Pam Boileau paddled across a French alpine lake in August with 4,500 breast cancer survivors from 25 countries.

Boileau, a two-time breast cancer survivor and Cornelius resident, traveled to Aix-les-Bains, France, with the Healing Dragons of Charlotte dragon boat team. The team competed at the International Breast Cancer Paddlers' Commission (IBCPC) festival, held Aug. 24–30 on Lac du Bourget. The event, first reported by LKN Magazine, drew 141 teams.

"To know that almost everyone at the site was a survivor made us breathless," Boileau told LKN Magazine.

Before one race in France, as Healing Dragons pushed away from the launch and paddled toward the starting line, the boat went quiet. Some teammates softly spoke the names of former teammates who had died. Others whispered, "We made it."

Healing Dragons of Charlotte is a nonprofit dragon boat team made up of cancer survivors and supporters. Randy Crow and his wife, Lori Crow, founded the team in 2009 after Randy tried dragon boat racing in Florida. The only open seat happened to be on a cancer survivor boat.

He came home determined to start a team near Lake Norman. The couple used money they had saved for a kitchen remodel to buy a boat, trailer and equipment instead.

The team practices on Mountain Island Lake in west Charlotte and has won medals competing against teams without a cancer-survivor designation, according to LKN Magazine.

Boileau, a luxury real estate broker with Ivester Jackson/Christie's International Real Estate, joined Healing Dragons in 2011. She spotted dragon boat racing at the Asian Festival on Lake Norman and signed up.

She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in June 2005 and again in 2023. Her mother died from metastatic breast cancer, and her daughter, Kim Harkness, was diagnosed with stage one breast cancer in 2018.

The IBCPC holds its festival roughly every four years. Previous host cities include Florence, Italy, in 2018 and Lake Karapiro, New Zealand, in 2023, according to the commission's website. As of early 2026, the IBCPC counted more than 400 member teams across 41 countries.

In France, the festival program included races, educational seminars, wellness classes, concerts and a Parade of Nations.

One of the most emotional moments came during the Flower Ceremony. Participants dressed alike gathered along the shoreline and waded into the water to release flowers. Some prayed for friends who had died. Others prayed for women still in treatment.

The day after the ceremony, the team learned that former teammate Angie had died after her breast cancer returned and spread. She passed during the Flower Ceremony itself.

Boileau prefers the word "thriver" over "survivor."

Healing Dragons of Charlotte is based in Cornelius. Residents interested in joining or learning more can contact board president Eileen Pronobis at [email protected]. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.