
- Members describe arriving at the lagoon timidly, a tension between fear of their illness and the desire to reclaim movement.
- Team leader Paula Farias insists the group is for the soul as much as the body, and the bonds between teammates now hold up the women in ways medicine does not.
- The team is steering toward an international rowers' meeting in Brazil in October 2022, with trip, funding and events still unconfirmed.
- The women say their outlook on life has shifted toward a new horizon, and whether October's voyage happens will show how far that shift can carry them.
On a lagoon at the edge of Santiago, Chile, a group of women who have faced breast cancer, some still in its shadow and others long past it, gather to row together under the name Fortale-Senos Chile. Their belief that the repetitive pull of the oar helps their bodies recover after surgery is grounded in their own lived experience rather than in clinical evidence, yet it speaks to something older than any study: the human need to heal in company. What began, by their leader's account, in hesitation has become a community that carries its members beyond the physical toll of illness, and now looks toward a first crossing into wider competition.
On July 24, 2022, a teammate handed out rowing blades on a lagoon on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile, before a training session. The women on the shore belong to Fortale-Senos Chile, a dragon boat team of women who have breast cancer or have survived it. A Reuters photographer documented the morning.
For them, rowing is more than a sport. Members say the circular, repetitive stroke helps physical recovery, especially in the period after surgery. These accounts come from the women and their leader rather than from a clinical study, and the reporting offers no medical data on outcomes.
What they describe as equally vital is each other. Paula Farias, who leads the group, put it simply: "This is not only for the body; it is also for the soul." She recalls that the women arrived timidly, and that the team has since grown into one where members hold each other up.
The group now has a goal beyond the water. It hopes to travel in October to an international rowers' meeting in Brazil, though the trip's confirmation, funding and events remain unknown. Farias says the experience has changed how the women see their lives: "This is giving us a new paradigm, a new horizon. Our attitude towards life is different."
On July 24, 2022, a member of a dragon boat team handed out rowing blades to her teammates before a training session on a lagoon on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. The women on the shore belong to Fortale-Senos Chile, a team made up of women who have breast cancer and women who have survived it. A Reuters photographer, Ivan Alvarado, documented the session.
For the team, rowing is more than a sport. Members say it helps with physical recovery from breast cancer, particularly in the period after surgery. The circular, repetitive motion of the stroke is what they point to as helpful in rehabilitation. The account comes from the women themselves and their leader, not from a clinical study, and the reporting does not cite medical data on outcomes.
The second thing the team offers is people. The women describe the group as a support network, and the sense of unity as a benefit that stands beside the physical one. Paula Farias, who leads the group, put it plainly: "This is not only for the body; it is also for the soul."
Farias described how the team came together. According to her, the women all arrived timidly, and what exists now is a fully formed team in which members support one another. She did not say how many women are in the group or when it was founded, and the reporting does not give those details.
The team now has a goal beyond the lagoon. It hopes to travel in October to an international meeting of rowers in Brazil. The source does not say whether the trip is confirmed, how it would be funded, or which events the team would enter.
Farias said the experience has changed how the women see their lives. "This is giving us a new paradigm, a new horizon," she said. "Our attitude towards life is different."
The report was written by Natalia Ramos from reporting by Rodrigo Gutierrez, and edited by Lisa Shumaker. What to watch is whether the team makes the October trip to Brazil, which would take a group that began timidly on a Santiago lagoon into international competition.
Citazioni salienti
This is not only for the body; it is also for the soul.— Paula Farias, team leader
This is giving us a new paradigm, a new horizon. Our attitude towards life is different.— Paula Farias, team leader
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