Breast cancer survivors learn ‘We Can Row'

WARWICK — When her beloved aunt Barbara died from breast cancer, Barbara Horvath, who once had her own cancer scare and who knew others being treated for the dreaded disease, asked herself, “What can I do and how may I help?” Horvath, who belongs to the East Arm Rowing Club in Greenwood Lake, found the answer to her question when she came upon an article about Holly Metcalf and her rowing team, One in Nine. Metcalf is the founder of the “We Can Row” Program for breast cancer survivors. “I am a coxswain, as well as a rower in the East Arm Rowing Club,” said Horvath, a nursing secretary for the Schervier Pavilion nursing facility on the Bon Secours Charity Healthcare Warwick Campus. “I love rowing, and coxing. And I believe that everything we do can serve a higher purpose.” Horvath recently had an opportunity to participate as a coxswain, the person who steers, at a rowing clinic for breast cancer survivors held in Gainesville, Fla. “The women I met moved me with their quiet courage,” she said. “They were living each ordinary day, knowing all that can happen, and they still had the power and strength, and integrity to meet each day as it comes. “They taught me that rowing is a great healer: physically, emotionally and mentally. When you have cancer, you can get in a boat, and for that time, you are an athlete and not a victim or survivor.” Horvath returned from Florida convinced that cancer survivors in this area would do wonderfully in this program. “If I could get participants together,” she thought, “I could start a similar program in Orange County, with the East Arm Rowing Club, the best boat house in our community.” Horvath proposed her plan to the President of the East Arm Rowing Club, Alex Emodi. “He was enthusiastic, and has been a wonderful supporter, as is the East Arm Rowing Club’s board members,” she said. “In fact, Alex also proposed that, after being thoroughly coached and trained, those in the new program could join the Greenwood Lake Challenge Regatta, this June.” The East Arm Rowing Club has decided to dedicate this year’s Regatta to cancer survivors. And, in addition to several substantial contributions from local citizens, some of Horvath’s co-workers at Schervier Pavilion have already pledged to row in support of the program. Each seat will cost $100. For more information, call 845-741-0739.